Simpsons Berkeley Best Badger 46, or something else in the price range?

[Rocinante]

Yes, another "help me buy a brush" thread.

My current brushes are a cheap Escali pure badger and a cheaper WSP boar.

The Escali lathers okay but is quite 'scritchy.' (I think that's the appropriate term for "feels like a hundred small needles poking my face.") Also the Escali flares out a bit too much when face lathering. The WSP boar is just terrible; doesn't lather well, doesn't hold what little it makes, doesn't have the nice "broken in" split ends shown in their product pictures, and the bristles bend to the sides in various directions like a cowlick. I really should have returned it right away, but foolishly didn't. Ten bucks down the drain.

Anyway, I'm looking for a modestly priced (under $75, preferably closer to $50 USD) easy-to-use all-rounder. I generally use creams and face lather, but want to experiment with some soaps and will probably do some superlathering, so it needs to be able to work well with soaps too (got some Mike's samples on order.) I want something ready to use on day one and doesn't need breaking in, so I'm thinking badger over boar. I want something comfortably 'scrubby' for my very coarse beard, but not scritchy as I defined it above. And I want it to have a bit of backbone so that it doesn't flare out so far it reaches from nostril to ear canal.

Research (reading lots of B&B) has led me to the Simpson Berkeley 46 in best badger as a good bang-for-the-buck brush that meets my desires, or perhaps the Edwin Jagger medium, also in best.

I also see lots of recommendations for the Simpson Duke 2, though I'm really struggling to see any big differences to justify the price premium over the Berkeley.

Does the Berkeley seem like a good brush for what I've listed above, or is there something else I should consider? I think it sounds good but want to make sure I'm not missing something obvious.

Thanks for your indulgence!

 

[NSmalls]

http://penworks.us//

I would check here for a 2-band finest. They use TGN knots which are some of the best budget knots you can get your hands on. I have a TGN knot in my regular rotation and I couldn't be happier with it.

 

[ailevin]

I went through the same search and decision process with similar criteria about a week ago. You may have read my review from last Thursday. Nothing particular to add since then except I have not had a shedding problem with the Berkeley and it has bloomed nicely.

The finalists for me were the Berkeley in Best, the Colonel in Best, and the Duke I in Best. I had decided I wanted to try a Simpson as my first badger just because. I was told and believe that the difference in price is an indication of how much badger hair is in the brush and for similar knot size, more money means more density. I wanted good flow through of lather, and all things considered greater density gives less flow (also depends on shape I think). So price, my preference for a short handle, good backbone, and good flow made the Berkeley my choice.

Last but not least, I gather you are relatively new at this or at least to badger brushes. I think that many of the differences between these candidate brushes are hot topics for the experienced guys, but probably would be subtleties lost on me in my first badger brush. The fact that the experienced guys are often discussing the candidates above means that any of them would have made me quite happy. Perhaps at a future date I will know enough about what I want out of this brush to help me optimize more.

Alan

 

[Rocinante]

I would check here for a 2-band finest. They use TGN knots which are some of the best budget knots you can get your hands on. I have a TGN knot in my regular rotation and I couldn't be happier with it.

Some of those look great! And their finest knots do seem to get good reviews. But I'm hesitant to deviate from the beaten path just yet. Too many little things I'd likely screw up, like how deep the knot should be in the handle. Next time, maybe.

I went through the same search and decision process with similar criteria about a week ago. You may have read my review from last Thursday. Nothing particular to add since then except I have not had a shedding problem with the Berkeley and it has bloomed nicely.

Thanks Alan. Yes, I read your review and comparison to the two boars. And you've captured what I'm looking for perfectly here: "price, short handle, good backbone and good flow."

I think you're likely right about the subtle differences among higher-end brushes being lost on a newbie. But hopefully I will find the higher quality brush to be a notable improvement over my $12 "pure" badger, which shares some characteristics with a stainless steel wire brush!

 

[ailevin]

I think you're likely right about the subtle differences among higher-end brushes being lost on a newbie. But hopefully I will find the higher quality brush to be a notable improvement over my $12 "pure" badger, which shares some characteristics with a stainless steel wire brush!

Yes, pure badger face lathering did not sound like the experience I wanted. I have to believe a best badger like the Berkeley or any of its competitors will be a big improvement. OTH, I have to give excellent marks to my boar brushes. I have put the Berkeley into rotation with my two boar brushes, both of which are in the $10-$12 range. I was tempted to just use the new badger brush daily since it was the new toy, and for me an expensive one at that. However, I wanted to see how I liked the small boar brush as it broke in, and I wanted to so a proper comparo of smaller brush versus larger and badger vs. boar.

Alan

P.S. I should have disclosed this, but I went to grad school at UC Berkeley, my oldest son was born at Alta Bates Hospital there, and he graduated from Berkeley. This did not influence my decision, though there was no way I was ordering a Harvard brush as my first Simpson.

 

[Rocinante]

Well my oldest daughter wants to go to the Berklee College of Music ... not quite the same but close enough. Besides, it's not like there's a big Cal logo on it. ;-)