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Brushes: what sparked your obsession?

I have no personal attachment to or affection for brushes. I did buy a PAA Pelegrino and an Omega mixed mini to replace the cheap body shop brush is had for years before getting a safety razor. I like the PAA brush. Content, in fact. I like razors and have to fight the RAD but can’t relate to the brush love well represented on this site. I’d like to know what triggered your brush obsession and what keeps it going.
 
Dunno. I guess because I always want the best. Shaving brushes, guitars, cars, wine, knives, etc.

I should have just bought high end badgers right out of the gate, but I am too stupid to look at the same thing happening in my other hobbies.

I also like trying different things. Variety is the spice of life and all that.

Lastly, I have so many brushes as shipping is too expensive to sell a $30 brush for $10-15 and pay for shipping. PIFs coming in any case. 👍
 
I began with bargain badgers as well. Now that I have a little extra income, it's nice to indulge the luxury of a higher end brush. I like the look and feel of a brush, but now I've got a drawer full of bargain badger, synthetic, boar, and a couple horse hair brushes that just don't get enough use.
 
Bowl latherer. Maybe that’s the thing, though I don’t just paint the lather on and shave. I just get focused more on the lather and scent and the blade and don’t think much about the brush itself. I just have a utilitarian relationship with my brush. I could have the same reaction to razors, I suppose, but the weight, look, and feel of a razor just ticks the boxes for me. I don’t think about brushes.
 
Simpsons! They have so many beautiful handle choices. Can’t have just one.
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Mike M

...but this one IS cracked.
I wasn't really obsessed with brushes whilst I was using boars, but when I discovered Yaqi synths that was it. Cheap and with a fantastic feel, I was hooked, I even bought a Yaqi 2 band badger.
 
For me it started with finding a handle shape I really loved, then morphed into the massive variety of beautiful brushes, and wanting to try different ones. This led me to lusting after some fancy pants high end badgers, now there is an expensive rabbit hole to dive into! I also like that brushes are easily displayed so I can enjoy them just by walking by.
 
I have certainly been obsessed with soaps, but I do not consider myself obsessed with brushes. Nonetheless, I have collected about 16 of them. I have boar brushes, badger brushes, horsehair brushes, and synthetic fiber brushes. The reason I have so many is that I have very sensitive skin, so much so that I find nearly all brushes will irritate my skin if I face lather. Thus, I generate my lather in a bowl and paint it on my face. I kept buying brushes looking for those that would not irritate my face.

I do have a few brushes that are soft enough to face lather with only minimal irritation. I have an Omega Professional boar brush which I broke in using almost boiling water to split the tips. I have a Maggard Razors super high density badger with gel tip knot that is soft. I have a Savile Row silvertip badger that is quite nice, but I wish I had gotten 26 mm rather than 24 mm. I also have a Simpsons Trafalgar T3 synthetic; I found the T2 to be too small. I can still use the others, but I have to be very careful to minimize pressure and motion when applying lather on may face. Otherwise, I will irritate my face before a blade ever touches it.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
At first I was not that keen on brushes but as the years went on I started collecting some & mostly synthetics and lately natural hair brushes badger and boar. I enjoy the different face feels and handle ergonomics with the rich colors that are offered.
Rons 21 shave brushes (4).jpg

Have some great shaves!
 
They are nice objects to have and I enjoy the different face feel each one provides. The handles can be attractive and interesting, and the way a dense badger hair fan blooms like a bouquet of flowers or a baobab tree is rather satisfying.

The different knots must also be important to me because I wasn’t interested in brushes at all until I started face lathering and experiencing the different feels on my skin. I suppose this gives me added justification to buy another brush, even though the looks of the handle materials and shape are what grab my attention.

In the spirit of always trying to post a picture, this was my most recent brush purchase - a Leonidam “Krypto” with 28mm two-band HD fan knot…

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Just followed a link one day (to Elite) and came upon a brush that 'spoke to me.' I bought it, I loved it, and you know, one thing leads to another :p This remains one I frequently turn to when I feel the need for a "comfort" brush — literally or emotionally.

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I scoffed at the idea of buying a Simpson brush for a while. My words, as I ate them, were tasty.
 
Well, I wouldn't call it an obsession for me but I have a few. Most I've had for a long time. But it's something I've found very neat since I was a small child. My father always had nice British brushes, and that's how I started and that's how I've continued. I've got a couple of old Simpson brushes, a Geo. F. Trumper that I think was made by Simpson and a couple of newer synthetics.

I'd like to get a new Simpson, but I'm not sure I want to buy a new badger brush. May stick to synthetic brushes or vintage brushes. The Viking's Blade White Knight I bought in the spring is very, very nice as is my "daily driver" these days. Looks and feels like a high-end natural brush but no need to baby it.
 
I scoffed at the idea of buying a Simpson brush for a while. My words, as I ate them, were tasty.
It took me a while to get on the Simpson bandwagon but they’re excellent brushes. Haven’t been hit too hard by the brush bug yet but I do have a very small collection. Razors (especially Gillette techs) and soaps have been my downfall
 
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