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A medium density badger brush?

At around the $100 price point, I have a Semogue Pegasus Mistura...... It's bigger than their SOC Mistura and I like the size much better... Around that same price would be the Zenith Manchurian badger in a handle of your choice. I seem to like the 506 copper handle, but there are lots of choices....

I really love the Rudy Vey 28mm ShaveMac Two-band Silvertip I just got but it's a bit more expensive. Still, you don't always get what you pay for.... but you seldom get that for which you do not pay.... View attachment 1956582
At $100, the Pegasus c7 Mistura is great, noting that I really prefer larger brushes (26-31mm knots). The C7 whips up soap quickly and splays nicely.

If you can go a bit higher on your budget, @Rudy Vey does excellent work and may have some ideas for you.
 
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I actually like the scrubbiest pure badger knots from DSC, Yaqi, and Boti, as well as Simpson Best.

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And I adore the scrubby black badger knots from DSC and especially Boti

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The Semogue black is too floppy for me and most 3 band knots, too velvety soft

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Some of these are vintage handles I cleaned up.
Hey Helicopter you have a nice knowledge of Badgers, and I'd like your advice for a purchase. We seem to share similar preferences as far as Badger hair goes. I actually LIKE pure badger or black badger.

Spent too much $$$ buying some Shavemac badgers that were way too floppy and they didn't offer the lower grade badger knots. I have since bought a couple D01 2 and 3 bands and they are ok but I'm not as wowed by them as I thought I would be.
I actually like some of my cheap/middle of the road badgers like the Stirling Finest (bought all 3 colors), some of the Oumo badgers, even the cheaper Semogue black or pure (I forget which ones I have- but they are a bit too floppy).

Was checking out the Boti website as I saw a nice looking brush/handle by a fellow B&B gent here in the BADGERary thread. So many options there. I see there is black and pure, and pure mix, and pure with gel tips (not a fan of gel tips), but the ones I listed aren't on their Badger rating scale:

boti.jpg


Where would the Pure and Black rate on this list above?

I was initially going to just go with a Captain's 2 band since I prefer backbone and density over everything else. Just wanted your opinion and advice on it since you seem to have a bit of experience with Boti, DS Cosmetic and Yaqi. I do have a DS Cosmetic badger but I forget what grade it is. Haven't used it in a LONG time but I didn't get too wowed by it. Same with the Yaqi Moka and Yaqi Sagrada Familia they are OK, but nothing great. Thanks in advance.
 
Hey Helicopter you have a nice knowledge of Badgers, and I'd like your advice for a purchase. We seem to share similar preferences as far as Badger hair goes. I actually LIKE pure badger or black badger.

Spent too much $$$ buying some Shavemac badgers that were way too floppy and they didn't offer the lower grade badger knots. I have since bought a couple D01 2 and 3 bands and they are ok but I'm not as wowed by them as I thought I would be.
I actually like some of my cheap/middle of the road badgers like the Stirling Finest (bought all 3 colors), some of the Oumo badgers, even the cheaper Semogue black or pure (I forget which ones I have- but they are a bit too floppy).

Was checking out the Boti website as I saw a nice looking brush/handle by a fellow B&B gent here in the BADGERary thread. So many options there. I see there is black and pure, and pure mix, and pure with gel tips (not a fan of gel tips), but the ones I listed aren't on their Badger rating scale:

View attachment 1971642

Where would the Pure and Black rate on this list above?

I was initially going to just go with a Captain's 2 band since I prefer backbone and density over everything else. Just wanted your opinion and advice on it since you seem to have a bit of experience with Boti, DS Cosmetic and Yaqi. I do have a DS Cosmetic badger but I forget what grade it is. Haven't used it in a LONG time but I didn't get too wowed by it. Same with the Yaqi Moka and Yaqi Sagrada Familia they are OK, but nothing great. Thanks in advance.
Boti SHD Black is probably 10, 10, 10, 9 or 10, 3, 0. It is the cleanest and densest black badger out of Semogue, Omega, DSC, and Boti, and is my favorite knot that isn't a two-band. I would definitely recommend it. It is inexpensive and my favorite black badger knot without question. Semogue is floppy, Omega is treated and soft, without great backbone, and DSC has more grey hairs and slightly less density. The Boti SHD is the perfect black badger knot.

I also really like Simpson's Best Badger. It isn't clean, but it has a classic look, good scrub, and good backbone.

DSC's Manchurian 2 Badger is really good, but I am not sure if it is the same knot as they sell individually. I guess I should order a knot to compare.

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For pure grey badger, I don't find much difference between Yaqi, Simpson, and DSC. They all feel nice, but they aren't pretty.

Boti Class A is treated, banded, and super soft and velvety. It feels like a generic synthetic.

Boti Stone Middle Flower is fairly soft when its wet. It is more gelled than Simpson Manchurian, but denser, cleaner, and overall better. I don't think either one is as good as the less treated or untreated Shavemac D01. If you didn't like the D01, you can probably skip these and all of the other Botis that are rated as softer than SMF in the Boti chart.

I have a Boti Class B and the natural untreated Foregoer on the way to try.
 
Boti SHD Black is probably 10, 10, 10, 9 or 10, 3, 0. It is the cleanest and densest black badger out of Semogue, Omega, DSC, and Boti, and is my favorite knot that isn't a two-band. I would definitely recommend it. It is inexpensive and my favorite black badger knot without question. Semogue is floppy, Omega is treated and soft, without great backbone, and DSC has more grey hairs and slightly less density. The Boti SHD is the perfect black badger knot.

I also really like Simpson's Best Badger. It isn't clean, but it has a classic look, good scrub, and good backbone.

DSC's Manchurian 2 Badger is really good, but I am not sure if it is the same knot as they sell individually. I guess I should order a knot to compare.

View attachment 1971676

View attachment 1971679

For pure grey badger, I don't find much difference between Yaqi, Simpson, and DSC. They all feel nice, but they aren't pretty.

Boti Class A is treated, banded, and super soft and velvety. It feels like a generic synthetic.

Boti Stone Middle Flower is fairly soft when its wet. It is more gelled than Simpson Manchurian, but denser, cleaner, and overall better. I don't think either one is as good as the less treated or untreated Shavemac D01. If you didn't like the D01, you can probably skip these and all of the other Botis that are rated as softer than SMF in the Boti chart.

I have a Boti Class B and the natural untreated Foregoer on the way to try.
Thanks for all that information. I saw the Black knots being the cheapest of the bunch and that always is a no brainer especially if it's something I'll use. Have you used the Captain 2 or 3 band before? What would you compare those to?

What is the difference of the Class A and Class B? Each vendor's terminology is different and ideally you'd need a comparison chart.

I do like the D01 2 band. I originally tried to buy their cheaper badger knots not knowing there would be a big enough difference to pay the premium for D01 2 band. I was surprised and actually a bit disappointed the cheaper Shavemac Finest seemed to have more backbone than the more expensive D01 3 band. I figured the 2 or 3 band was just cosmetic but the backbone would be the same. I was mistaken. Since that Black Friday Shavemac order, I found a couple D01 2 bands on BST here and they are nice enough I ordered another D01 2 band for the final closing of the Shavemac "configurator" (Feb.29th???). I do like the care that Bernd has with his customers and why I was happy to do business with him. Still always on the lookout for new badgers and I think I'll order a couple from Boti.
 
Boti SHD Black is probably 10, 10, 10, 9 or 10, 3, 0. It is the cleanest and densest black badger out of Semogue, Omega, DSC, and Boti, and is my favorite knot that isn't a two-band. I would definitely recommend it. It is inexpensive and my favorite black badger knot without question. Semogue is floppy, Omega is treated and soft, without great backbone, and DSC has more grey hairs and slightly less density. The Boti SHD is the perfect black badger knot.

I also really like Simpson's Best Badger. It isn't clean, but it has a classic look, good scrub, and good backbone.

DSC's Manchurian 2 Badger is really good, but I am not sure if it is the same knot as they sell individually. I guess I should order a knot to compare.

View attachment 1971676

View attachment 1971679

For pure grey badger, I don't find much difference between Yaqi, Simpson, and DSC. They all feel nice, but they aren't pretty.

Boti Class A is treated, banded, and super soft and velvety. It feels like a generic synthetic.

Boti Stone Middle Flower is fairly soft when its wet. It is more gelled than Simpson Manchurian, but denser, cleaner, and overall better. I don't think either one is as good as the less treated or untreated Shavemac D01. If you didn't like the D01, you can probably skip these and all of the other Botis that are rated as softer than SMF in the Boti chart.

I have a Boti Class B and the natural untreated Foregoer on the way to try.
Also Helicopter, with the black (or even any of the others) is there a knot diameter you prefer? I usually go for 22 or 24 as I don't care too much for 26mm or above, but I also don't want it floppy, so would go bigger to avoid a flop-fest.
 
Also Helicopter, with the black (or even any of the others) is there a knot diameter you prefer? I usually go for 22 or 24 as I don't care too much for 26mm or above, but I also don't want it floppy, so would go bigger to avoid a flop-fest.
My first choice is usually 21-22mm. Next is 19-20mm. Next is 23-24mm. I usually avoid anything outside 19-24mm in regular rotation. With a good knot, 22mm is plenty for decent backbone.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
Thanks for all that information. I saw the Black knots being the cheapest of the bunch and that always is a no brainer especially if it's something I'll use. Have you used the Captain 2 or 3 band before? What would you compare those to?

What is the difference of the Class A and Class B? Each vendor's terminology is different and ideally you'd need a comparison chart.

I do like the D01 2 band. I originally tried to buy their cheaper badger knots not knowing there would be a big enough difference to pay the premium for D01 2 band. I was surprised and actually a bit disappointed the cheaper Shavemac Finest seemed to have more backbone than the more expensive D01 3 band. I figured the 2 or 3 band was just cosmetic but the backbone would be the same. I was mistaken. Since that Black Friday Shavemac order, I found a couple D01 2 bands on BST here and they are nice enough I ordered another D01 2 band for the final closing of the Shavemac "configurator" (Feb.29th???). I do like the care that Bernd has with his customers and why I was happy to do business with him. Still always on the lookout for new badgers and I think I'll order a couple from Boti.
Shavemac Finest was a great hair mix: 60% or so silvertip - super soft plus about 40% of a great quality three band pure, to give backbone. I can imagine that this Finest has more back bone than the D01 three band. The two band D01 is for me still the one with the biggest backbone of all brushes, love them.
 
Shavemac Finest was a great hair mix: 60% or so silvertip - super soft plus about 40% of a great quality three band pure, to give backbone. I can imagine that this Finest has more back bone than the D01 three band. The two band D01 is for me still the one with the biggest backbone of all brushes, love them.
I guess the reason I was always reluctant to ever go down the badger rabbit hole is there is so much variance and it's kind of a mystery with each vendor cleverly coming up with different hair names. Simpson, Shavemac, and all the rest of the badger artisans. Wish there was one standard of hair grades. It almost seems a way for them to make more $$$ by promising the next best thing. With Boar everything seems so much more simplistic and you kind of know what you are getting with the main variance being loft and knot diameter/density.
 
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