I am hoping some of the brush guru's will enlighten me on whether is is better to spend your money on a "pure" or low grade "best" badger hair brush, or is it better to opt for a quality boar hair brush. On one side of a coin you can find "exceptional" boar brushes for less than a hundred dollars, or that is what I am led to believe, however to get a firm silver tip brush from a similar pedigree seems to be more in the two hundred to three hundred dollar range. Please someone help as I don't have the budget to just start collecting brushes at this point. I will someday have several, maybe 3 or 4, but today I have a real cheap brush and can afford either a quality boar or an ok badger brush.
Mediocre Badger vs Quality Boar
- Thread starter Little Blade
- Start date
Luxurious shaving brushes don't have to be that expensive. The ever-popular Rooney 1/1 small in super is only $74.95 at Classic Shaving. My Kent BK4 only cost me about $60 shipped off the b/s/t forum here (common price for BK4's around here). Then again, amazing Omega, Semogue, Vulfix, etc. boar brushes can be had for under $20 most of the time. Personal preference usually is the decider for most folks, I think. I can get a decent lather from my $7 VDH CVS bought boar, but I'd much rather use my Kent!
I'm going to cheat a bit on this answer, because I haven't used an expensive badger brush. I do have two incredible boar brushes though. I use a Semogue 1305 and a Semogue 2000. Both are exceptional brushes, both around $20. The hairs are stiff, but the tips are very soft. It took about a week to break both of them in, but they have performed remarkably well. Prior to the Semogues, I was using a Tweezerman badger brush. It was very capable brush, producing good lathers. It shed a bit more than I like, and was a little prickly. I paid the same for my Tweezerman as I did for my Semogue 1305, and the Semogue is, without a doubt, a far superior brush, both in terms of construction and in terms of feel.
I've been breaking in the 2000 and it's fast becoming my favorite brush. The hairs are longer and a little more densely packed than the 1305, but it still has the stiff but soft feel of the 1305. They're both excellent for face lathering and work well with creams and soaps. For the price, I HIGHLY recommend picking one up. If you break it in and don't like it, I'll be happy to buy it off you for what you paid.
I've been breaking in the 2000 and it's fast becoming my favorite brush. The hairs are longer and a little more densely packed than the 1305, but it still has the stiff but soft feel of the 1305. They're both excellent for face lathering and work well with creams and soaps. For the price, I HIGHLY recommend picking one up. If you break it in and don't like it, I'll be happy to buy it off you for what you paid.
As a general rule in life i have found that you get what you pay for. The exception to this rule is shaving brushes. I have silvertips which cost me a fortune but in my opinion are pretty much useless if you are using a shaving soap ( WAY TOO FLOPPY) . I like a brush which is firm but yet has soft tips so i heartly recommend you get a decent Boar or a Best badger and save your cash. My current favourites are 1. Acca Kappa boar brush 2. Omega best badger 3. Men U Boar bristle. All these brushes cost me less than £20.00 and beat the hell out of my silvertips. The cheapest was the Men U which i got for abount £4.00 when Boots were selling them off. The Men U is made my Omega and is fantastic for face lathering. Stay away from super cheapy ones like the Wilkinsons boar supermarket special and you will be fine.
The Omega Pro can't be beat for the price:http://westcoastshaving.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=28_39&products_id=213
Please,don't be fooled about the Finest quality.It is a very good all around grade of hair.You can get a very good deal on a Shavemac here also:http://westcoastshaving.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=28_30_33&products_id=275
Please,don't be fooled about the Finest quality.It is a very good all around grade of hair.You can get a very good deal on a Shavemac here also:http://westcoastshaving.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=28_30_33&products_id=275
Here's an Omega Silvertip Badger for 75 bones.
Where's my wallet.....
http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/omega-silvertip-622.html
Where's my wallet.....http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/omega-silvertip-622.html
I, on the other hand, have a different experience.
In shaving accesories, you get what you pay for (with research, beacuse if you like stiffer brushes, you'll buy one product, if you like creams, you'll buy another).
In life, I really don't find it that true.
But it all depends on your preferences.
In shaving accesories, you get what you pay for (with research, beacuse if you like stiffer brushes, you'll buy one product, if you like creams, you'll buy another).
In life, I really don't find it that true.
But it all depends on your preferences.
I'm definitely a boar convert and now the only badgerhairs I have are those in my 404 mixed badger/boar, which is a great combo. I sold on my Kent H8. Nothing wrong with it, but I just prefer the feel of boar and got a good deal for it. I have no plans to buy a badger brush
In my opinion, there is absolutely no comparison.
A quality BOAR brush is MUCH, MUCH nicer than a cheap badger brush. Period.
Do yourself a favor and pick up an Omega or a Semogue. Very, very nice. All the brush you'll ever need, realistically.
A quality BOAR brush is MUCH, MUCH nicer than a cheap badger brush. Period.
Do yourself a favor and pick up an Omega or a Semogue. Very, very nice. All the brush you'll ever need, realistically.
I say go with a quality boar brush. They are very nicely priced, and typically a bit more versatile. You can pick up a nice badger brush later when funds permit.
I was replying to a thread about "Most Comfortable Shave" recently, and I found myself listing my Omega Boar as the brush for (one of) my most comfortable setups. It's a great brush. Very soft yet stiff, and it handles soaps very well. It will whip up a cream nicely too.
I have a very nice Silvertip, also, but it's a long handled, high lofted 24mm knot. It feels great and makes an excellent lather from cream, but it doesn't perform nearly as well as the Omega with soaps.
I was replying to a thread about "Most Comfortable Shave" recently, and I found myself listing my Omega Boar as the brush for (one of) my most comfortable setups. It's a great brush. Very soft yet stiff, and it handles soaps very well. It will whip up a cream nicely too.
I have a very nice Silvertip, also, but it's a long handled, high lofted 24mm knot. It feels great and makes an excellent lather from cream, but it doesn't perform nearly as well as the Omega with soaps.
There isn't really a reason to pay anywhere near a hundred dollars for a boar brush. Quality can be had for $15-20 easy. I have a $40 Kingsley badger that works just great, for soap or cream. You don't have to spend a hundred bucks for a good badger brush, either. It really comes down to what you prefer. Boar is much stiffer and scrubs better, compared to the softer badger hair.
I have two brushes, the Men U boar (which is the same as the omega) and the edwin jagger best badger brush (same as C&E BBB).
The boar cost me about $20 and the badger cost me about $35
I like them both. The boar is great for picking up the soap from the dish and bowl lathering, the badger is great for face lathering or creams. I really don't think I'd spend any more on a brush, any badger that's softer than the EJ BBB would be useless for soaps as it wouldn't pick enough soap up from the dish and I'm not a big user of creams.
The other option is the omega synthetic, which costs similar to the badger brush and may be the best of both worlds.
The boar cost me about $20 and the badger cost me about $35
I like them both. The boar is great for picking up the soap from the dish and bowl lathering, the badger is great for face lathering or creams. I really don't think I'd spend any more on a brush, any badger that's softer than the EJ BBB would be useless for soaps as it wouldn't pick enough soap up from the dish and I'm not a big user of creams.
The other option is the omega synthetic, which costs similar to the badger brush and may be the best of both worlds.
this is the omega and this is the menu. apart from a little dye, they're identical. Didn't realise Omega put out this model under their own name. I thought they stuck to the outrageously-big monsters
It is often repeated here that boar brushes are stiff and badger brushes are generally softer, but the point that this misses completely is that a good boar brush is tip soft, meaning very comfortable to use on the face, whereas a cheap badger brush is trimmed, which makes it "scritchy" and for some people, uncomfortable.
My boar brush feels much more comfortable and, dare I say it, luxurious on my face than an inexpensive badger brush.
My boar brush feels much more comfortable and, dare I say it, luxurious on my face than an inexpensive badger brush.
There's no reason to spend $100 on a boar brush, so when you say "quality boar", I don't know what you mean by that. A $15 Omega boar brush is a quality brush. Yes, the handle is pretty cheap feeling, but the brush works well for the task at hand. Other people have good things to say about Vulfix and Semogue boar brushes, but I haven't tried one yet.
My suggestion is to pick this and this up, and see where that puts you. I just got the pure badger. Yes, it's trimmed and a bit scritchy, and it's not very densely packed, but it actually works really well. I owned the boar brush at one point too, and once I broke it in, it was superb.
If you want something nicer that these, there are several best badger options that are priced right. If you want stiffness, best badger with a short loft will be great, or you can pick up a Rooney 1/1 or 3/1 in super.
My suggestion is to pick this and this up, and see where that puts you. I just got the pure badger. Yes, it's trimmed and a bit scritchy, and it's not very densely packed, but it actually works really well. I owned the boar brush at one point too, and once I broke it in, it was superb.
If you want something nicer that these, there are several best badger options that are priced right. If you want stiffness, best badger with a short loft will be great, or you can pick up a Rooney 1/1 or 3/1 in super.
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In my opinion, a $20 boar brush is better than a $20 badger brush. I am biased toward boar, though; my $20 Vulfix 2233 Boar has softer tips and more backbone than my $35 Col. Conk's Pure Badger brush (which I no longer use).
semogue is a new one on me. what is the source?
Leon over at Vintage Scent (http://vintagescent.com/shaving-brushes-c-5) has a wonderful selection. That's where I ordered my Semogue 1305. The 1305 and the 2000 get stellar reviews around the shaving forums, and the prices are right.
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