VIKINGS BLADE 'Dark Stallion' Luxury Shaving Brush, Heavy Steel Base + Obsidian Acrylic

REVIEW UPDATE 3/12/17I was contacted by Julian from Vikings Blade. Apparently there was a very small chance I received a brush from the old stock. These brushes have been upgraded and a new and improved batch came out Nov 2016. I was explained the old batch was removed and replaced by the new version but somehow I might have ended up with one of the old ones.My purchase came with a 30 day warranty so I was offered a free replacement but I was told that if I was looking for the "silvertip soft feel", the "White Knight" premium synthetic brush was the better choice. Julian explained how great these brushes are, made of quality synthetic fibers that absorb and retain water better than real badger plus they have firm bristles and the tips are soft, better, much better than the badger version. I was a little hesitant to take a synthetic. I have a few brushes in badger, boar and horse but I am not really into fake bristles. I was assured I was going to love it so I went for the synthetic version.The brush arrived the next day and man! what was I missing! Not only is this brush in ivory color gorgeous but the fibers look great with the white tip and they feel softer than real silvertip IMO. I used the brush that same day with Arko soap and face lathering for my shave, this brush worked like a champ. The knot has backbone and the tips soft and gentle. The brush lathered very fast, it hold enough lather for my 3 passes. At the end, the brush was easy to clean, dried quickly and retained its new shape.I used it again few days later but this time I wanted to know how good it will perform bowl lathering with hard soap. Well, it did great and just as my natural badgers, got the lather pretty quick with minimal effort and holding enough lather for 3 or more passes.If you are like me and have never tried a synthetic, give it a try because you are missing out. This is a great brush, It will perform very good and it will add a distinctive look to your bathroom. I am including pictures of my bowl lathering before, during and after the shave. Hope you find this long review informative and helps you decide.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -I was thinking in rating it 4 stars but I had to be more honest in my review as this will help other buyers and even Vikings Blade by taking things into consideration.The good: The handle is just gorgeous! Black obsidian acrylic with the alloy base combination make this handle look and feel luxurious. The handle is heavy and comfortable to hold, you can feel quality that sets this brush handle aside for the others. The logo in the alloy is fantastic and adds an extra touch of quality. Made in Australia.The Bad: The badger knot is not up to this handle quality level. This badger hair is short and feels cheap and scratchy. My new quality horse brush by Vie-Long and premium boar brush by Semogue feels softer and provide better lathering! Badger is supposed to be a class above horse and boar but this badger is just inferior to my other brushes. This knot has no backbone, it’s hard to lather because there is minimal to no backbone. The brush also splits/opens on your face for the same reason.I will recommend Vikings Blade to go a step above and change these knots with quality badger hair knots (finest badger or super badger) but if they want to keep the "best badger" line and current price then to change these knot suppliers. Another great option for these good-looking handles is to change them to SUPER quality boar and horse knots but only if they can get the best, if they put cheap ones then will have the same result. Viking Blade is going in the right direction with quality shaving products at a good price but just need some improvement.

I've done wet shaving before, but with my dad's brush. His brush was falling apart. Bristles were always coming out, it leaked water like a sieve, and it was WAY too soft. The few times I ventured into wet shaving were cut short, and I'm pretty sure it was all because of my dad's brush.Years later I've decided to give wet shaving another try, and I picked this brush. While it has been quite a long time since I last used my dad's awful brush, I still remember all of the problems I had with it. This brush had none of those problems. It retains water EXTREMELY well. Giving it a quick flick with your wrist releases a lot of the excess water in one swift motion.It's also soft, but not too soft. This is the most important thing in my opinion. If you're like me and you have coarse hair, you want the tips of the bristles to be a little bit stiff so you can work the lather into all the nooks and crannies. If the tips are too soft, most of the lather will just go on top of the hair instead of under it (where it really needs to be) since the bristles can't push your hair out of the way.If you're looking for a shaving brush, I think this would be a great pick.

*EDIT* (01-20-18)I have had this brush over a year now. I use it multiple times a week, sometimes twice a day and it is still going strong. I have lost a few hairs in the past year but it has been FEW. I have posted pics with what it looks like after a year. The logo has faded a little and the bottom metal piece has a few Sratches where I sit it up from time to time but no rust spots. I don’t dry the handle after use, I just hang it to air dry. This is one of the greatest investments you can make in wetshaving. I have put this thing through a beating. It is a tank of a brush and one I see myself using for many more years. Great quality great quality shave.(12-30-16)I am several months into wetshaving and wanted to upgrade from Van Der Hagan. I was in the brush market for weeks eyeballing Viking's Luxury Badger Brush from off the fence until I finally broke down and bought it. When I slid the brush out of its cylinder packaging I could instantly feel the great quality and knew I made the right decision. It has a nice weight to it and the badger is nice and soft. As I stated earlier, I wanted to try out something different than the VDH brand. Glad I chose Vikings first. I probably would have spent a lot more money on other brushes just to eventually find out that the best one for a low budget is made by Vikings Blade. It is beautifully made and feels so great on the face. The brush sits handsomely on the Perfecto Deluxe stand too. I really recommend this brush if you are new to wet-shaving, have been wet-shaving for several years or looking for a new great quality brush for a great price. I will definitely have to check out the other products from this brand one day.

I didn't think safety razor shaving experience could get any better.But it did with this brush.My old brush lost hairs i think everyday for the three or four years I owned it. I think this brush even with the break in period lost two hairs int he last month.It has an amazing lather and just works marvelously. Definitely a great buy for the money.

Possibly the best shave brush I've owned. I have purchased them from Art Of Shaving and a less expensive one from another Amazon vendor, but this one is by far the best quality. It feels heavy, which is great for applying the shaving soap. It's also very stylish and looks great on the counter top. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a high quality brush for a fair price.

I have used a number of synthetic brushes over the years - this one works the best of them all! It creates heaps of thick lather very quickly. Let's hope it lasts a long time.A warning - my brush arrived in a packaging that said "traditional badger brush", very different to what the listing shows. However, Vikings Blade answered my email within minutes and explained that this was just a printing error and that this model has always been synthetic.Another thing is that the metal base of the brush is very heavy. This feels nice, but also means that if you are used to leave your brush in the bowl while shaving between passes, you will not be able to do so without tipping the bowl. Try putting the brush down on its base instead. Not a big thing, but may take some getting used to!

This is an instrument of men.The brush is just the right weight to produce a foamy lather.Don’t think twice.Showed my teenager son how to shave.He is definitely hooked on the experience.

Nice brush that has performed very well since I bought it.

Excellent feel, heavy in the hand but soft on the face. Very happy.