In this Thater shaving brush review we’ll look at this renowned and yet secretive brand that has been family-owned and hand-making shaving brushes since 1913.
Prizing high quality, sustainable craftsmanship and materials, it certainly isn’t easy to find a Thater brush. However, our favourite is certainly their collaboration with OneBlade – a brand that shares these same values.
The Thater x OneBlade Silvertip Shave Brush – which tops our list of the best shaving brush options to buy – features a large 24mm knot with bristles that are incredibly soft on the face and yet still offer plenty of backbone. These are held in a simple but elegant olivewood handle that offers a comfortable and lightweight grip.
Using the Thater brush is a delight. The knot seems to swell with hot water as soon as it receives it. Even after a shake in preparation for lathering, it retains plenty of heat and moisture. The backbone means it suits both hard and soft soaps easily while the soft tips get a lather foaming very quickly, which flows smoothly across the face.
A bit of shedding is always natural with any badger shaving brush – and you should always give a badger brush a clean before its first use – but this certainly seems less with a quality Thater brush rather than anything from Amazon.
Even the price is agreeable as while $170 might seem a lot for a shaving brush this is much less than an icon like the Simpson’s Chubby 2, although the Thater is 4mm smaller in diameter.
OneBlade began when the American financial publisher Porter Stansberry enjoyed a straight razor shave in a barber shop in Italy. He quickly set about trying to find a way to recreate the experience in a way that was accessible to every man every day.
A cutting edge design firm called Pensa spent two years and more than 12,000 hours trying to create the perfect razor with a single edge. The result, the OneBlade Genesis is perhaps the best razor in the world.
It goes against decades of the dogma from big razor brands that more blades are always better and instead relies on a single Feather FHS-10 blade and an innovative pivoting head – which is a first among single blade razors pretty much until the Leaf razor came along.
The success of the Genesis meant OneBlade could expand and produce products that were more affordable – and they are now called the Hybrid and Core razors which use the same technology as the Genesis but with cheaper materials and manufacturing methods.
Of course with a superior razor came the need for superior accessories and a shaving brush is essential for a quality wet shave. As such it was necessary for OneBlade to apply their same passion for perfection to a shaving brush.
Being primarily a razor company they offer two synthetic shaving brushes as a simple companion for their razors. But for the more discerning customer they went to one of the top shaving brush manufacturers in the world – Heinrich L. Thater.
A Thater shaving brush is a joy to behold. The company uses only traditional tools to craft each one and they source their materials locally as they prize sustainability.
This traditional quality and a self-sustaining reputation means Thater have very little web presence. Their website is incredibly simple with a contact form for wholesale enquiries.
It therefore makes sense why the Thater x OneBlade shaving brush is such a hit. OneBlade have much more of an air of a modern startup – although they themselves don’t advertise that much. For both these brands word of mouth amongst the right circles is certainly what drives most of their business. No gimmicks, no constant Facebook ads, just a well-earned reputation.
Another benefit of buying the OneBlade Thater brush is their generous return policy.
And you don’t even pay a premium for the collaboration – at $170 it is priced roughly the same as other Thater brushes but includes free shipping.
