Brush cost vs. quality

[dfoulk]

So far I have focused on learning about the higher quality soaps, blades and razors.
I've tried and purchased some of the best products out there in these categories but I find I know very little about brushes.

Currently, I'm using a Whipped Dog silvertip brush and have a Semogue boar that I was using before that. While I really like the Whipped Dog brush I'm thinking I might want something a little better. I use soaps 99% of the time and lather right on the puck to grab soap then go to a bowl and add water as needed. I'd like something that will be soft but not floppy, with enough backbone to use soaps but still not be scratchy on my face. Size wise I'm thinking something smaller but not too small. My Whipped Dog brush is a 22mm I'm thinking I might like something a bit larger than that but not something that will be absolutely huge and just plow through pucks of soap.

So I'm looking for a recommendation and some advice.

Is there a price point where many of the better brushes become available? $100, $120, $150.

I'm basically looking for that best value in a higher quality level brush.
Do you get more brush when you spend the money or am I going to end up with the same quality knot in a nicer handle?

I don't want to go crazy price wise, but imagine I will end up spending what I need to within reason in order to get something really nice. I'll buy something nice but don't have a strong need to own a $300 dollar brush.
I'd like to stay around the $100 mark if possible but if adding to my budget gets me a lot more brush then I'm open to it as long as it makes sense. With most things we spend the most money looking for that last 5% of performance improvement. I'm not interested in throwing lots more money chasing that last 5%. Like I said I'm looking for the best high end brush value.

I don't care about what name is on the brush but something at this level should certainly feel like and perform like something of a much higher quality. I don't plan on collecting brushes, I plan on buying one really good brush that will meet my needs. I may add one more brush down the road but that's about it.

Now I know that any recommendations that are given are a YMMV thing and that each is different to everyone and all of that, but I'm sure there are some brushes where 95% of the people who try it are thinking it's a really great brush.

Please share your thoughts and suggestions. Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

 

[dushea]

Personally, I've found $100-$125 to be in the sweet spot, especially if you're not opposed to grabbing something off the BST. My favorite brushes have been a Thater 4125/1 two band bulb, Savile Row 3824 and a Rooney Heritage Stubby 2 two band.

 

[Teddyboy]

I think that Simpsons Duke 2 or Duke 3 in best badger at about $95 or $120, respectively, are among the best bang for the buck.

 

[musicman1951]

Personally, I've found $100-$125 to be in the sweet spot.

+1 for badgers. For boar I love the SOC and it's under $40. There are lots of boars for less that get a lot of love around here.

 

[bosseb]

I have found (much to my surprise) that the correlation between price and perceived performance is not too high when it comes to brushes. What matters is how you compare the characteristics of a brush and how the different properties affect these characteristics. Every shavers preferences are different.

I have tried to compare my four stick brushes in this write up: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/359040-Stick-brushes-shootout .

The brushes I compare are these:

​

 

[dfoulk]

Thank you all for the suggestions so far. Nice brush review bosseb. I enjoyed reading it.

 

[Attila]

Excellent writeup on those brushes bosseb. What is your absolute favorite out of those 4 if you could pick only one?

 

[Icebear]

SOC 2-band in cherry wood. For $70 plus change hard to beat.
http://www.shaving.ie/products/semogue-owners-club-2-band-badger.html

Also highly recommended :
http://www.shavemac.com/selfmade.html

 

[Jasman]

To an extent, it's a question of how important a given name brand is to you. If, for example, you're a fan of Simpsons brushes, you're probably going to find the price for them to be merited. If not, you might be able to find another badger brush that will work well enough for you that you'd be hard-pressed to notice the difference.

This is by no means an indictment of those who prefer a given name brand.

 

[01HDFXD]

Personally, no matter what price point, my favorite is still the B&B Essential boar. JMO, YMMV. At $30, you can't go wrong, and profits go to B&B --- try one.

 

[Teppanyaki]

Muhle synthetic?

 

[2Deuce2]

David-the brush selection has been the hardest choice for me. I've got some excellent razors, soaps, blades and creams in a fairly reasonable time. The brush has taken a lot longer . Looking back I didn't know what I preferred and was watching my cash. Parker badger was a very good choice to dive in. Then I bought some floppy Silvertip to see the difference. Bowl and face lathered, and chose bowl after a bit. Tried Vie Long horse, then to Semogue, then Savile Row. At this point it became obvious to drill down on the knot size and loft. After all of this the selection of brushes I have left I really enjoy ( and my family and friends love the ones I've noted to them!). As I'm still experimenting I'm heading into restoring a brush too. The chase never ends.

 

[bosseb]

Excellent writeup on those brushes bosseb. What is your absolute favorite out of those 4 if you could pick only one?

I have picked each one of them - at a time. Please don't make me choose one out of the chosen!

Each brush for me is a 'desert island brush'. I could live with anyone of them as the only one: this is the first criteria to make it to my rotation. The second criteria is that each brush brings a unique feeling to the rotation that benefits the other brushes.

I have another rotation of brushes for face lathering from pucks. From them I could actually pick one as 'primus inter pares' - that would be the Chief!

​

 

[Attila]

I hear you. Each one of my brushes (the ones I've kept) is a "desert island" capable brush as well!

I have picked each one of them - at a time. Please don't make me choose one out of the chosen!

Each brush for me is a 'desert island brush'. I could live with anyone of them as the only one: this is the first criteria to make it to my rotation. The second criteria is that each brush brings a unique feeling to the rotation that benefits the other brushes.

I have another rotation of brushes for face lathering from pucks. From them I could actually pick one as 'primus inter pares' - that would be the Chief!

​

 

[dfoulk]

bosseb,
Really nice looking brushes. So not making you pick for yourself but if you were picking for me with the information you have acquired which brush would you choose. I use 99% soaps, put the brush to the soap to load it, then go to a separate bowl to work the lather and add water as needed. I'm looking for something that is soft but still has enough backbone to use only soaps. Something that is not scratchy at all and feels great on my face.

 

[dfoulk]

Personally, I've found $100-$125 to be in the sweet spot, especially if you're not opposed to grabbing something off the BST. My favorite brushes have been a Thater 4125/1 two band bulb, Savile Row 3824 and a Rooney Heritage Stubby 2 two band.

Thank you, I've read some good things about the Thater and was already looking at that brush as a possability, so this helps. How do you like the Thater compared to your other brushes. I'm only getting one brush so I have to choose well.

 

[dfoulk]

I think that Simpsons Duke 2 or Duke 3 in best badger at about $95 or $120, respectively, are among the best bang for the buck.

Thank you, I appreciate your response. I will research these as well. The Simpson brushes sure do have a nice look to them.

 

[bosseb]

bosseb,
Really nice looking brushes. So not making you pick for yourself but if you were picking for me with the information you have acquired which brush would you choose. I use 99% soaps, put the brush to the soap to load it, then go to a separate bowl to work the lather and add water as needed. I'm looking for something that is soft but still has enough backbone to use only soaps. Something that is not scratchy at all and feels great on my face.

Without a doubt the da Vinci in that case.

 

[Jlb2287]

I have the sr3824 and have used it for soap/bowl lathering and it performs like a champ. It's right in that $125 sweet spot. One that caught my eye is the SOC 2 band in cherry. If you look hard you can find that one for under $70.

 

[dfoulk]

I have the sr3824 and have used it for soap/bowl lathering and it performs like a champ. It's right in that $125 sweet spot. One that caught my eye is the SOC 2 band in cherry. If you look hard you can find that one for under $70.

The Sevile Row 3824 brush seems like a possibility as well. I read a glowing review about it and I'm looking at it on the QEDUSA site now, price is $124.50.