Brush Fanatics - are you mainly into brushes or also DE/Straights and frags ?

[CHSeifert]

I wonder if all you brush-a-holics in this sub forum also are as active in other sub forum on B&B ?

I'm mostly posting in this brush forum and in the cream forum - occasionally in the fragrance and after shave forum.
I used to be a lot more active in the DE sub forum, but after I got my Edwin Jagger Chatsworth Barley R89, my Edwin Jagger Bulbous Lind Chrome, my Mühle Stylo Thuja Wood R89, my Mühle Sophist Black resin R41 and my Ikon Bulldogg handle with the R41 head on, I', not posting in the DE forum any more - I've lost interest in pursuing the perfect DE razor, because I feel I already own it

Not so with brushes - even though I now have more than 2 handfuls of 2-Band brushes in my collection - I'm still feeling like a newbie and that I need more brushes, but I wonder why

Why have my interest in getting the perfect DE Razor and perfect DE razor blade disappeared, while I still pursue the dream of getting more brushes, even though I only shave 4-5 times a week - and hardly can use even the 14-15 brushes I soon will have in my collection - I don't get my new fascination with these brushes and why my interest in DE Razors seem to be gone almost ?
I now also have settled with 100 Feather DE blades, 100 Astra SP DE blades and 100 Gillette Blue 7 O'Clock DE blades - and have really no interest in looking and writing in the DE blade forum any more either.....

Do any of you brush-a-holics feel the same or ?

 

[taco8slo]

I'm in the same boat, happy with my DE's and just about happy with my brushes. My AD's are almost cured LOL.

 

[ltjaw]

Hi Claus,

I know what you are talking about. I notice that my wetshaving ADs wax and wane. Sometimes I'm in a brush frenzy, other times I'm all about new razors, other times it's soaps/creams, and other times it's aftershaves. And it's all crazy. But I think it keeps me sane.

I keep coming back to brushes, though. Why? I don't know. I'll think on this one and give you a good answer later...

 

[Amzimbo]

Although I have lots of soaps, creams, blades and razors too, like you my real AD is brushes. I think it's an aesthetic thing in my case. There is just so much variety in brush design: materials, shapes, sizes, colors. Not to mention brands, hair types, knot shapes, density, etc. It's not about the "perfect" user brush for me. I probably found that with my third ever quality brush, a dense, huge GFT CH3 (Simpson re-brand, I think) I bought in '97 or '98. But even before I found B&B, I was always lured to brushes by the sheer beauty of them. This place just enabled what had been an attraction and turned it into a full blown addiction. Finally, since you can only shave once, at best twice a day, how do you "practice" your hobby the other 23+ hours in the day? There ain't a whole lot you can do with a shaving soap, except shave, or a blade either for that matter. I guess if I was in to SE's I could sharpen and hone to my heart's content. I don't have the equipment or ability to restore and replate old razors, but brushes are another matter.

 

[Cochese2323]

I have been on the board for about 8 months now and I will admit that soaps are my main weakness, Probably tried at least 25-30 different ones in either samples or full pucks. For razors, when I first started, I bought a Muhle R89 razor, which is still my go to razor. I have tried a couple straights, tried a couple other DE's, but still come back to this one. Hard to argue with effortless, irritation free shaves.

But for brushes, my AD goes in waves. I bought a decent starter brush, a Vulfix 2235S, which was good, but then I found the hobbyist section. I bought a brush bobfavour had pre-made and listed for sale. Then about 2 weeks later, I contacted him to make me a custom one to match one of my straights I was using at the time. That tided me over for probably about 2 months. Then I got the itch to try a Semogue boar brush. That kept me satisfied for about a little over a month. Then I broke down and finally bought a high end brush, a Thater. That kept me satisfied for about another month. If you didn't notice, there is a trend with the amount of time between purchases......its getting shorter.

In the last month, I picked up a Simpson Classic 2 off the BST, another bobfavour custom, I ordered a new custom brush from Rudy Vey which I just got yesterday, and I am already thinking about getting a Rooney Heritage......SBAD is AWESOME!

 

[takeshi]

I wonder if all you brush-a-holics in this sub forum also are as active in other sub forum on B&B ?

I hit just about every subforum for the stuff I use (brush, soap, DE, blade, AS) as well as General, the newbie subforum and The Cafe and not because of any AD's. I like to keep up on things even if I'm not actively looking to buy. I do the same thing on every discussion forum site I hit.

 

[beginish]

I've had Soap AD, Cream AD and Brush AD all hit me pretty hard. The only one that stuck with me is SBAD (though no purchases this year!). Fortunately DE AD never hit, nor do I ever expect it to.

 

[Loric]

Brushes are my main vice, though I do lurk on the soap and hone forum. I just feel much more comfortable talking about brushes. They are my passion. Ironically after trying many of the uber brushes, I'm having more fun tracking down cheaper diamonds in the rough now. With sythetics turning the corner, and kabuki brushes proving to be a potent alternative to traditional shaving brushes, I'm having a lot of fun trying out brushes that cost $5~30. So at least I'm reforming a bit.

I'v been picking up some soaps and creams as of late, but only at minor AD level. I got to the point where I was sick at looking at cream/soap that smells wonderful and sits on the shelf. I also got sick of looking at soaps/creams that lather well but smell bad. I sorted them all out for BST, and had room for a couple new to me and wonderful products.

Previously I went threw the DE, SE, Straight, and then Hone AD's, but they all sorted them selfs out and I just use a couple of each. Brushes and soap/cream have stuck around though. Most likely because they are the most tactile elements in the shaving ritual. Sure there are differences from one DE to the next, but its only a fraction of how the face feel of a good brush and scent of a good soap affect how I enjoy my shaves.

 

[Samjax]

I've went through enough stuff (and money) at this point...that I'm ready to settle down just a bit. There were certain items that I just "had" to buy...just to try them out; and I soon found out that "expensive" does not always mean better. There have been other times when expensive (like my Cobra Classic and Simpson Chubby 3 Super), really was better and I was glad to have found it out firsthand.

Lately, I've been trying to somehow get in the "mindset" of just keeping my 3 favorite DEs, SEs, Brushes, etc...but I'm not having much success in pulling the trigger on that either.

So...anyone got anything they want to sell or trade?

 

[Loric]

So...anyone got anything they want to sell or trade?

I have a whole hoard of stuff I would be better off trading and selling. Ebay is frustrating for me, so I dole out a couple items on BST every month, so I can fart around with new brushes

 

[mftoms59]

My AD's have subsided and I've been thinning the Den, I generally browse the Creams, Soaps, General Discussion, Frag & Aftershave Forums but I spend most of my time here & the SE Razor Sub-Forum. Since January, I've mainly used my Injectors & Gem SE razors with a two week exception in March for DE Razors.

My only temptations are for the New Semogue Italian Barber will carry (Green/White/Red Handle) and the occasional longing for a Simpson Milk Churn, which I hardly ever see anyone mention. I do not own or ever tried a Simpson, but I've been attracted to the look of the handle from the first time I seen this Brush.

 

[Watasha]

I dabble in razors (bought many razors early in the game) & soaps/creams but at the moment my weaknesses are brushes (Simpsons mainly) & aftershaves/frags. I'm also into vintage mechanical watches & other hobbies/collections so I have to do my best to limit the damage of out of control shaving AD's. I do my best...

 

[mcgils]

Being new to wetshaving, and not really into fragrances, I've found brushes and soaps/creams the easiest things to experiment with-with razors, I'm focused on technique, not acquisition.

 

[celestino]

i am still curious about everything except blades. Super Iridiums are my weakness! i am just using my other ones up.
i still love trying DEs and soaps. i have to say that i am coming close to settling on a few brushes with the synthetics taking the vote for favourite brushes, especially, the Frank Shaving brushes because they are so inexpensive and work fabulously!
Claus, you should try one.