Best budget brush?

[olmstead25]

Hello brush world. I am a little out of my element and I am usually in the DE forums however my question requires some expertise found here. I have been DE shaving for about a year or so and have gone through a couple bouts of RAD. Up to this point I have primarily hand lathered with some wally world shave cream. My only experience with a brush has been a cheep box store brush that sheds when you just think about it. This has resulted in fairly unsatisfying brush experiences the few times I have tried soaps. I of course understand this is not a very fair to brushes in general and with my recent christmas gift of some poraso cream I am now on the hunt for a decent brush. Now I know I could go and spend $100 and get a good brush but my budget simply does not allow that. I have watched the BST a bit but never seem to be quick enough, nor have the confidence to know what I am getting. I am not opposed to a used brush as many times you can get a little more value out of something gently used. I have no preference as to if the brush is synthetic boar or badger. my only real concern is that it does not shed.

Is it possible to buy a brush for the $20 to $40 range that will be worth a hoot or should I stick to hand lathering?
Thank You in advance for all of your help.

 

[Rhythm and Blues]

go get a b n b essential from wcs or any omega or semogue for 20 or under and should be a great brush

 

[Rhythm and Blues]

 

[olmstead25]

Thank you for the quick reply. would any have an advantage over another or is that kind of like asking if ford or chevy is better?

 

[Rhythm and Blues]

Exactly, its personal preference, they all are approximate in quality

 

[Rhythm and Blues]

I have all the B&B essential omega knot boar brushes and love every one

 

[Rhythm and Blues]

I have also had the SOC and really liked semogue's products as well

 

[tailoredfamcam]

I have the B&B Essential and it's a fantastic brush. However, I like the Semogue 830 more. It's a lather machine! A few palm lathers with a cheap soap and it should be good to go.
If you want badger, Whipped Dog is an excellent choice.

 

[Torky]

A chef friend once told me that using bacon is cheating...it makes everything better. Boar brushes are cheating, too. Great backbone, soft tips (some at the start, some after a break-in period) and a pricepoint that is almost foolish. The Omega 49 is nine bucks? Semogue 830 is $24? That's just crazy. Get yourself a nice boar brush and never look back.

 

[shave/brush]

Two good brushes that come to mind are the Omega Pro 10049 boar for $9.00 and a H.I.S. synthetic brush for about $32.00.




the Omega is on the bottom the H.I.S. is on top.

 

[tailoredfamcam]

Another badger option is the Vintage Blades house brand of brush. Their finest offering is wonderful.

 

[Big Jim]

What you really want is the best bang for the buck badger brush, Whipped Dog Silvertip.

 

[Foyle]

Any Semogue or Omega boar brush would be a great choice. Both are high quality and will serve you well for years.

 

[martym]

What you really want is the best bang for the buck badger brush, Whipped Dog Silvertip.

+1

For boar: Omega

 

[bassopotamus]

A few options

Boar:
In general, boar is a great value. Much more bang for the buck than
Badger. Main downside is a long
Break in period. 2 main brands. Omega is popular, especially the model 49. They are really cheap, almost all ate under 20 bucks. Their handles are pretty chintzy feeling, but not going to break.

Personally, I like Semogue. I use an 830 pretty regularly. It has a nice handle, broke in quick, has pretty soft tips and good backbone. They go for about 25 bucks

Badger:
I prefer it, personally, but I'm your price range, there aren't a ton
Of good options. One threat has
Gotten great reviews (though I haven't tried one yet) is the house brand at vintage blades. They are supposed to be really nice, and are
Around 40 bucks.

Used opens up more options. Some Simpsons can be had in your range, though I'm not a fan. Another option that you see on bst periodically is a custom made by some of b&b local artisns, usually with a tgn knot, which tend to be pretty good. I've seen good deals this week on bst for brushes from Rudy Vey, Wolf Whiskers, and Shaverjoe. I own a Rudy vey, and it is fantastic, and the other two have gotten glowing reviews here

 

[Teppanyaki]

3 options as I see it-

Boar (my favorite). Smells a bit at first and you need to soak for a few minutes before shaving (I soak mine before I get in the shower every morning. Okay, most mornings!). They have a lot of backbone but, once broken in, have very soft tips. I love how mine feels like a facial massage every morning. Any Omega or Semogue, with special notes to the B&B Essentials at WestCoastShaving (smaller brush) or my favorite, the Semogue SOC boar in cherry (a big brush).

Synthetic. I have tried a few synthetics (Body Shoppe synthetic, Omega synthetic badger, Muhle) and can only really recommend the Muhle silvertip fiber which is a great brush ($50ish from Connaught Shaving, I think). Velvety soft, durable, dries fast so great for travel.

Badger. I haven't tried real badger, which I plan on doing someday. Whipped Dog badgers are supposedly excellent for a great price point ($30ish?), so I would go this route. If I was feeling fancy, I'd try for a custom handle, too!

 

[JPodL16]

As mentioned by many people, you just have to pick one. I just bought my first more expensive brush after getting 4 in your price range (My first brush, a Tweezerman, and then a B&B essentials, SOC boar, and whipped dog silvertip). They're all great brushes except for the tweezer, but at it's price it's not bad. Basically, just look at the ones mentioned here and pick one. Once you have that you can learn more about words like backbone, loft, density, scritch, etc., to decide if/when you want another.

 

[olmstead25]

Thank you again for all of the good advise. I seem to be leaning towards the semogue 830. one thing is I have just had no success in a good lather. I think it is largely due to inexperience and partially due to fairly hard water. Hopefully I can get better results with that than with the couple $5 jobs i have.

 

[mastershake]

i agree whipped dog for badger is a awesome deal for the money, otherwise i say semogue for boar.

 

[es99]

I think the semogue 1305 is the best deal around. I love my whipped dog, but it's not ideal for soaps. When the 1305 breaks in, the tips are very soft but it maintains plenty of backbone. Good for face and bowl lathering.