Brushes were my gateway drug into wet shaving. Nothing adds to the luxury shave experience like a good badger brush.
Brushes: what sparked your obsession?
- Thread starter spirograph
- Start date
Probably one of the few ways a Macho Man can understand a woman's obsession for mink, fox, raccoon and the like.
My interest started after doing my first restoration on a vintage Ever-Ready. Less a restore honestly, more just gluing in a synthetic knot. I now had options and started looking at vintage handles I could acquire. Researching what type of knot I might use and all the different variations of loft and grade etc. Brushes are just so darn cool.
Fougeres are the classic scent for men. They were originated by the House of Houbigant in 1882. It stopped making the original scent, but in 2010 released a Fougere Royale versiion. Fougere is the French word for fern. Thus, these scents smell like fern, but there have been many interpretations. The three basic scent notes in all Fougeres are lavender, oakmoss, and coumarin. However, every perfumer has a variation on the basic Fougere by adding various other scent notes for complexity. In the case of Monaco Royale, the scent notes are:
Top notes: Lavender, Bergamot, Neroli, Petitgrain
Middle notes: Oakmoss, Cedarwood, Tonka Bean, Ambergris*
Base notes: Guaiacwood, Agarwood, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Labdanum and Musk
Thus, is is quite a complex Fougere. That is why nothing else quite matches the scent.
Top notes: Lavender, Bergamot, Neroli, Petitgrain
Middle notes: Oakmoss, Cedarwood, Tonka Bean, Ambergris*
Base notes: Guaiacwood, Agarwood, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Labdanum and Musk
Thus, is is quite a complex Fougere. That is why nothing else quite matches the scent.
It's couple of factors for me: The difference in feel, aesthetics, and variety.
Every one of my brush feels different, even by a slight amount. I like switching to different ones depending on the day and how much growth I have. Also, some brushes are just really eye-catching, especially the pearl shining ones. And variety.. self-explanatory.
These are some of my favorites. I doubt I need more but I'm continuing to test them out. I'll sell off some of them one day but just not right now, haha
Every one of my brush feels different, even by a slight amount. I like switching to different ones depending on the day and how much growth I have. Also, some brushes are just really eye-catching, especially the pearl shining ones. And variety.. self-explanatory.
These are some of my favorites. I doubt I need more but I'm continuing to test them out. I'll sell off some of them one day but just not right now, haha
I would never consider myself having a problem with brushes. If someone asked me I would say, "...brushes are the least of my problems. Razors, blades, soaps, but not brushes". But then I just counted all my brushes and I have around 25. I dont know how they multiply the way they do, but it defies science!
13 brushes total. The most expensive is a LE Simpson G3 in Best which the Simpson site says cost £120 followed by the shavemac Group Buy Beagle. BTW Bernd has Speick Sticks back in stock. There's two more nonexistent brushes I would like to acquire should the power elite deem them viable. So far it's a no and I'm fine with that. It keeps things simple.
Why 13 brushes? One can only read and interpret so much. At some point I need to back away from the idiot box and engage reality in order to learn something.
Why 13 brushes? One can only read and interpret so much. At some point I need to back away from the idiot box and engage reality in order to learn something.
Last edited:
For the first year of this insanity, I didn't "get" brushes. Soaps, razors and aftershaves came in droves, but just the one Sem830 boar was enough.Back then synthetics weren't good, but eventually I hit a good one and liked that way better. Less drama, more consistent results.
Year ago that dumb internet store put Simpsons on an affordable price, and I found good badger at last!
Expensive rabbit hole, the Simpsons. But super satisfying...AA
Unless you can catch some things on Amazon on sale they can be cheaper on other sites. When I got my Simpson Trafalgar T2 it ended up being $3-4 cheaper on the site I ordered it from than on Amazon. Granted the shipping cost was spread over 6 items so that helped. Simpson brushes are super satisfying and some of the synthetic ones are under $30Year ago that dumb internet store put Simpsons on an affordable price, and I found good badger at last!
The photos and the buying "greed" power of some members in this forum pushed me to find the perfect brush... 
I had the perfect brush and it was 10usd.
I need no more brushes. However I want to buy about 2 "high end" badger ones, one mixed hair, another synthetic, a horse brush as I have none and add about 2 other boar brushes. I am a bit glad that I don't have 500 usd for this idea...
I had the perfect brush and it was 10usd.
I need no more brushes. However I want to buy about 2 "high end" badger ones, one mixed hair, another synthetic, a horse brush as I have none and add about 2 other boar brushes. I am a bit glad that I don't have 500 usd for this idea...
This really sums it up what sparked your obsession with brushes!!
Last edited:
I have always wet shaved it’s how I learned to shave so it wasn’t a departure to go farther into the rabbit hole.
It’s one of the things I came to love most.
Specifically Lee Sabini knots back in about 2002 in his Rooney days.
It’s all about luxury and collecting art work
I’m definitely deep into this I am not synthetic guy I have one and it super soft when dry when the natural hair brushes are not but it can’t even try to keep up with the high end badger [emoji3084]
Though I do not harbor the ill will of synthetic users like I see some others it’s maybe the most YMMV part of wet shaving honestly the diversity and love of the sublime.
I most definitely have a mountain of white with multiple brushes coming in at the same time and a lot of planing on more.[emoji1690]
I have never had a Simpson and need to change that…
It’s one of the things I came to love most.
Specifically Lee Sabini knots back in about 2002 in his Rooney days.
It’s all about luxury and collecting art work
I’m definitely deep into this I am not synthetic guy I have one and it super soft when dry when the natural hair brushes are not but it can’t even try to keep up with the high end badger [emoji3084]
Though I do not harbor the ill will of synthetic users like I see some others it’s maybe the most YMMV part of wet shaving honestly the diversity and love of the sublime.
I most definitely have a mountain of white with multiple brushes coming in at the same time and a lot of planing on more.[emoji1690]
I have never had a Simpson and need to change that…
This really sums it up what sparked your obsession with brushes!!
I have no idea what is going on with this forum. This is the second time I have had a response posted to the wrong thread. I was responding to a thread about someone looking for a replacement for Wholly Kaw Monaco Royale soap. I guess it is time for me to cancel my forum account.
Happened to me a few weeks ago, I went to the brush forum and somehow there were a few post that did not make sense. Later I realized that somehow the fora were "jumping", and I was reacting to post on a different forum, and not what I meant was the brush forum. Odd, but this happens sometimes.I have no idea what is going on with this forum. This is the second time I have had a response posted to the wrong thread. I was responding to a thread about someone looking for a replacement for Wholly Kaw Monaco Royale soap. I guess it is time for me to cancel my forum account.
It’s actively failing as I try to type.
But I’ve got a couple of ideas for the Shavemac knots I want you to do for me.[emoji41]
- Thread starter
- #36
So, what was this perfect $10 brush?The photos and the buying "greed" power of some members in this forum pushed me to find the perfect brush...
I had the perfect brush and it was 10usd.
I need no more brushes. However I want to buy about 2 "high end" badger ones, one mixed hair, another synthetic, a horse brush as I have none and add about 2 other boar brushes. I am a bit glad that I don't have 500 usd for this idea...
Somehow, I remember learning about brushes at a young age, and I had information slip in over the years that convinced me that this is what I wanted. It was specifically badger, and silvertip. I then found this place, and well, I was hooked. It didn't take much encouragement to go into higher end brushes even after not fully being happy with an EJ BBB I had at the start, and can't even remember everything I had. I still have a ton of pictures. Continual talk of the new stuff emerging kept me keeping up with the newest stuff, and trying the different knots. The differences between the various manufacturers grades, the variations in those different grades, the variations that happen within the same grade of hair from the same manufacturer, the handle shapes, and the handle material. Changes in my tastes have happened over the years. I've acquired so many brushes that I don't have much more room for my limited storage space, and need to be conservative with what I add.
It's not as easy keeping the enthusiasm there as it was in the beginning, but it is still there. I have more surety of what is I like personally now. I am not as easily swayed by the latest people are talking about. Badger is where it is for me, 3-band specifically. I still get some 2-band here and there. Changes in the industry has changed how I have purchased. I buy more from BST now than anything, or from a vendor that shows pictures of the exact stock. For what I prefer though that usually limits to BST though which is fine. Lately it takes a combination of factors to get me to buy: a new handle shape and a 28mm knot at minimum are my usual 2 minimum requirements. Sometimes a handle material color is enough as I still do have some handle shapes I would like to have. Really it's come down to handles as of late though, and I've realized if I could just get the handles I wanted for several brands and just that alone I would be quite content until I had the urge to buy a knot.
I purchased a couple of used brushes just recently that aren't really new so much. The first is a Simfix in a handle I already have, but it being in 2-band hair in such a large size with less density was too much to resist and I know the Simfix brand isn't as focused on the density and will be a good performer, and fun to compare against other brushes. The second is a Vulfix 40 which I have ones close enough in variation, but I never thought I would come to enjoy large brushes so much, and the price was right, so I got that too. I haven't seen it around as much anymore. Further knowledge of how brushes and the various properties has been quite the motivating factor for myself and still remains there. Ultimately, I guess what keeps me going is just never knowing what you will see next.
It's not as easy keeping the enthusiasm there as it was in the beginning, but it is still there. I have more surety of what is I like personally now. I am not as easily swayed by the latest people are talking about. Badger is where it is for me, 3-band specifically. I still get some 2-band here and there. Changes in the industry has changed how I have purchased. I buy more from BST now than anything, or from a vendor that shows pictures of the exact stock. For what I prefer though that usually limits to BST though which is fine. Lately it takes a combination of factors to get me to buy: a new handle shape and a 28mm knot at minimum are my usual 2 minimum requirements. Sometimes a handle material color is enough as I still do have some handle shapes I would like to have. Really it's come down to handles as of late though, and I've realized if I could just get the handles I wanted for several brands and just that alone I would be quite content until I had the urge to buy a knot.
I purchased a couple of used brushes just recently that aren't really new so much. The first is a Simfix in a handle I already have, but it being in 2-band hair in such a large size with less density was too much to resist and I know the Simfix brand isn't as focused on the density and will be a good performer, and fun to compare against other brushes. The second is a Vulfix 40 which I have ones close enough in variation, but I never thought I would come to enjoy large brushes so much, and the price was right, so I got that too. I haven't seen it around as much anymore. Further knowledge of how brushes and the various properties has been quite the motivating factor for myself and still remains there. Ultimately, I guess what keeps me going is just never knowing what you will see next.
- Thread starter
- #38
As I should have expected, starting this thread led me to buying another brush. Nothing too fancy or pricey but that’s how it started with the razors, too. Familiar story around here, I suppose. 
As I should have expected, starting this thread led me to buying another brush. Nothing too fancy or pricey but that’s how it started with the razors, too. Familiar story around here, I suppose.
That’s the risk of browsing hobby forums. It’s just a matter of time until you get drawn into buying.
Maybe it's because I bowl lather, but I just haven't caught the brush bug yet. Or maybe I got lucky. I have a couple vintage boars and a horse I got for next to nothing at an an antique store, a synthetic from Maggards because I wanted to try a synthetic, and a relatively cheap badger off Amazon. All of them do what I need (except the horse, which I pretty much only use to lather up creams, which isn't very often). I've probably spent 10 times as much on straight razors as I have on brushes, and I think the only reason I'll be buying any more knots is because my brother is experimenting with his new lathe and making some handles for me.
Similar threads
