Upgrading from Wee Scot

[NavyHopeful]

Hey everyone, I've been a sole Wee Scot user for roughly the past 4 months or so. My Scot has been my daily driver, through thick and thin, and has broken in to become a wonderfully soft brush. The bristles fit my face fine, but I think it's time I upgrade to a larger brush. While I still love the Wee Scot, I occasionally get hand cramps from using the Scot, and I'm sure a larger brush would be just what I need to fix the problem. As such, I'm looking to upgrade to a new daily driver.

I have some criteria. I prefer a brush with best badger hair, I'd prefer the knot to be no larger than 20mm, and I want a brush that's good for face lathering with some backbone for soap use. The thing I love about the Wee Scot is its softness for face lathering, but also its backbone when loading soaps. I also don't want to spend more than $50.

Conveniently, Simpson has three brushes that fit all or most of my criteria. The Simpson Special, Case, and Berkeley all seem to fit, however I was hoping I could receive some input on these selections, and suggestions for any other brushes as well. Thanks!

 

[andrew98]

Why only Best badger? I'd go with this (New Forest 2201... no affiliation). It's 22mm, and I don't know if that's a deal breaker. Anyway, all the reviews make it seem like it's the best bang for the buck in your price range (about $42 shipped). I read that it has great backbone, and I should be able to verify that by about Tuesday. More info/discussion/reviews here.

-Andy

 

[wimbouman]

The Simpson 46 Berkeley comes to mind immediately!
Great brush, fits nicely in between the Wee Scot and a Duke 3 in my collection.

Great with soaps, good with creams.

I find my Muhle to be very effective; enough backbone and very gentle tops.

21 mm:

(66 euro)

(fine badger, 36 euro)

(best badger, 33 euro)

The Kosmo, 21 mm:

(fine badger, 44 euro)

Also consider making your own handle or reknot an old one with one of the TGN Finest Badger.
Or a New Forest, which comes at 27 GBP (I have ordered one).

 

[NavyHopeful]

The main reason I prefer best badger brushes is the lower price point, and I've heard people say that silvertip brushes can be scratchy on the face. I'll never know until I try one, which I probably will later in life, but until then I'm a college student without a job, and my main funds come through selling stuff on ebay

Also, I've never heard of those New Forest brushes but I'll definitely look into it, as well as the Muhle brushes. Thanks for the replies.

 

[andrew98]

The main reason I prefer best badger brushes is the lower price point, and I've heard people say that silvertip brushes can be scratchy on the face. I'll never know until I try one, which I probably will later in life, but until then I'm a college student without a job, and my main funds come through selling stuff on ebay

Also, I've never heard of those New Forest brushes but I'll definitely look into it, as well as the Muhle brushes. Thanks for the replies.

I'm in the "little to no money" camp too. The New Forest looks like a type of silvertip to me, and silvertip brushes are, in general, the softest tipped brushes out there. I certainly haven't tried everything, but I also haven't run into a scratchy silvertip brush yet.

Good luck choosing a new brush. It's a fun but sometimes agonizing process.

-Andy

 

[NavyHopeful]

I bought the New Forest...

I wasn't expecting to end up with this brush when I made the thread, but I'm certainly excited to be receiving one. I read so many good things about it and, coupled with the low price point, I couldn't pass it up. I've heard good things about the ergonomic handle, which was really the main reason why I decided to buy a new brush. I don't know much about two-band and three-band and what not, but it does look like an impressive brush. Can't wait to try it out, thanks for the input!

-Brian