I'm looking around here but not seeing what I'm looking for. Is there some way to go about deciding what brush is best for one to buy?
Brush exploration
- Thread starter tinpanalley
- Start date
There are literally hundreds of choices out there. Let's try to narrow down the field.
+ What's your budget?
+ Is this your first brush?
+ Do you bowl, hand, or face lather?
+ Do you use creams, soft soaps, or hard soaps?
+ Do you want a soft gentle feel on your face or an almost scratchy feel on your face?
If, you are the newbie I was when I asked this question, here's the advice I appreciated. Buy an inexpensive brush to get started. If you love it you are all set. If you don't, you'll be able to describe what you don't like and the next brush will be closer to your ideal.
I started out with a Semogue boar brush. I paid $20 +-. It was too scratchy for me so I went with a really nice badger brush a year or so later.
Had a chance to try a synthetic brush at a great price so I bought one. It feels almost as good on my face as my badger at a small fraction of the cost. Stirling sells badger brushes in the $20 range. Don't by the biggest and don't buy the smallest size. Pick one in the middle. This is what I would have liked for a first brush.
My advice... Don't buy an expensive brush until you know what you want out of a brush.
Have fun!
+ What's your budget?
+ Is this your first brush?
+ Do you bowl, hand, or face lather?
+ Do you use creams, soft soaps, or hard soaps?
+ Do you want a soft gentle feel on your face or an almost scratchy feel on your face?
If, you are the newbie I was when I asked this question, here's the advice I appreciated. Buy an inexpensive brush to get started. If you love it you are all set. If you don't, you'll be able to describe what you don't like and the next brush will be closer to your ideal.
I started out with a Semogue boar brush. I paid $20 +-. It was too scratchy for me so I went with a really nice badger brush a year or so later.
Had a chance to try a synthetic brush at a great price so I bought one. It feels almost as good on my face as my badger at a small fraction of the cost. Stirling sells badger brushes in the $20 range. Don't by the biggest and don't buy the smallest size. Pick one in the middle. This is what I would have liked for a first brush.
My advice... Don't buy an expensive brush until you know what you want out of a brush.
Have fun!
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks for the reply @Bob L.
This is not my first brush. It's going to be my third. The first was an Art Of Shaving travel version, a starter of sorts. It was regular badger, fine enough, but really started coming apart and the people at the shop felt that it really wasn't in good shape so they were going to replace it for me when I thought it would be a good opportunity to upgrade. So I went with their silvertip badger. It was about This must have been around 2009. Now, I just came back from living in Paris for four years where the water was extremely hard and you could tell that after a couple of shaves, it was really doing a number on the brush, not to mention your skin, hair and hands. So I don't know to what extent that knocked more years off this brush's life.
I bowl lather a Truefitt and Hill cream. I prefer a soft feel on the face because I have extremely sensitive skin and anything rough gives me problems. What I feel is that over time this brush has changed such that it appears to be harder to get a thick lather quickly. But then again, maybe. I can't be sure about this because if I'm measuring by memory, then who know. It seems less dense in the center than it used to be.
This is not my first brush. It's going to be my third. The first was an Art Of Shaving travel version, a starter of sorts. It was regular badger, fine enough, but really started coming apart and the people at the shop felt that it really wasn't in good shape so they were going to replace it for me when I thought it would be a good opportunity to upgrade. So I went with their silvertip badger. It was about This must have been around 2009. Now, I just came back from living in Paris for four years where the water was extremely hard and you could tell that after a couple of shaves, it was really doing a number on the brush, not to mention your skin, hair and hands. So I don't know to what extent that knocked more years off this brush's life.
I bowl lather a Truefitt and Hill cream. I prefer a soft feel on the face because I have extremely sensitive skin and anything rough gives me problems. What I feel is that over time this brush has changed such that it appears to be harder to get a thick lather quickly. But then again, maybe. I can't be sure about this because if I'm measuring by memory, then who know. It seems less dense in the center than it used to be.
I bought my first badger from Rudy Vey. He makes them to order from bow to stern. Rudy asked me about what I liked and didn't like in a brush. He also talked to me about how I lathered and the soaps/creams I preferred. After that we talked about handles. End result...l own one very nice badger brush and I don't suffer from BAD.
Good luck!
Good luck!
- Thread starter
- #5
What's BAD?
Brush acquisition disorder.
For $12 Maggards has a great synthetic brush. For a heck of a lot more Thater brand badger is an option in a soft brush. Well regarded. Lots in between, too. We like to help people spend $.
Another option for a luxurious soft brush is the Kent BK8. Not ideal as a face lathering or hard soap brush, maybe (although I've used it with success in both these modes) but perfect for bowl lathering with a cream, I'd say.
Hear good things about Shavemac, but have no personal experience or knowledge.
For sensitive skin I would go with a synthetic. Most are pretty soft and make a great lather. I like the "game changer" knot the best. Still has some good backbone and nice soft tips with just the smallest amount of scrub. The tuxedo knot has even softer tips but less backbone.
+1 on the worms!
- Thread starter
- #12
Ok, so there is no explicitly direct thing like these are bad, these are good, and this is the hierarchy of the different kinds in terms of quality. Nothing like that? It's really just a per person thing? So one person could absolutely be best with a pharmacy brand synthetic and someone else could absolutely need a Silvertip badger brush?
Is there at least an accepted set of rules of what each material and size is best suited for?
Is there at least an accepted set of rules of what each material and size is best suited for?
It's like a car. If I ask what car should I buy I'll likely get a hundred different answers. Some are better quality and maybe more costly. Others are a great value, while some aren't great but will get get the task done. Some people like driving a Cavalier while others might prefer a Mercedes. You'll have to know what you like and don't like to pick the right one. The one thing that is a little easier to address is size.
Size wise for me a 24mm brush is about perfect for a nice three pass shave with a little lather left over for touch ups. I'll generally choose 24mm to 26mm depending on the maker and whether their brushes tend to run small, just right or run large. I wouldn't shoot for the larger brushes unless you are a head shaver or just like going through soap/cream really quickly.
Size wise for me a 24mm brush is about perfect for a nice three pass shave with a little lather left over for touch ups. I'll generally choose 24mm to 26mm depending on the maker and whether their brushes tend to run small, just right or run large. I wouldn't shoot for the larger brushes unless you are a head shaver or just like going through soap/cream really quickly.
- Thread starter
- #14
Ok, thank you, so that's why I was asking if there was some quantifiable thing that definitively lays out quality. Clearly there isn't. I know lots of things where despite the insistence of preference per user, there is still a definitive hierarchy of quality. I guess brushes just aren't like that. Fine. But it still doesn't answer the question about materials. Clearly at some point different manufacturers have said, "Say, you know, badger hair is great but it doesn't do 'X' very well, let's make brushes out of 'Y'." otherwise there would be nothing but animal hair. So my question still remains, what are the different kinds and why do they exist? It can't just be, cause one day some company decided to make them out of horse hair or acrylic or rabbit whiskers (I'm being facetious).
Keep in mind silvertip badger is a more expensive material than best or pure. Boar is priced about the same as pure badger. Generally speaking. Synthetic could be a bit less. There are exceptions. Price reflects cost of materials. But a thirty dollar brush can be better than a sixty dollar one. Fancy handles cost more. Hand labor cost is a factor.
Some like big, some small, most medium.
The harder the soap, the stiffer the brush...is my rule. Not all agree.
Muhle synthetics are well regarded. So are Shavemac brushes. And Semogue boars.
You have to find what works for you.
I could get by nicely with a Simpsons Special as my only one. You might hate it.
Good luck.
Some like big, some small, most medium.
The harder the soap, the stiffer the brush...is my rule. Not all agree.
Muhle synthetics are well regarded. So are Shavemac brushes. And Semogue boars.
You have to find what works for you.
I could get by nicely with a Simpsons Special as my only one. You might hate it.
Good luck.
Different materials are used to offer different price points to customers. I recommend you buy a quality brush from a good maker (Kent, Simpson, etc.). I have an AOS fine badger that is good but does not compare to my Kent brushes. My opinion is decide what grade of badger you prefer and what size and shape (firm or floppy) and buy the best you can afford. Once you spend time with your brush you learn how to work it for any situation. A great quality brush lasts a long time. To me it comes down to your preference for one great brush or a bunch of cheap ones in your medicine cabinet.
I think you probably need at least 12 more brushes. Be sure to get different grades of badger and 2 band as well as 3 band badger, a tuxedo synthetic and a plissoft synthetic, some high and low quality boar and a few horse hair brushes too.
I bowl lathered truefitt and hill for awhile. I really like my kent bk8 for this. It is really soft and the face feel is very luxurious. No backbone to speek of but it sounds like you don't want that. If you look hard they can be found for 50-100 dollar range. Good luck sir.
Don't listen to these other guys. Synthetics are best. No question.
Pick a 24mm synthetic that has the handle and price point that you like best. Yaqi, Maggard, Stirling, Razorock, West Coast Shaving, Groomatorium, tons of Etsy vendors, etc.
Pick a 24mm synthetic that has the handle and price point that you like best. Yaqi, Maggard, Stirling, Razorock, West Coast Shaving, Groomatorium, tons of Etsy vendors, etc.
