My vote would be a Zenith two ban Badger 27mm. It’s one of the finest brushes I ever bought under $150.00.Probably the best. Sorry about my fingers smears on the handle.
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I'll second this sentiment. The difference in quality between the Zenith Manchurian and the Simpsons Manchurian is not as sharp as the difference in price would indicate. I would say something similar about the Semogue Finest grade. Zenith and Semogue arguably represent the top values in two band shaving brushes.My vote would be a Zenith two ban Badger 27mm. It’s one of the finest brushes I ever bought under $150.00.Probably the best. Sorry about my fingers smears on the handle.
The Bog Oak brush is mine (thank you for reposting it); the Manchurian knot is second to none, IMO, but I'm not sure if Rudy has many more of them.I would reach out to @Rudy Vey and see if he could make you one like this
View attachment 1234453
or this
View attachment 1234454
I'm sure he'd work with you and craft you a beautiful brush that would fit that budget
I would reach out to @Rudy Vey and see if he could make you one like this
View attachment 1234453
or this
View attachment 1234454
I'm sure he'd work with you and craft you a beautiful brush that would fit that budget
Mine is not. It has backbone and soft tips. I really have not found anything personally that’s even close to the price/value. There is a lot of good advice above from other members but for me this is the best and this brush and a different handle configuration can be bought under for $100 which is pretty darn amazing for Manchurian brush at 27mm. My very compact Thäter 35mm which also two band , I paid almost 3 times as much And I cannot Honestly say that its three times better brush. The Thäter may look nicer but as far as performance compared to the Zenith the margin is not very much. Hope this helps make your decision. All the best.Very intrigued by Zenith brushes. Great looking stuff. Good prices.
Are they floppy? Good for face lathering? And finally manchurian or not?
Want a classic high quality brush for $150.
-Dont mind a bit smaller knot size
-Soap only user (load from puck)
-Face latherer exclusively
-Medium backbone at most
-Love two band stuff
-Open to different handle shapes
Let's hear some good ones please
Have you ever considered boar?
I didn't, for the longest time. I finally tried one, when the "B&B Essential Boar" brush came out. Loved it.
You can get a decent boar brush for 10% of your budget (literally) and then if you don't like it, no biggie .... but if you do, you just saved a Benjamin to spend on anything else!
Yeah I have run through about five different boar brushes from different manufacturers trying to like them. Just not my cup of tea. Really liked the budget friendly aspect.
My research shows a lot of options at this price point and seems to me to be a point of diminishing returns. Only way to know is to buy and try it though. Haha
Fair enough. You tried them, and didn't like them. (But it would have been cool if $15 had solved your $150 problem!)
On to the badger!!
It's been a LOOOONG time since I was in the market for a brush, let alone a badger one!
But "back in the day" the standard recommendation for your criteria was "Simpson Chubby 1 in Best". I suspect that is around your price range ... to get one in 2-band is going to raise the price no doubt.
Perhaps a Shavemac would fit the bill?
Shaving brushes online in our shaving brush shop directly from the ...
RB1 Silvertip Badger 2-Band Shaving Brush Art. No.: 86-309 with handcrafted Silvertip 2-Band Hair quality: Silvertip 2-Band Knot size : 22 mm Knot shape: fa...shavemac.com
This is true.Look into Spiffo. I have two of them and they are both fantastic a two band and high mountain.
And you can put $50 back in your pocket!!
Just to add a little to this. Neither brush that I have has ever lost a single hair!!This is true.
I have 2 Spiffos currently and another 2 in the mail. I ordered my 4th last night. I will have a Super Badger, a High Mountain White, a Silvertip and a 2 band Manchurian.
Ted is excellent to deal with and his brushes are incredible values. None of my brushes cost over $85 USD which is nutty for such high quality.
My Super loses a few here and there but it is rare. My HMW hasn’t shed a hair since I got it. He won’t tell me where he gets his knots from, but they are very similar to Shavemac.Just to add a little to this. Neither brush that I have has ever lost a single hair!!