Expensive brushes - yes or no? Poll.

[5Cantonas]

I voted no. Hell no, in fact. But I’m not a rich person, so $300 means more to me than some people. If the goal is to comfortably get the whiskers off your face, there are plenty of $15-30 brushes that will do the same thing as a $300 one. Imo, you gotta be some special kind of idiot to spend that much on a shaving brush. No offence, $300 brush purchasers...

 

[dmshaver]

Well said, David. I should know enough by this point to qualify my opinions on what I will do in the future. Before I started spending time here, I never thought I would spend $300 on a razor.

Trey, I like your statement "Before I started spending time here". I started on this forum to learn how to get a better shave. Before I started spending time on B & B, $40 was my limit for a brush or razor & I used TOBS Sandalwood cream. I had one razor, one brush, & one tub of cream. Life was good (you can also read that as "ignorance is bliss"!).

 

[TARHEEL_85]

I don't think I could bring myself to spend that much on any item for shaving.

 

[Ivo4u2]

It all depends on your wallet and willingness to spend on any item.

a lada a Ford and a Rolls will bring you from a to b.

I am a ford guy, middle of the road, most important it should reliable work and not break the bank while looking and feeling good.
so my brushes are synthetics 30-80 usd. Bought some brush guys brushes new and used.

 

[GNR]

I’m lucky... I like Boar brushes.

The most expensive brush I’ve bought was the recent Rudy Vey Group Buy (@Rudy Vey) Shavmac 2 Band that I purchased.

It is not inexpensive but it is not crazy priced either. Based on the feedback from our community, I’m going to get an amazing knot from a Fantastic Artisan, for well below the price threshold in this thread.

Do I drool over pictures of your brushes? Yes, yes I do. Keep buying them and I can continue to be a voyeur!!

 

[Zoost]

My Yaqi Mocha synthetic brush, what $20-30 maybe, outperforms every other brush I've ever used, boar, horse hair, even the M&F, Simpsons, Wiborg, Paladin and Thater badger brushes I own/have owned.

Creams, soaps crops - you name it, its a brilliant brush.

 

[Space_Cadet]

My Yaqi Mocha synthetic brush, what $20-30 maybe, outperforms every other brush I've ever used, boar, horse hair, even the M&F, Simpsons, Wiborg, Paladin and Thater badger brushes I own/have owned.

Wow, I can't imagine that...

 

[Pat Puma]

It's all relative. Some would say ''Good grief no way, 200 is my limit''.
Some would say ''200 Bucks are you nuts?''.

Watched a documentary about a lifers prison in Russia recently. A prisoner said time is relative. He said the years pass by quickly but when he knows he has a visit in 3 months time, the days drag by.

Expensive is relative.

I need to put in another 13 months at my current job to get an early pension (25 years of service) and a couple of bonus payments, and the days, weeks, and months are dragging. I hope I can look back in a year and say it went quick.

 

[MntnMan62]

I consider quality and value when purchasing all things. And in my world, there is no scenario where I could justify spending $300 on a shaving brush. Assuming we are talking about badger brushes here, badger isn't even my favorite hair type. I'd say boar is my favorite. And boar brushes tend to be pretty cheap relatively speaking. That said, I did spend $100 on a badger brush. I bought the knot separate from the handle and glued it in myself once I was satisfied with the height. Total cost was $100 including shipping. That my friends is my limit.

The same goes for other things. I was very careful about the bike I bought. I knew that I wanted a bike that was well made and had good quality components. I found that most frames seem to be made out of the same factories in Taiwan, regardless of brand. I looked at the geometries, found my size and ordered a bike with full Ultegra components from an onine seller and paid $1,100. The same bike from a local seller would have easily cost me twice that amount. That was about 15 years ago and I still ride the same bike 2 to 3 times a week.

Trying to teach my son this concept of value is a work in progress. He wanted to buy an electric bass for a project. He'll strip it down, take out the pickups and replace various parts to make it into the bass he wants. I told him that he needs to be mindful of his costs. He needs to look at the bass, figure out what it's going to cost to upgrade it, factor something for his time and effort, or not, and pay an amount for the bass that allows him to resell it and get his money back. We're not there yet. I feel he overpaid for a bass that is on it's way. He's fighting with me over the concept and is saying "But Dad, this is going to be for me." I have some work to do.

 

[sarimento1]

I voted no. Hell no, in fact. But I’m not a rich person, so $300 means more to me than some people. If the goal is to comfortably get the whiskers off your face, there are plenty of $15-30 brushes that will do the same thing as a $300 one. Imo, you gotta be some special kind of idiot to spend that much on a shaving brush. No offence, $300 brush purchasers...

You're not the first to let me know that I'm an Idiot!!

 

[Space_Cadet]

Trying to teach my son this concept of value is a work in progress. He wanted to buy an electric bass for a project. He'll strip it down, take out the pickups and replace various parts to make it into the bass he wants. I told him that he needs to be mindful of his costs. He needs to look at the bass, figure out what it's going to cost to upgrade it, factor something for his time and effort, or not, and pay an amount for the bass that allows him to resell it and get his money back. We're not there yet. I feel he overpaid for a bass that is on it's way. He's fighting with me over the concept and is saying "But Dad, this is going to be for me." I have some work to do.

Brushes and monetary questions aside, I am really impressed by your parenting skills. I wish I had a father like you. Heck, I wish I had any kind of father. I am sure my life would of been less messed up.

 

[Tomo]

I choose quality over quantity every time. Are expensive brushes required? Of course not. Do they add to the experience? For me they do and since they last so long, the cost per use is very low.

 

[MntnMan62]

Brushes and monetary questions aside, I am really impressed by your parenting skills. I wish I had a father like you. Heck, I wish I had any kind of father. I am sure my life would of been less messed up.

Trust me, I'm definitely messing him up I'm sure. You can't really tell what kind of parent I am from a few sentences on a shaving forum. Although I do appreciate the positive vibes. Trying to teach him about financial value is easy for me because I've spent most of my career dealing with all kinds of real estate. Managing, buying, selling and advising clients what to do with it. Real estate is very much a financial animal. People seem to get too wrapped up in all the brick and mortar stuff. Don't get me wrong. That stuff is important, but in the end it's all about money. And I still have a long way to go before he's thoroughly messed up. I'm sure I'll finish the job.

 

[mattps1]

Trust me, I'm definitely messing him up I'm sure. You can't really tell what kind of parent I am from a few sentences on a shaving forum. Although I do appreciate the positive vibes. Trying to teach him about financial value is easy for me because I've spent most of my career dealing with all kinds of real estate. Managing, buying, selling and advising clients what to do with it. Real estate is very much a financial animal. People seem to get too wrapped up in all the brick and mortar stuff. Don't get me wrong. That stuff is important, but in the end it's all about money. And I still have a long way to go before he's thoroughly messed up. I'm sure I'll finish the job.

At the end of all good financial decisions and trade off, eventually there is a reward that can be redeemed in shaving. Maybe it's more time to think about shaving, more time to actually shave, or just money to fund shaving stuff like the $350 brush

 

[emwolf]

I would definitely consider it. I don't think there is a knot out there worth $300, but in combination with something really unique as far as a handle...maybe. That said, I have always looked for bargains.

 

[RVshave]

I don't think I would ever spend 300 on a brush. I've found really good brushes for under 50 bucks. I did however go for the group buy and rounded out my Shavemac knots with the DO1.

 

[bberg100]

Support the economy!

It is a a Chevy vs BMW discussion. Both get you there, but one definitely has more style. Granted the BMW is mostly a show off piece to impress friend and relatives, but check out the SOTD threads, we like to show off our top-shelf shaving gear too! Having, and showing off, quality items feeds a primal need we all seem to have.

PS. My fave brush is a $30 Semogue boar...

 

[Clay S]

If it were a hefty brush made of gold, or one used by a direct line famous ancestor, but otherwise I can't imagine any quality a brush could possess that would make it worth $300.00 to me.

 

[bjm]

I’ve only recently begun to shave with a heightened sense of awareness. I’m discovering razors, blades, soaps, creams and brushes and seeing what appeals to me within my budget. The encouraging thing is that there are quality products I can acquire while maintaining my frugal sensibilities. I have a badger, boar, horse and synthetic brush. They all feel different on my face, create unique lathers and preform differently. I am curious about the high end brushes naturally because I enjoy the experience. I test drove a Porsche I had no intention of buying and it ruined it for me with my daily driver. Ignorance is bliss?
No

If it makes you feel any better... I have a co-worker who bought a Porsche for about $10k and for a month we (me and my other office mates) had to listen to him brag about what a great deal he got and how great the car was. For the last two years we've had to put up with him complaining about the insurance and repair costs. You'll be okay without it

 

[tenreasy]

I voted no but I did buy a Paladin Ebonite Chief 26mm for $310 awhile back. You'd think that after paying $310 for a brush they would ship for free but no silly me no - they charged me $8.50 shipping. Is it anything special? Well no not really - the shine fades quickly. The knot feels fine on the face but not worth anything like the crazy $318.50 spent. I used to buy 16 lb ebonite bowling balls for about $50. I recently bought a new Brad Sears brush for under $200 which is the max limit that I would spend. Anyway I have 5 really nice brushes so I am good to go. Now I need plow through the 15 or so soaps/creams that I have sitting on the shelf.....