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Expensive brushes - yes or no? Poll.

Would you consider spending 300$ on a shaving brush?

  • Yes

    Votes: 72 21.8%
  • No

    Votes: 259 78.2%

  • Total voters
    331
I consider my Simpson Chubby 2 Super to be an expensive brush, but it was still well under $300 when I purchased it new. I really can’t imagine spending more.
 
I have both inexpensive badger brushes and a few expensive ones!
enjoy them all!!
i can justify the cost based on absence of alimony (so far!)!!

cheap and expensive brushes.jpg
 
I would never spend $300 on a brush, or any other shaving accoutrement, for that matter. The most I have ever spent on a brush is about $85. It was a Wolf Whiskers brush and I just wanted one. Ordinarily, I’d go much less. One of my favorite brushes only cost $11. I’m very happy with the small handful of brushes that I have and have no desire to acquire more.
 

JWCowboy

Probably not Al Bundy
You can spend about half of that ($150 or so) and get a really fine brush. I love the brush artisans Grizzly Bay and That Darn Rob and you can spend right around that and get a beautiful brush at one of their weekly drops. Or you can get on the Wolf Whiskers wait list if you have the patience to wait 3 months, or you can get a very nice Simpsons.

Someone on here also mentioned the Razorock Bruce, For the budget conscious that is an amazing brush for around $12.

Also agree with @Owen Bawn who mentioned you will be rewarded if you have patience. If you watch the BST forum there are some REALLY nice brushes that come up every so often for fair prices from other members.
 
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Uh... I think that's a philosophical question. Well, I do have an MA degree in Philosophy. I don't think ignorance is bliss, because you stay unaware of all the options that exist and that can improve your condition, but on the other hand there is some peace of mind in ignorance, exactly because you are unaware that there are better options, more so also because many times those options can be unobtainable for you, making you feel worse. It's a dialectical kind of thing. :)

So this is what philosophy graduate students talk about after too much two buck chuck ;)
 
I own too many terrific brushes that cost $20 or less. Even if I were made of money, the most I'd spend is $150 and it'd have to be top of the line. I'm not cheap. I just consider value to be the main factor. I own a Timeless Bronze and don't regret it (though I did buy it used so I got a deal on it). I own a Toggle and several cased Fatboys. If I told you how much I paid, you' wouldn't believe me (it wasn't much). But the best brushes can be had for a song (Semogue?) and even a really nice badger (Maseto) costs $50. I just can't justify buying an expensive brush, especially when synthetics are just killing it these days.
 

Space_Cadet

I don't have a funny description.
So this is what philosophy graduate students talk about after too much two buck chuck ;)

Not really, I probably shouldn't of mentioned that I have studied Philosophy at all, because what I said was very simple, obvious, evident and straightforward - even a small child can think of it. No need to have an MA degree in Philosophy to be able to write such things. Believe me, Philosophy graduate students don't need two buck chuck to think and talk about things that are so much more sophisticated, complicated and convoluted that I can't even begin to explain the difference. The life of a philosopher isn't easy, even with some quality liquor to help lift the spirits. 😉
 
I've purchased amazing Brad Sears, Morris & Forndran, Paladin and Declaration brushes for far than $300 each. I can't imagine the marginal cost above $300 moves the utility curve meaningfully.

P.S. I was a philosophy major, though I'm borrowing some concepts from economics in this post...
 
I voted yes.

Certainly, plenty of excellent brushes can be had for under $300. But excellence isn’t the question, rather is it special in the marketplace. Some very expensive brushes, while not being “better” than more affordable options, are definitely different.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
The only expensive wet shaving items in my den are my brushes. All my razors, soaps, creams and aftershaves are either reasonably priced or cheap.

After spending on a couple high dollar razors, I'm leaning that way myself and probably will never buy another high dollar razor. I have found my best, I don't own it yet but have borrowed it. The Muhle R41. Zamak and not some stainless wunder and for me, it shaves circles around all the razors I own.


I have both inexpensive badger brushes and a few expensive ones!
enjoy them all!!

I agree. I have to. I own one of the same brushes as you and isn't the inexpensive one. It's the first brush without a lot of backbone that I liked. I like it a lot. Probably my favorite. The hair and the fact that the handle is horn.
 
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I spent $300 on a Wiborg. I don't regret it, but it is the only one I've owned that cost me that much, and I've had a ton. I've had a lot of luck buying used and winning raffles.
 
My top three brushes are under $300 - two Paladins & one Morris & Forndran. Would I spend $300 on a brush? Probably not, but I won't say never!

Well said, David. I should know enough by this point to qualify my opinions on what I will do in the future. Before I started spending time here, I never thought I would spend $300 on a razor.
 
After spending on a couple high dollar razors, I'm leaning that way myself and probably will never buy another high dollar razor. I have found my best, I don't own it yet but have borrowed it. The Muhle R41. Zamak and not some stainless wunder and for me, it shaves circles around all the razors I own.




I agree. I have to. I own one of the same brushes as you and isn't the inexpensive one. It's the first brush without a lot of backbone that I liked. I like it a lot. Probably my favorite. The hair and the fact that the handle is horn.

Indeed!

I spent nearly a decade wet shaving with a VDH boar brush and a puck of everyday Williams, tucked into a plastic cap from can of Noxzema foam (perfect fit). I revelled in admiring how economical my shaving was! Then along came B&B and all that economy went 'poof', to replaced by enjoying the 'new hobby'!

From my own similar experience, I have to politely chuckle at those who take pride in proclaiming ,"Well, I would never spend..."!
 
It's all relative. Some would say ''Good grief no way, 200 is my limit''.
Some would say ''200 Bucks are you nuts?''.

Watched a documentary about a lifers prison in Russia recently. A prisoner said time is relative. He said the years pass by quickly but when he knows he has a visit in 3 months time, the days drag by.

Expensive is relative.
 
As someone who had never spent more than $30 on a brush, I just spent money on a Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic and also a Rudy Vey Silvertip.

Are the brushes nice? Yes.
Are they better than my two sub $30 Yaqi's? For sure.
Are they worth the extra money? See below.

If I had to rank the importance of shaving components to me (assuming your technique is sound), I would say:

1. Soap
2. Blade
3. Razor
4. Brush

If you look at shaving as a hobby and fine with spending the extra $ then I would say go for it. But if you are on a budget and still trying to figure out (1), (2) and (3), I would say that is more important than the brush and should be where the $ should go.

Just my 2c.
I'd respectfully disagree
my ranking would be
1. Razor
2. Brush
3. soap
this is for using a SR, for DE shaving I would rank blade after razor, and keep everything else the same.
YMMV, but I find that no matter how good your soap is, it's only as good as the brush you are lathering it with, to unlock its full potential.
But you're not getting that lather (and stubble) off your face withour your razor, so that is my "logic" behind my rankings.
 
A couple of my Paladin ebonite brushes broke the $300 mark. Love em. But the majority of my brushes are less than that.
 
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