Badger: Where to Start?

[01HDFXD]

Right now, I have two boar brushes (a Wedgwood and a B&B Essential), and so far both have been quite satisfactory. However, I feel the urge to try a badger brush at some point and am wondering where to start. I obviously want to try one that will give a reasonable sense of what badgers can feel like and do, but that won't hit the 3 digit price range. From what I have read here, it looks as if the Edwin Jagger Pure Badgers would be a good place to start, and seem to run around $35-45 or so plus s&H. Do most of you agree that would be a good choice, or do you have any other suggestions (and naturally, cheaper is better )?

 

[seanusa]

For the same money I would get a Simpson Special in Best Badger, or a brush with a TGN knot.

 

[mblakele]

Folks have spoken well of these: http://www.vintagebladesllc.com/vshop/xcart/home.php?cat=240

You could also get a knot from http://thegoldennib.com and set it in the handle of your choice.

 

[ChiefBroom]

I don't do well with scritchy brushes, so I'm pretty sure a Pure Badger brush wouldn't do the trick for me. I don't have much personal experience with re-knots, but my guess is you might get the most bang for your buck going that route. Although I don't care much for the one I have (a floppy, pointy, looks-to-be 3-band knot in a Century handle that's actually quite nice), I know TGN is well regarded by many. And some of the Chinese knots I've seen popping up in threads here recently look very nice to me. In any case others will be better able to advise you than me. I don't expect you'll have to wait long to hear from them.

Good luck.

 

[Codfish]

I agree with ChiefBroom. One of my favorite badgers has been an Edwin Jagger Best. Mine is a 23mm, but a 21mm fits within your budged. Here is a link.

 

[martym]

Check out whipped dog on the Internet.
quality brushes at a reasonable price.
he has pure black badger and silver tip.
you can even call and talk with him about what you like and you can then put together the brush you want the way you want it.
marty

 

[Big Jim]

Check out whipped dog on the Internet.
quality brushes at a reasonable price.
he has pure black badger and silver tip.
you can even call and talk with him about what you like and you can then put together the brush you want the way you want it.
marty

+1

 

[Harry Snider]

Bob Farvour, a vendor here has made 3 of my 'farvourite' brushes! Anything from him with a TGN Finest knot will keep you very satisfied!

 

[takeshi]

I obviously want to try one that will give a reasonable sense of what badgers can feel like and do

No one badger can represent all badgers out there. What specific qualities are you looking for in a brush?

that won't hit the 3 digit price range.

Is you budget actually up to $99? If not, please give us a number.

From what I have read here, it looks as if the Edwin Jagger Pure Badgers would be a good place to start, and seem to run around $35-45 or so plus s&H. Do most of you agree that would be a good choice, or do you have any other suggestions (and naturally, cheaper is better )?

Again, depends on what you're after in a brush. Don't overlook the brush buying recommendation thread linked in the sticky at the top of this subforum for questions that you should be considering to ask for recommendations. What about the EJ Pure that you've read makes you think it's a good fit for you? Give us some stuff to work with. If all badger users were after the same thing then we'd all be using the exact same brush.

 

[Starkicker]

What is the difference between a TGN finest and their Super/Grade A silvertips?

 

[ChiefBroom]

What is the difference between a TGN finest and their Super/Grade A silvertips?

Good question. I'm also interested to know.

 

[Snargle]

I've found the Super/Grade A Silvertips to be almost too soft and squishy for my taste. I like the backbone and soft tips of the Finest when I face-lather. If you're a bowl latherer, you may prefer the Silvertip.

 

[01HDFXD]

No one badger can represent all badgers out there. What specific qualities are you looking for in a brush?


Is you budget actually up to $99? If not, please give us a number.


Again, depends on what you're after in a brush. Don't overlook the brush buying recommendation thread linked in the sticky at the top of this subforum for questions that you should be considering to ask for recommendations. What about the EJ Pure that you've read makes you think it's a good fit for you? Give us some stuff to work with. If all badger users were after the same thing then we'd all be using the exact same brush.

Ah, Takeshi, don't make me think --- it hurts too much! LOL! Let me try to answer your questions in order:

1. Actually, I'm not looking for anything specific. As I mentioned in the thread opener, I'm just sort of feeling my way around this brave new world of soap and brush lathering, and I am getting curious as to how the various options feel and work, with my experience so far limited to 2 boar brushes. If I knew what I was looking for (which I don't), I guess it would be something that would make a thick lather fairly quickly from Cella in a scuttle and that would feel comfortable when applying it to my face.

2. There isn't really a budget. It just seemed that there were lots of favorable reviews and comments in the forum for brushes well under $100, but that one could easily spend several times that amount on a single badger brush. To try to keep things in the financially comfortable range, I arbitrarily picked $100. Obviously, the cheaper the better, at least until you reach a point where the quality becomes undesirable.

3. As to what made the EJ Pure seem like a good starting point for experimenting with the badger world, I don't recall specifically, other than that it seemed to get repeated positive mentions in the various forum discussions and it looked to be at a reasonable price point.

I don't know if this helps. If not, thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

[Acmemfg]

For a great all purpose brush that is well regarded by almost everyone because it is so versatile and reasonably priced:
Simpson Colonel X2L Best..quite possibly the Swiss Army Knife of badger brushes.

 

[JaxJim]

I've found the Super/Grade A Silvertips to be almost too soft and squishy for my taste. I like the backbone and soft tips of the Finest when I face-lather. If you're a bowl latherer, you may prefer the Silvertip.

This is my impression as well, Larry, although I don't find the TGN Super/Grade A Silvertip too soft or squishy for me. The TGN Finest is scrubbier, but with minimal scritch. I like both, but they're clearly not alike.

 

[BrianC]

Check out Bob @ Elite Razor. Full on custom brush for under $100 and you can get about any size, hair type and handle material you'd like. Bob is very easy to work with.

 

[Jarick]

I would say order a Finest brush from Frank's Shaving and a Silvertip from Whipped Dog, then you'll know how both are. The Best brushes from Simpson are well-liked as well.

 

[Starkicker]

I've found the Super/Grade A Silvertips to be almost too soft and squishy for my taste. I like the backbone and soft tips of the Finest when I face-lather. If you're a bowl latherer, you may prefer the Silvertip.

This is my impression as well, Larry, although I don't find the TGN Super/Grade A Silvertip too soft or squishy for me. The TGN Finest is scrubbier, but with minimal scritch. I like both, but they're clearly not alike.

I've used a finest 2 band and it's fairly soft but has a slight bit of scritch to me. It held it's shape well and didn't bloom out much. I've also used a WD silvertip at regular depth and while it was very soft it kind of deflated when I tried to lather my face with it. I can only say that try to face lather with a WD silvertip set at regular depth was akin to trying to lather with a cottonball. That's the extent of my badger experience.

I'm guessing that the TGN Super/Grade A knots would be most similar to WD's silvertips? What if you had them sunk at an appropriate depth for face lathering (say between 46-48mm). I've read that doing this with WD's silvertips leaves the softness but increases the backbone. I guess is what i'm getting is that the finest knots are somewhat soft but firm whereas the silvertips are super soft without backbone?

I was trying to figure out what the difference between the Super Silvertip and Grade A silvertips were but on the TGN site, the descriptions are virtually the same for each.

 

[Chadao]

Simpson Special is a great brush.

For the same money I would get a Simpson Special in Best Badger, or a brush with a TGN knot.

 

[wagstaff]

Simpsons in Best are my most favored brushes. A Duke 2 and a Colonel X2L.
TGN Finest knots are easier for a beginner to load hard soaps with. IME they hold less water and therefore less lather, and don't have the flow-through that the Simpsons Best have. Simpsons Pure is very scritchy indeed, but this can be compensated for with a light touch on your face. The Pure at least rips the hardest of soaps from a puck without breathing hard. This advantage doesn't matter much once you practice a bit more with softer hair. They are noticeably less expensive than higher grades.

The Whipped Dog Silvertip is a great bargain, and if you get a shorter loft (i.e., ask Larry to set the knot deeper) you'll have something very similar to the Simpson's Best at a fraction of the cost.

I don't know about higher (i.e., more expensive) grades of badger. There are plenty of 'em.

Caveat: I read on the forums that there is great variability in the Simpsons Best, and I think I may have a couple of brushes with tips on the softer side. I'm not sure. This may bias my impressions.