Stirling finest badger a real badger brush?

[Blade_Runner37C]

is the Stirling finest badger a real badger knot? for $32 I didn't think that was possible plus the reason i'm asking is on their site it says "The same finest badger fibers as found in our other brushes, now with fan knots rather than the more common bulb knots. Backbone, splay, and super-soft gel tips"

Maybe all hairs are referred to as "fibers" IDK but also gel tips on the knot sounds like a synthetic, but i'm not well educated on terms and how knots are made. I thought badger was just hairs pulled from the badger, so where would the gel tips come from.

So is this just another synthetic made to work/feel/look like a badger or real badger hairs?

 

[helicopter]

They are real badger. Pretty good deal. Yaqi, DSC, and RazoRock (from Italian Barber) also have some bargain Chinese badger brushes.

Though, in my opinion, the best value is that Semogue Owners Club Finest Badger in Cherry for $60 on Amazon.

 

[Blade_Runner37C]

oh they are chinese badgers? I thought the chinese badgers were called manchurian badgers. I would rather have a SOC C5, but can't afford or justify a $100 shaving brush.

I have a birthday coming up and have asked everyone just for money instead of stuff I don't want or need (my family is cool w/ it).

I bought a Mistura SOC C5 for Christmas but have been told its basically if a boar and badger had a romantic relationship the fruit of their love, but doesn't capture the essence of either. I love the Mistura but have never experienced a badger. But i'm so educated on brushes, someone could sell me a synthetic $5 brush and tell me it's badger and I wouldn't be any more the wiser.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Basically all badger hair is sourced from China, whether or not the knots assembled there.

 

[Rudy Vey]

oh they are chinese badgers? I thought the chinese badgers were called manchurian badgers. I would rather have a SOC C5, but can't afford or justify a $100 shaving brush.

I have a birthday coming up and have asked everyone just for money instead of stuff I don't want or need (my family is cool w/ it).

I bought a Mistura SOC C5 for Christmas but have been told its basically if a boar and badger had a romantic relationship the fruit of their love, but doesn't capture the essence of either. I love the Mistura but have never experienced a badger. But i'm so educated on brushes, someone could sell me a synthetic $5 brush and tell me it's badger and I wouldn't be any more the wiser.

Don't confuse yourself with naming of badger brushes - there is no accepted standard and one can called them whatever they want to name them. Pretty much all the badger hair used worldwide comes from China, and most likely from an area called Manchuria. One can called them all kind of names. But it comes down to badger hair, and this comes normally in either one color, or banded. The so-called Silvertip (often also named Three band Silvertip) three bands: light-dark-light.
The so-called Two-band silvertip (also sometimes called Finest) has three band as well: light- dark-light.
The difference is that the middle dark band in the first version is narrow, thus making three bands visible in the final brush/
The "two-band" has a much wider dark band, and often one can only see the lower dark and the top light band, but sometimes also a very narrow light bad at the lower end. This photo might show this clearly:

Three band on the left and the two band on the right (Shavemac D01 knots).

So, in general, there is no accepted standard of naming badger hair knots and everyone can name theirs whatever they like.

The term "Fibers" that triggered your interest is probably just a typo, of just use of a wrong word for hairs.
Also, "gel tips" refers to a highly chemically/heat altered hair.

 

[helicopter]

In my comment above about Stirling, Razorock, Yaqi, and DSC, I was referring to the entire package as Chinese. Boti is another good Chinese brand.

Semogue knots have Chinese badger hair, but the knot is tied in Europe, and the handle is made in Europe.

If you want a Chinese brush, you can probably get one cheap on the BST.

 

[Soaps & Scents]

I have one of the Stirling badger brushes (24mm bulb) that I bought from them when they first started selling them and it is real badger hair. It's actually one of my favorite brushes and I own a lot of high end brushes. I use it more than any other brush. YMMV

 

[LexLexington]

I have one. It's a good brush, and definitely badger. Judging by the one I own and nothing else, it blooms wide when it gets wet and is notably dense. The tips have some "scrub" and lean "skritchy" rather than "soft." If that's what you are looking for or want to try, it's a great buy.

 

[White Power Ranger]

it's legit and possibly the most badger bang for your buck on the market

 

[Squeege]

Hmmm, I never thought to check out a badger from Stirling. Do they assemble them here in the USA? How are the handles? That's the big thing for me. Most typical shave brush handles - I except Semogue among others but point to Simpson in their typical style - have, to me, an uncomfortable feel.

 

[Barbarian80]

You can talk about hair quality until blue in the face but construction of the knot and how deeply it's set in the handle matters quite a bit. This is the reason why we have $300 brushes and then the bargain brushes with so called quality hair come in at a much lower price. Theyre marketed with all the fancy terminology of a quality brush and people unknowingly buy them because of the price, but don't realize the poor knot construction until they try a better quality brush in the 100+ dollar range. The Stirling brushes in particular aren't packed nearly enough so they can get away with selling them at an amazing price for "finest", "high mountain white", and "Manchurian"- all selling points in the shave industry that don't mean a heck of a lot- as Rudy has stated. You just have to try as many as you can to see what you like.

 

[Soaps & Scents]

You can talk about hair quality until blue in the face but construction of the knot and how deeply it's set in the handle matters quite a bit. This is the reason why we have $300 brushes and then the bargain brushes with so called quality hair come in at a much lower price. Theyre marketed with all the fancy terminology of a quality brush and people unknowingly buy them because of the price, but don't realize the poor knot construction until they try a better quality brush in the 100+ dollar range. The Stirling brushes in particular aren't packed nearly enough so they can get away with selling them at an amazing price for "finest", "high mountain white", and "Manchurian"- all selling points in the shave industry that don't mean a heck of a lot- as Rudy has stated. You just have to try as many as you can to see what you like.

So the Stirling brush that I own is not a good brush because is cost less than $100? It's packed better than my Semogue and the Semogue was double the price of my Stirling. According to your logic, my DG, M&F & Paladin brushes reign supreme because they were more expensive? I own a lot of high end (by price) brushes and while I do enjoy them, I also still use the Stirling. Also, you aren't just paying for a better knot construction or more densely packed knot on the more expensive brushes. Acting like the only difference between a $30 brush and a $100+ brush is the knot construction or density is just not true. To think that you can only get a quality brush is you pay more than $100 is just not true either. To each their own though. I'm not an Arko fan but that's not to say that it's not a good soap just because it's a bargain/cheap and that my Panna Crema is way better because because it's more expensive. Higher price does not always equal better quality just as a cheaper price does not always mean it's junk. I do agree with trying as many as you can to see what you like.

 

[Barbarian80]

I've tried the Stirling and it's definitely not packed enough for me- we can disagree on that.. I thought the hair was decent enough. My tastes in knots is very different from yours. I've tried a few inexpensive ones and didn't like them, that is, until I tried some good ones and realized the Stirling wasn't much of a bargain afterall.

 

[DesertIguana]

Well this is interesting discussion, and the point about all Badger Hair being sourced out of China is interesting. Believe Badger Hair comes in different grade like USDA BEEF. Not all Badger Hair is PRIME,sure some if not of quality to be used in Shave Brush.

Don't personally why Badgers are an endanger species, as they are a PEST Animal like Coyotes, Javelin's, and I cant see anyone want a Pet Badger. Would destroy your home.

The Chinese are starting to make some higher end quality products in cladding Shave gear, look at the OUMO & ARNO web-site their offering are in the 60-70% price range of dome of the Artesian Brush Maker. Quality at 30% off is a lot of money.

One U-tuber does his Brush Picks of Year annually, his is always touting a Private Label Badge as a BEST BADGER at sub $50.00 price point, the brush actually retail for 30 bucks. He is just saying best bang for your buck in basic badger on budget.

I do not think anyone has come top with a machine to TEST BRUSHES on to evaluate, and RATE in four or five are for comparison. Most of what people say about their Brush, or Brush collection is very persona observation, likes and dislikes.

Sort of like asking 10 strangers in Manhattan for a recommendation for a good or great Bagel Place, answer is their personal likes. Bet a couple of the Bagles would blow my sick off. Love Bagels.

 

[NotBloomingAL]

I have Stirling's 24mm Finest Badger (fan) and like it very much.


I also have a Stirling's 24mm High Mountain White Badger (bulb) -- which was double the cost -- and don't particularly like it. It's way too dense for me.

 

[BurnFree]

CONUS Only - Three Stirling Brushes

Bid is for the lot with shipping included to Lower 48. Finest Badger, 24mm Fan Boar, 24 x 57mm Synthetic, 26mm The badger and boar are middle-ground representations of fiber type and the synthetic is on the soft side. Handles are easy to hold (the synthetic's is bigger and heavier). All...

www.badgerandblade.com

Get it cheap, already broken in, and try it! The other 2 brushes are just along for the ride.