On April 10, 2017 I purchased this Thater 4125/2 26mm octagonal black handle brush from Maggard Razors. I waited to make a review here to see how it worked, but more importantly, how the quality would hold up. When I decided to get back into wet shaving some years ago, I did mega research and began with a Simpson. I still have that brush somewhere, but I don't use it anymore. The quality of the Simpson was not there. In about 6 months I began losing hairs, and when I ordered the Thater because the Simpson was losing 10-12 hairs with every shave. I researched again spending hundreds of hours and decided on the Thater 2-band. I have used it 3-4 times a week for over two years and have lost 3 hairs. They were short, showed up in the first month, and no doubt were leftovers which were never part of the knot to begin with. I began using Haslinger Schafmilch Shaving Soap, but always wanted to use Mitchell's Wool Fat. (I wanted to be part of the cult!) I didn't purchase MWF at first because we have seriously hard water. After learning how to take care of the MWF so It didn't dry out over time, I began using distilled water for shaving. I never warm it up, just use it at room temperature. I don't soak the puck but I do put water in it for several hours the day before shaving, then pour it off so it's not there when I lather. With my face clean, whiskers soft, I load the MWF with the Thater having soaked it, and then squeezing it dry. I spend over a minute loading, and then enjoy the most luxurious shaves I have ever imagined. The 2-band is sufficient to cut into the Fat and give me enough lather for 3 passes and for clean-up where I may have missed something. I use a Rockwell 6S stainless with the #4 setting. (I purchased it from Maggard when my Jagger DE89BA11 Barley finish, the zinc head threads no longer held the head to the handle after 2 years! No more zinc shaver heads for me.) I can't thank Brad and the crew at Maggard enough for their offerings and prices at the website; for their counsel, and wonderful customer service. The quality of this Thater ruins everything else for me. If you like hard soaps and badger, get a Thater 2-band as soon as you can. It will work with the hardest soap of all. Successful lathering consists of enough soap, enough water, and enough time. I shampoo and condition my Thater every two weeks or less keeping it very clean. I expect I will be able to use it for the rest of my life - I'm 76 so it should last. I don't have the money to experiment with a bunch of razors and brushes, so I stick with what works and this combo works perfectly. Everybody wants to kiss my smooth cheeks.
