Looking for a Brush or Two

[UWBadgers1]

Hey fellas, I'm looking to add a brush or two and start a small collection. Or "rotation", as many call it.

Right now I have a cheap-o brush, probably boar or synthetic, unsure. I'm considering buying a boar/synthetic, and cheaper/moderate priced badger brush, and seeing which type of hair/material feels best on my face, and with the cream I am currently using.


I gathered this questionnaire from another post here..


Your existing harem of badgery beauties! ... tell us what brushes you already have (if any) and what qualities about each you like or dislike. Cheap-o, very basic brush. It's not terrible soft (on the tips) and seems to be a little "floppy" if I apply much pressure. If that makes sense.


Your lathery leanings ... mostly this means do you use soaps or creams? Do you facelather or lather in a bowl? Those answers can often influence the type and size of a brush. I lather in a bowl for now, but would like to try lathering in hand as well.

What you want from your next brush .... now that you've told us which brushes you have (see above), tell us what you want from your new brush ... "firmer than my Vulfix ... smaller than my Polo 8 ... not as prickly as my boar-hair brush..." You get the idea. Maybe you can't compare this to a brush you already have .... "I want a scrubby facelathering brush for triple-milled soaps" or even "I want my first brush ... a good introductory badger brush." I want to see what kind of brushes are out there, how they feel on my face, how well/easy they build lather (or lack there of), etc. I'm ok with just acquiring a badger brush, or a combination of badger and boar/synthetic.

Brush aesthetics ... kind of a rough, catch-all phrase meaning "tell us more about what you want in the brush". Maybe you want a long skinny handle? or a handle that's easy to grip when wet and covered in tather? Material and colour? Overall appearance? Do you want "heft"? If you tell us the bruah has to have a black handle, we'll not bother you with white-handled options! Not too picky. I like white handles, black handles, horn, etc.


Budget. If SWMBO has given you $80 for the brush, there's not much point in us telling you that a Plisson HMW is exactly what you need. I'd rather not go past about ~$100 USD. I'd prefer to spend about $60 on a badger brush, and ~$20 or so on a boar/synthetic brush. With that in mind, I'm curious about the options that are out there in this price range.


Size matters .... if you like small brushes, or large, or medium ... or whatever ... let us know and we can direct you. Unsure. I own what I believe to be a "average" sized brush, or maybe into the "smaller size tier" of brushes. Never owning anything else, I'm not sure what I like, fits my hands, etc.


Brushes that have already piqued your interest .... if you are trying to decide between *this* brush and *that* brush .... doubtless you'll tell us and maybe even give links to the brushes. This is good not only so we can tell you in our experiences which of the two brushes best meets your needs, but maybe we know a third, fourth, fifth ... that are even better.

I guess here's a few I've thought about:

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Kent-Infinity-Silvertex-Shaving-Brush_p_2008.html

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Omega-11126-Boar-Shaving-Brush-Ovangkol-Wooden-Handle_p_1992.html

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Omega-6214-Silvertip-Badger-Shaving-Brush_p_478.html

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Simpson-Special-1-Best-Badger-Shaving-Brush-S1_p_556.html

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Simpsons-Berkeley-Best-Badger-Shaving-Brush-46B_p_544.html

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Simpson-Commodore-X2-Best-Badger-Shaving-Brush-X2B_p_391.html

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Simpson-Colonel-X2L-Best-Badger-Shaving-Brush-X2L_p_390.html

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Simpson-Commodore-X1-Best-Badger-Shaving-Brush-X1B_p_557.html

 

[Ron Scott]

The Special 1 in best should do the trick but I would avoid the temptation to build some sort of collection or rotation of brushes. I guess there are duds out there but assuming you're buying at least average quality they all basically do the same job and don't affect the shave much. Find one or two you like and just move on. IMO.

 

[TacticalPanda]

If you want a really great all around brush without spending a ton of money, I can't recommend enough the Semogue 830. Boar bristle, comes very soft already and only improves with time. Great for bowl lathering or face lathering. Soft tips work great with creams while the backbone works well with hard soaps. I love that brush.

 

[gmgaj]

I've tried quite a few, and I'm cutting my brushes down quite a bit. I like boars, so Omegas and semogue are on the list. For badgers I have tried quite a few, and am absolutely loving the WD 22mm silvertip set at about 48mm. Those will be the only badgers that I own from here on out. They pick up soap fine, lather nicely, and feels awesome when face lathering or applying lather from the bowl.

 

[lmill999]

The Simpson Berkeley is a great brush that can be had for about $50 on WCS. Nice backbone and tips are very soft. Works well with face or bowl lathering. I've only used creams so far so I can't comment on how well it will work with soaps but I imagine it would do just fine. You get A LOT of brush for what you pay. There are some other guys on here that will recommend this brush to you as well.

 

[ChiefBroom]

The Special 1 in best should do the trick but I would avoid the temptation to build some sort of collection or rotation of brushes. I guess there are duds out there but assuming you're buying at least average quality they all basically do the same job and don't affect the shave much. Find one or two you like and just move on. IMO.

Another example of YMMV

 

[UWBadgers1]

Thanks for the replies. Still have a little more reseaching to do before I pull the trigger on a new brush.

 

[Head Rigger]

If you want a really great all around brush without spending a ton of money, I can't recommend enough the Semogue 830. Boar bristle, comes very soft already and only improves with time. Great for bowl lathering or face lathering. Soft tips work great with creams while the backbone works well with hard soaps. I love that brush.

I agree with Panda's desciption of the Semogue boars. I haven't tried the 830 but I have a Semogue Owners Club (SOC) blond boar with cherry wood handle and HAD a 1305. I think they're great brushes and a great value. The SOC is the favorite of all my brushes, badger or boar.

 

[jazzguy]

Simpson Colonel is a good all around badger that won't break your budget. A Rooney 3/1 in Super Badger would also be great.

 

[ChiefBroom]

Simpson Colonel is a good all around badger that won't break your budget. A Rooney 3/1 in Super Badger would also be great.

+1

I was going to recommend the X2L in Best and a B&B Essential Boar (if they're still available) or an Omega boar, if not. That would give you one of each.

I'll add that while it's true that you can get perfectly good shaves with brushes that cost a whole lot less than $100, the fact one person hasn't had the experience of brush quality affecting his shave doesn't mean that holds true for everyone. It doesn't for me. That said, my favorite brush was priced at under $100. But I've also paid over twice that for brushes I still enjoy using and don't regret having bought.

Net/net, find what works best for you and gives you the most pleasure to own and use. That may evolve over time. You're making a good start.

Welcome to B&B and the Shaving Brushes Forum!

 

[Okla1911]

I would recommend an SOC boar as a high quality boar can do it all. For $27 shipped from vintagescent you can't go wrong.