Recommendations to upgrade my brush

[bholland]

So I have been wet shaving for about 4 or 5 months now and have finally reached the point where I am not injuring myself. I bought a very good razor but the brush was quite cheap. I picked this brush up for 25$. I think for a first brush is was not bad. It seemed to do the job and I think I am beating the brush up way too much (which was the point). I read several articles about how I am not suppose to shove the brush onto my face or the bowl (which of course I am doing but am slowly stopping).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A2GPDAY/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Anyway. I am looking at upgrading. I want a stiffer brush and one that holds more water. I use soap and a bowl to shave. I am more concerned with quality than price within reason. I am bridging from beginner to intermediate and I think it is time to upgrade my tools. I would prefer best or silvertip. I was looking at the Simpson line and wondering if it was good for my level of skill or if that sort of thing is purchased by people who really know what they are doing. Also 300$ for a brush is sort of insane.

Basically I am looking to upgrade from a beginner starting brush. What are the recommendations? What line of brushes are just not worth the money? Which lines of brushes am I really just buying the name? I consider 100$ about the most I would ever feasibly spend but even that much money seems laughable. What would justify such a cost? I also just go shopping for this stuff. There isn't a place around me that sells shaving supplies.

Thanks in advance,
~Ben

 

[HarryCallahan]

Hello Ben-

Have you considered restoring a vintage brush? I purchased some not so pretty brushes from the big bidding place on line and purchased a Premium Silvertip Badger from the Golden Nib and redid a handle myself. Pretty easy to do and you can pick and choose what kind of handle you have and how much back bone you want on the brush itself when you reknot the brush.




A lot of the guys talk about the Whipped Dog brushes too.....I did order some less expensive brush knots from the Bay too. You can buy just the knots and restore them yourself.

It takes a bit of doing but if you enjoy those kind of things, less costly then a big priced brush. There are places in the forums and on line where you can read up on restoring a brush with a new knot.

I do find the silvertips are a nice knot. I have had the cheaper best badgers and do like the feel of the silvertip. It is softer, not sure how well it would work for a face lathering? I suspect you can set your knot so it has more back bone. Again, there are helpful videos and suggestions for doing this.

Just a suggestion if you feel like it would be a project you would like to try sometime!

Best wishes and good luck on your search.

 

[BSAGuy]

Get a Whipped Dog or an old handle and make your own using knot from The Golden Nib (TGN). As noted above, brush restoration is not difficult and can be fun. I admit to being cheap, but for me, $100 for a brush doesn't cut it. I'd rather be in the $25-30 range and spend the difference on other things. That's just me and YMMV.

 

[01HDFXD]

If you're interested in a boar brush, I think the B&B Essential boar brush from West Coast Shaving is superb and very reasonably priced. The current production run may be sold out, but keep checking the website daily. Just about all Semogue and Omegas are also quite good and quite reasonably priced. An Omega 10066 is my travel kit brush, FWIW.

 

[Musikmann]

My beginner's low grade badger brush cost slightly less than yours and it is still performing admirably, but I now have several so it gets some rest and thoroughly dry between lathers. You only mentioned badgers and a lot of people consider any badger superior to any other bristle. I experimented by buying a boar and I like those quite a bit. I think they are much more economical than badgers but they certainly have different characteristics. Now my quest is for a nice horsehair and a synthetic. Both have many fans so don't rule those out either.

 

[Musikmann]

...Just about all Semogue and Omegas are also quite good and quite reasonably priced. An Omega 10066 is my travel kit brush, FWIW.

Ditto to Semogue (I now have 4) and am on the lookout for an Omega. What gets me about Omega there are so darn many of them I can't pick just one out! But I think I've heard good things about 10066 and 10049.

 

[Jarick]

Anyway. I am looking at upgrading. I want a stiffer brush and one that holds more water.

I use soap and a bowl to shave.

I am more concerned with quality than price within reason.

I was looking at the Simpson line and wondering if it was good for my level of skill or if that sort of thing is purchased by people who really know what they are doing.

Hi Ben!

I would recommend a Semogue Owners Club (SOC) Boar. It is available for $40 or so.

Compared to the brush you use now, it has a lot more hair in the knot, holds a lot more water, has more backbone, has softer tips, and the quality is top notch. The handle is plenty long enough to use in a bowl and the brush works great with hard soaps and creams alike. You can see a number of us using it in the brush chronicle thread that is currently stuck at the top of the forum.

As for Simpson brushes, I don't think they are skill related or not. You'd probably want to look at the Colonel X2L, which is going to have a bigger handle. It's about $65 or so. I would still lean SOC boar though, because it's a bigger brush than what you currently have and it sounds like that would be good for you.

 

[bholland]

Thanks for all the help! I have read nothing good about boar. That might be from the badger brush manufacturers but I really liked how my brush, after about two shaves, smelled like soap. I only read that boar will still smell like wild pig. I, alas, am not the type of person who could let that one go. I was really looking for badger I think. Right now I don't want to change too drastically from what I have going.

I do like the idea of restoring a brush. I will look more into that. Any useful links that anyone can point me to for getting me in the right direction?

 

[Jarick]

Boar brushes don't stink after break-in. None of my Semogue brushes never smelled at all.

 

[mswofford]

I have a Simpson in best badger, a hair grade which I would recommend. There are plently that are less than $100, many in the $45-$75 range if you are determined to get a badger brush. Members I respect also like Whipped Dog. That said, I have an Omega 31064 $22 and B&B Essential $20, both boar that I would recommend to anybody. They didn't stink when I bought them and do whatever I want a brush to do. Boar brushes require soaking for a couple of minutes before using, (a minor point) badgers do not.

 

[pellidon]

I agree with the boar recommendations made above. My badger brushes are the Vulfix 660 and Stirling. $40 and $10 respectively. Both work well and have not shed so far.

I also 'restored' a Parker synthetic with a TGN finest. The synth was awful and I bought it before checking here first. It was easy and fun.

 

[Bhonder]

Thanks for all the help! I have read nothing good about boar. That might be from the badger brush manufacturers but I really liked how my brush, after about two shaves, smelled like soap. I only read that boar will still smell like wild pig. I, alas, am not the type of person who could let that one go. I was really looking for badger I think. Right now I don't want to change too drastically from what I have going.

I do like the idea of restoring a brush. I will look more into that. Any useful links that anyone can point me to for getting me in the right direction?

I have an bristle Omega I bought six months ago, after the older one was too worn. Omega are very cheap here in Italy, from 2 to 10 euros. It stinked until the last week. I've let it soak in dish soap for days, in shaving lather, in pure hot water. It took six months to take that smell away.

 

[Blaidd]

I have an Omega 71276 boar and you can't beat the $25 for it. Soft with just a little scritch. My mailman just dropped off my new WD 24/55mm Silvertip. It's so soft, just enough backbone and whipped up lather like you wouldn't believe. All for $30.

 

[Bob L.]

Check out Rudy Vey's brushes...

http://ultimatependesigns.com/Shaving.html

 

[debordj]

Can't say enough about Rudy Vey. His brushes are incredible and his knots are Devine. Great incredible value.

 

[Eely_Hovercraft]

Thanks for all the help! I have read nothing good about boar. That might be from the badger brush manufacturers but I really liked how my brush, after about two shaves, smelled like soap. I only read that boar will still smell like wild pig. I, alas, am not the type of person who could let that one go. I was really looking for badger I think. Right now I don't want to change too drastically from what I have going.

I do like the idea of restoring a brush. I will look more into that. Any useful links that anyone can point me to for getting me in the right direction?

If you've read nothing good about boar, I'd suggest your research may not have been particularly robust. There's nothing inherently "better" about badger brushes, especially at the lower to medium ends of the spectrum. Everyone has different tastes, needs, etc., so YMMV.

 

[Warbird]

I too would recommend a SOC boar. I have been extremely pleased with it and don't desire another brush.

 

[Kostas1]

You could pick up a Semogue SOC in boar and one in badger for under $100...combined. There are a couple Portuguese vendors online and one is registered here. Rudy Vey is a great option also. Love the custom brush he made me with a Shavemac D01 2 band knot...but that's over the $100 mark.

 

[NCJack]

I have an Omega 636 silvertip badger ($45) and a Semogue SOC (about the same), and that really covers all the bases for me: face, bowl, soap, cream, take your pick.

I also have two customs with 24x48 TGN "Finest" that are terrific face scrubbers, without being harsh in any way; great for travel, also. Mine cost $55/each, but there are ready-mades for a bit less.

 

[feltspanky]

You could pick up a Semogue SOC in boar and one in badger for under $100...combined. There are a couple Portuguese vendors online and one is registered here. Rudy Vey is a great option also. Love the custom brush he made me with a Shavemac D01 2 band knot...but that's over the $100 mark.

plus one