I'm done for a while.finally!

[Samjax]

After a few months of buying, selling, trading, being happy, sad, underwhelmed, overwhelmed, dismayed, shocked, elated, perplexed, annoyed, etc..., I've decided to throw in the towel for a while.

It took a while, but I've finally got my small "collection" of brushes put together. For me, that means that any brush I grab, I'm going to like...as opposed to having some brushes that I simply don't like or use...or ones that have obvious shortcomings.

Are there better brushes out there? Of course...but there are also far worse. Am I going to continue spending hundreds of dollars to chase after the better ones? Not anytime soon.

Here's what I've learned - at least for me - you eventually get to a place of diminishing returns...and I believe that I have arrived.

Everyone defines a "good brush" differently. I have found that I like certain characteristics more than others - and some of the characteristics I dislike very much, other people adore. So as in many things in the wet shaving experience, YMMV.

So here we go - after going through a good number of brushes - including many of the "usual suspects" from Simpson, Rooney, Thater Shavemac, Vulfix, M&F, Semogue, Omega, etc...I've chosen the following.

24mm - Simpson Duke 3 Butterscotch 2 Band
26mm - Simpson 59 2 Band
28mm - Simfix Carnane 2 Band
30mm - Rooney Heritage 3XL
32mm - Simpson Chubby 3 Super

My bowl lathering brush - which I actually very rarely bowl lather - is my Rudy Vey 2 Band 31mm with a 4" Curly Koa handle (which I haven't been able to sell, so I guess I'll just keep it).

Smaller brushes - including the amazing 22mm Ehshan and a 22mm Rooney Finest - have not made the final cut - only because I don't find myself ever reaching for anything smaller than the Duke 3.

Granted, I may "play" around with some of the "less expensive" offerings - just to compare and have some fun, but this $200+ a brush stuff is over for now.

 

[Rattray]

Great that you have found your happy spot for the brushes. I'm still working on it, but I can surely relate to your post and feelings. I'll be happy once I can trim down my collection to a handful of favorites rather than having a busload of mediocrity. Not that I have crappy or mediocre brushes, it's very much a YMMV thing. My sweet spot seems to be around 22-24mm with a 44-46mm loft. Anything larger is too big for my liking.

 

[PFP_Dad]

I find it interesting how many of your top brushes are Simpsons given all the great reviews on their competitors. Which characteristics caused these to make the cut?

 

[Samjax]

I find it interesting how many of your top brushes are Simpsons given all the great reviews on their competitors. Which characteristics caused these to make the cut?

In all fairness, if I had gone through more Shavemacs or Thaters...the lineup may well have been either one of those as well. I liked my Thater 2 Band a lot...as I did my Shavemac D01; I just found myself leaning more to those that I finally kept. Another issue for me is that the availability of pre-owned Simpsons is quite a bit more...thus making it easier to buy nice brushes at a fair savings and then re-sell or trade them without taking too much of a bath if things don't work out.

 

[GDCarrington]

Tom, I understand this. It is not only the expense. It is storage space, rotation issues, etc. If I was not doing my own customs, I more than likely would be at a dead halt myself.

 

[jmsodpc]

i have done the same thing with razors...bought tried and sold dozens.

now i am going to be selling the ones that didnt make the cut...still have to wait for the two week period on BST to be up before i list the extra SE and DE razors.

 

[Loganpass]

I've decided to throw in the towel for a while

The Doctor is rushing to your bedside as we speak!

 

[vocalistbob]

I managed to get my razor count down to eight; five of which are variations on one model, so I actually have just four different razor designs. Now my goal is to get my brush count down to 12. Nobody thinks I can do it - including me...lol.

 

[Samjax]

I'm working on my razor count next. Having owned pretty much all of them at one time or another - I've come to the conclusion that there's a handful that stand out...at least for me. Nevertheless, I had to dump a ton of cash into that project as well...as nothing would satisfy me other than having personal firsthand experience.