It depends what you mean by a “small” brush. To me, it means one that fits in my small Simpsons travel tube.
My favorites of these are a Simpsons Case in Best (soft tips but dense with backbone) and a Shavemac 19mm Pure badger knot on a Rudy Vey beehive handle (gentle exfoliating tips and tall loft that lathers in its core).
Another one that almost qualifies as small (just a bit too tall for the top to screw on the tube) is a Plisson No. 8 with a High Mountain White knot. This one is unique—soft tips and a body, but it could lather steel from an ingot.
My favorites of these are a Simpsons Case in Best (soft tips but dense with backbone) and a Shavemac 19mm Pure badger knot on a Rudy Vey beehive handle (gentle exfoliating tips and tall loft that lathers in its core).
Another one that almost qualifies as small (just a bit too tall for the top to screw on the tube) is a Plisson No. 8 with a High Mountain White knot. This one is unique—soft tips and a body, but it could lather steel from an ingot.