Tell me What, Tell me Why

[wifwaf]

I have been DE shaving for about two months and I have used a Kent Bk2 for that time, with no complaints. It cost me £30 from a local chemist and was a good investment as far as I can tell.

I was amazed to read that this is considered a stiffer brush, given that to me it seems incredibly soft and floppy on the face. I also have no problem with getting a massive amount of lather from Kent Soap, I assume this is partially because we have very good water (we get no deposit in our kettle if thats a clue).

My question is; ignoring snob value ie. get a simpson because its a simpson, what other two or three brushes would give me a broader selection of 'types' which I could enjoy comparing. I use mainly soap but also some creams, and will indubitably expand my collection as time goes on.

I understand the basics of bristle types and I know the reputation of makers etc, what im after is two or three reasonably priced but 'prime' examples of the different options available...

I cant wait to read your suggestions!

 

[StuMcB]

reasonably priced but 'prime' examples

Whats your max spend and definition of prime ?

If your counting pennies you could always try an FS in finest. For me I found them good value and excellent brushes.

 

[wifwaf]

I guess £100 per brush is my mental limit, I can understand there are 'better brushes' above that mark but im more interested in 'different' than 'better'

 

[edgerunner]

It's a fair question. If you're happy with your current brush and are not curious about trying something new, you don't need another brush. Most of the brushes discussed here fulfill their purposes. Buying more than a couple of brushes to keep in rotation has something to do with the shaving ADs most of us develop here on the forum. Everybody likes variety to a certain degree, and has some sort of a limit about their price-quality-number_of_items ratios. Collecting more than a certain number of shaving items becomes a hobby. Then you don't try to justify the reasons for buying something new. OTOH, you'll never know if your next brush won't give you much better enjoyable shave and experience. One thing is for sure - brushes feel different, not necessarily better, but they have different parameters and properties: different handles, feel, sizes, ergonomics, colours, etc. They are like any other tool, suitable and efficient for some tasks and not so much for others. Moreover, all new cars are nice, right? Big or small, yellow or black, they can take you from point A to point B without a problem. But if you can afford a car for $100, wouldn't you be curious enough to buy 10 different ones for $1000 and decide what you like? Otherwise, how are you going to know your preferences?

 

[wifwaf]

Yeah, I guess im driving at a different point; I can buy a large number of brushes and im sure I will do in the long run, what I was asking was for suggestions of something 'different' to the Bk2 in the sense of 'type', rather than me buying a Simpson or Vulfix and finding that ive essentially bought the same archetype of brush by another maker..

Not sure I can explain what I mean..

 

[celestino]

Vie-Long natural horse-hairs
Frank Shaving synthetics
Semogue boars
Simpson, Rooney for badgers
These are all examples of different burhses; better is highly subjective.
Good luck.

 

[wifwaf]

Thanks; again I stress, im not asking whats better, thats for me to decide, I just wanted some definite 'differents'

 

[Face&Head]

I have used a Kent Bk2...I was amazed to read that this is considered a stiffer brush

I don't know who would have written that; Kents are generally considered some of the softest brushes out there and are often backbone free (with the exception of some of their LEs).

An excellent reasonably priced brush is the Truefitt & Hill. They are made by Rooney and here in the States we get a B&B discount as well. I would stick with the Silvertip models. They have a larger selection than what is shown on their UK website.

 

[Loric]

I like a variety of brushes too. If I was starting over and trying to cover as many basses as possible I'd get the following.

A custom TGN Finest, I love the backbone of a two band badger, and the current batch of TGN Finest is super soft to boot. Its almost as nice as my M&F's.

A custom TGN Silvertip Grade A at a short loft. You have a floppy silvertip, so getting something a little denser with a short loft for more backbone would be a nice change of pace.

I like customs as I get to choose the handle shape and material. I like my brushes to have some personality to them. Plus you can pick a knot size and loft that suite your shaving style, or variety of styles as thats what your looking for.

For a boar if you face lather I'd get a Shave Factory XS, as it has the best loft knot size available period IMO. If you bowl lather the Semogue SOC is really nice with its slightly higher loft.

Then I'd pick up a synthetic its a three way tie here. The HIS synthetic is a fantastic bowl lathering brush, but the high loft makes it a bit aquard for face lathering. The FrankShave 28mm synthetic is a beast for face lathering, it has amazing backbone. Then my personal favorites are synthetic kabuki brushs. I'm way off the map on this one, but personally I love the soft bristles, short scrubby loft, and high density. They also happen to make lather better than anything else out there. My top picks here are the EcoTools Bamboo bronzer brush, and Royal & Langnickel 35mm synthetic/silk dome. The EcoTools is cheap, but only holds 3 passes of lather. The R&L easily holds 4, but your back at TGN prices for that extra capacity.

Horse has many supporters too, but did not care for the one I used. Personally I'd skip them, but if they sound interesting to you there are some good ones out there for not a lot of money.

 

[Merkur25]

Dude get a Thater! You will not be disappointed, I swear

 

[wifwaf]

I don't know who would have written that; Kents are generally considered some of the softest brushes out there and are often backbone free (with the exception of some of their LEs).

An excellent reasonably priced brush is the Truefitt & Hill. They are made by Rooney and here in the States we get a B&B discount as well. I would stick with the Silvertip models. They have a larger selection than what is shown on their UK website.

View attachment 274783

Mmm, maybe I confused the quote, its from their own marketing stuff, which suggests that the Bk2 is more suited to thicker beards. I read that as meaning it was stiffer than the silvertip, which I suppose doesnt make it actually stiff, maybe just a bit more aggressive than their more expensive brushes.

Thanks for the pointers so far, I certainly mean to have a good look at Thater, TGN and the Rooney brushes. Semogue seem to be 'the' boar brush so I will be looking for a nice option from them..