Is it me or premium high-end brushes are out of fashion?

[Space_Cadet]

I remember the times when people used to discuss here extreme high-end brushes that cost 200$-400$, but I don't see that anymore.
Is that because the Chinese got so good at producing affordable brushes? Or because artisans from the US or Europe started offering quality brushes at lower cost?

 

[helicopter]

Both, I think. I like using different brushes, and probably have over 30 in total. Yaqi, DSC, Boti, APShaveCo, Omega, and Semogue have outstanding brushes of many types under $100; some of my favorites are under $20. I still don't really sympathize with the motivation to own a brush that costs over $100. It seems nuts to me. Do whatever you want with your budget for shaving stuff, but I don't get it with brushes. I just don't really understand how any $400 resin handled brush can be much different from my TRC Manchurian Highmountain Silvertip. I am sure many would feel the same about my two Blackbird and four Rex razors, though, and I can't really make a rational argument about razors over brushes.

 

[AshleyC]

I remember the times when people used to discuss here extreme high-end brushes that cost 200$-400$, but I don't see that anymore.
Is that because the Chinese got so good at producing affordable brushes? Or because artisans from the US or Europe started offering quality brushes at lower cost?

While I can't speak to consumer prices on things in Tel-Aviv, I would guess that things being more expensive in America due to inflation probably suppresses a lot of frivolous spending. Perhaps I can use a shared cultural experience to illustrate just how things are right now? Two summers ago you could get two fish sandwiches from McDonald's for $5. Three months ago my Mom got a fish sandwich, small french fries, and an ice water, and the price was $6.48.

Every now and then I get the idea of springing for just one high end brush. Something expensive. I have four brushes and I doubt any of them were more than $20. So far, I've resisted this idea.

 

[SydneyShaver]

There’s not as much activity in the hobby in general. Not as many content creators, definitely not as much activity in social media groups and forums etc. That being said, most people struggle to get the high end brushes when they drop. So there is definitely still interest there.

 

[helicopter]

There’s not as much activity in the hobby in general. Not as many content creators, definitely not as much activity in social media groups and forums etc. That being said, most people struggle to get the high end brushes when they drop. So there is definitely still interest there.

This is true. They pop on the BST and sell in half an hour. If my wife is around I always show her. "Look! someone asked fo $400 for a used plastic brush with a badger hair knot in it and another person bought it half an hour later. Then fifteen minutes after that, someone else was sad to miss out. I have a similar Candian brush I got for $70, and I have a Chinese one and an Italian one that I prefer that were $17 and $13." We observe it with marvel, as it is not something I can understand and explain.

 

[Tomo]

I don’t know. I see plenty of expensive stuff posted on shave of the day.

 

[Space_Cadet]

Don't know, it just seems to me there was a lot of discussion about extremely exotic brush makers and insanely expensive brushes, great demand, long waiting lists, eagerly awaited "drops", etc'.
Yes, now you see them now and then on the BST, and people buy them, I've sold a couple not so long ago, but not so much hustle and bustle around them. I too was into expensive brushes, but at this point I am not planning in the future to buy something more expensive than, say, 60-70$ brush.

 

[Marco]

In the last years the arrival and increasing popularity of synthetics has certainly played a big role here. They are either cheap or very reasonably priced and the best ones can hold their own even against expensive badgers. My favourite synthetic did cost me only €58 and performs just as superbly as my €200 silvertips. Not only, when using hard triple-milled soaps synthetics are the clear winners IMHO.

 

[silverlifter]

Word is spreading

Brotherhood of the Boar

Just got my first real boar brush today in the form of the B&B essentials boar brush in orange. Have to say that I was incredibly surprised. I think I might be a boar fan for life. Anyone else out there agree? If so, whats your boar brush? Feel free to post pics of your brush if you really want...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Fen]

I've had a couple of brushes, a boar I got with a beginner set (stopped working properly), Razorock synthetic plissoft, a pure badger one (got it for free) and a proraso boar brush (actually got two, but got one for free.)

And to be honest the 12 dollar Proraso one has been my favorite and is my daily driver. I cant seem to get the hand on the synthetic one and the pure badger just felt weird, with a lack of a better word to use. Looked at the Antica Barbieria Colla brush once and searched for its cheaper "cousin" or whatever you wanna call it, from another manufacturer which used the same knot I believe, but never bought that one. Might do so in the future, if I get curious...

Doing the great old water break in trick made the Proraso boar a great brush that does its job. So to me personally there is no need to get expensive brushes really. Suppose it is a lot like cars, sure, Tesla looks nice, but you can get good use out of a Toyota. At the end of the day to each their own I say.

 

[Phoenixkh]

There are wonderful brushes at every price point these days. We see a variety posted every day here in the SOTD photos and the other threads. I've gravitated towards badger brushes over the past 2.5+ years I've been a member here. My wife is using my last two synthetics, but oddly enough, I've been thinking about adding one of the Omega Evo Elite brushes... with the 1920 handle. It isn't the least expensive synth out there but at under $60, it won't break the bank. A few people here have them and love the new Elite knots.

 

[Brutus]

Synthetic brushes, where because of the nature of the fibre the risk of hair loss is rare, are getting better all the time and some reputable vendors sell quality, inexpensive synthetics at very reasonable prices.

These vendors often also sell Chinese or other low-cost countries’ natural hair brushes and some of them can be quite good and when backed by generous vendor guarantees minimize the risk if one should end up with a dud.

While a premium shaving brush that costs three times the price of a cheap brush used to be a good purchase because it was at least three times better and lasted three time longer, cheap brushes are now closer in quality and longevity to premium brushes, which alters the entire equation in favor of cheaper brushes.


Historically, most natural hair brushes came from Europe, where production costs are high because of salaries, taxes, and social security costs, which is reflected in the price.
Quality and longevity used to make such purchases worthwhile, but now decent, inexpensive natural hair brushes from other countries have arrived in the market.
The resulting competitive pressure and an aging workforce have prompted several European manufacturers to reduce their offerings (Shavemac) or completely withdraw (Thäter) from the market.


I don’t envy the traditional premium brush makers in high cost of living (which results in high costs of production) countries.
If you like it or not, it‘s a consequence of an open Global Economy.



B.

 

[NorthernSoul]

The market shifted to favor synthetic brushes. These are using basically quite similar knots with a few variations. Most are made cheaply in China. Supply is super plentiful. It is difficult for a high-end brush maker to compete with that.

 

[Roy]

For face lathering, I can't better my SV badger.
However, for bowl lathering, I find it makes very little difference what brush I use, be it chubby 2 and muhle synthetics, or my first brush vulfix mixed badger an boar. The latter whips up lather in no time and I've rediscovering how good it is after I stopped using it a few years ago. It shed hairs, but no sign of this now.

 

[musicman1951]

I've never held a $400 brush. On the other hand, I've got about 20 brushes and the cheapest ones rarely, if ever, get used. Of the 5 brushes in my rotation the cheapest 3 run about $65 or so, and they are very nice brushes. The Wald synthetic was around $250 and is several steps above every other synthetic that I've tried so far, and my favorite "every other day" brush was about $180. Aside from the Wald, they are all some variation of Semogue SOC (boar, 2 band badger, Mistura and Parbear badger).

Some people are not at all fussy about brushes and I'm much closer to the other extreme. Lots of nice boars for very little money, not so much with badgers. But whatever works well for you is good with me. It's all about enjoying your shave, use what you like. Lots of shavers have never tried a more expensive brush and my serious advice is to never do it!

 

[Alex Jr]

Come to the boar side, we’re waiting for you

 

[Marco]

I've been thinking about adding one of the Omega Evo Elite brushes... with the 1920 handle. It isn't the least expensive synth out there but at under $60, it won't break the bank. A few people here have them and love the new Elite knots.

The Omega Vintage Edition Elite are SUPERB brushes indeed. Their design takes inspiration from the old Omega brushes that were handmade by experienced craftsmen. The MB1920 is the one I proudly own. After a few days from having received it I was so impressed by this stunning brush that I quickly decided to buy a backup. The pic below is taken directly from the Omega website.

 

[wetshaver233]

A friend of mine have recently bought a Wald brush for around $400 and he said that the maker of these brushes produces a limited quantity once a few months and then puts them on his website for sale and within 15-20 minutes, all the brushes are sold and all of them are within the $300-$400 + range.

At one point I also wanted to buy a nice high end synthetic brush, but given the fact that I mostly use 1 brush 99% of the time and that brush develops the so called "donut hole" within 3-4 years of constant use, I've realised that I'm much better off buying inexpensive brushes every few years than paying say $300 for one brush and make it look like within a few years. The brush will still be somewhat useable, but ugly beyond words.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I see a strong trend towards the very low end price Chinese made stuff. The mid-section makers, myself included, suffer quite a bit for a while now. No wonder that several old names in the brush business have closed down, just to name Vielong and Thaeter. Shavemac has drastically reduced their production and does no sell any longer themselves, only through a few resellers. Their so much liked brush configurator has also be discontinued. You can guess what their next step might be. High end brushes, due to their limited offering always have their customers, not many, but they can and will pay any price. We just see it so often here that people ask for cheap stuff. Yes, the Chinese fill this void. If you ask here "what is the best synthetic brush under $10" or "...best Silvertip under $30" one will understand that we (like the mid-priced makers) can not survive in the long haul. I am even not sure if I can afford to renew my vendor status next year due tom its cost and drastically dropped off sales.

 

[spacemonkey42]

Like this and many items, one can get something that works well fairly cheaply. Then the increased cost for incremental improvements is high. My top brush is a Wald A1. My second favorite is a $15 rainbow pony. Is the Wald better? Yes. Is it 17 times as good? Nope.

Wald is unique, so they can control supply vs. demand, but the general situation goes for other high end brushes too.