Want to dive in to higher end badger

[zed117]

I’ve exhausted my RAD both vintage and modern, and explored many soaps and balms in my years here.

However, when it comes to brushes, I was mostly a boar/Synthetic guy. I do have a very nice Stirling Badger, but have decided its finally time to step into something thats not under $50.

Paladin, Rudey Vey, Simpsons, and so so so many mote choices. Seems some knots are handmade while others are not.
Can i get some advantages and disadvantages of upgrading my brush game, and a ton of suggestions? Thanks guys.

 

[Xopenex]

In the same boat. Looking at the new Semogue boars...forgot the name. Good luck

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[Steinmetzify]

Aside from what you’ve mentioned:

Declaration Grooming, Dogwood Handcrafts, Grizzly Bay, Varlet is on order form now, Turn N Shave.

Also check out Heritage Collection, That Darn Rob, and Envy Shave.

Any of these are stellar, the handles are superb and you can pick and choose your knots.

Be prepared. Varlets run upwards of $400, a Dogwood with a Declaration knot is around the same....Turn N Shave/Grizzly Bay/That Darn Rob/Heritage/Envy/will run you under $200 with a knot included.

Advantages include one of a kind handles, custom stuff if you’d like to do your own colors etc...

You could start with one of the Maggard’s kits if you’re comfortable putting together your own brush. It’s easy and takes about 10 minutes with their stuff, plus 24-30 hours to dry.

I’d ask around for knot recommendations; some guys love fans, some guys love bulbs, so guys love super high density stuff, some guys like looser knots etc.

Good luck man, brush rabbit hole is fun.

 

[zed117]

So there is little to be gained in purchasing a Envoy if you have a GC .84?

Aside from what you’ve mentioned:

Declaration Grooming, Dogwood Handcrafts, Grizzly Bay, Varlet is on order form now, Turn N Shave.

Also check out Heritage Collection, That Darn Rob, and Envy Shave.

Any of these are stellar, the handles are superb and you can pick and choose your knots.

Be prepared. Varlets run upwards of $400, a Dogwood with a Declaration knot is around the same....Turn N Shave/Grizzly Bay/That Darn Rob/Heritage/Envy/will run you under $200 with a knot included.

Advantages include one of a kind handles, custom stuff if you’d like to do your own colors etc...

You could start with one of the Maggard’s kits if you’re comfortable putting together your own brush. It’s easy and takes about 10 minutes with their stuff, plus 24-30 hours to dry.

I’d ask around for knot recommendations; some guys love fans, some guys love bulbs, so guys love super high density stuff, some guys like looser knots etc.

Good luck man, brush rabbit hole is fun.

Thanks, the hole seems deep. I appreciate the suggestions.

 

[Shavely Manden]

Depends on what you're looking for. If you're used to boars, you probably don't mind a bit of scrub and backbone, so my suggestion would be a Simpson Colonel X2L in Best. It's not crazy expensive ($65, which is about as reasonable as high-end badgers get), it's fairly dense without being insanely so, and it's got the typical Simpson's quality to it. It's fairly low-lofted, which is great for soaps and face-lathering, and it's got a pretty nice handle design, IMO.

On the other hand, if you want to go full Simpson's and don't mind paying a bit, I'd say Chubby CH1 or Chubby CH2, depending on your size preference. It'll be way more dense (too dense for some people), but it's legendarily dense and scrubby.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

Badgers can be very luxurious. They hold heat, load the toughest of soaps with ease, and make lightning quick lather, even the tiny ones! The larger you go, the more product you're going to eat through, so keep that in mind if you're a cheapskate like myself and many others.

There's lots of great choices out there but for me, there's nothing like a Simpson. If you can give us some more info on what boars and synthetics are to your liking, we can help you narrow zero in on a badger. Badgers can be tiny or downright dense and huge, and everywhere in-between.

 

[Timeclo]

I’ve exhausted my RAD both vintage and modern, and explored many soaps and balms in my years here.

However, when it comes to brushes, I was mostly a boar/Synthetic guy. I do have a very nice Stirling Badger, but have decided its finally time to step into something thats not under $50.

Paladin, Rudey Vey, Simpsons, and so so so many mote choices. Seems some knots are handmade while others are not.
Can i get some advantages and disadvantages of upgrading my brush game, and a ton of suggestions? Thanks guys.

I'm pretty heavy into brushes but I go for the budget/mid-end options. For example, some of my favorite badgers are from Yaqi, Stirling, and Oumo. I think they serve my purpose pretty well. For example, Yaqi 26mm moka express brush pretty much fills my badger needs. Good balance in all areas. Oumo badgers are all SuperHighDensity (SHD) so they feel very dense on the face and soft on the tips. Great face feel and performance.

Performance-wise, I don't think you'll get much difference as you go up in price. I've seen great lathers from Yaqi badgers and average lather from high-end stuff. The difference is mostly going to be the face feel (softness, backbone, density) , the handle (uniqueness of the color/shape/material) and whether it's hand-made or not. By this point, I'm more about the handle than the knot itself because I've found several knots that works for me.

Here are several high-end badgers that I heard good reviews on:

Grizzly Bay - Fanchurian
ThatDarnRob - Fanchurian
TurnNShave - Tip knot
Declaration Grooming - B# batches.

Personally, I think budget badgers work perfectly fine, especially the ones that edge towards the mid-end. It's your choice but there are plenty of options out there. Couple of my recommendations are the Yaqi 26mm moka express and Oumo Machuria brushes.

 

[zed117]

Badgers can be very luxurious. They hold heat, load the toughest of soaps with ease, and make lightning quick lather, even the tiny ones! The larger you go, the more product you're going to eat through, so keep that in mind if you're a cheapskate like myself and many others.

There's lots of great choices out there but for me, there's nothing like a Simpson. If you can give us some more info on what boars and synthetics are to your liking, we can help you narrow zero in on a badger. Badgers can be tiny or downright dense and huge, and everywhere in-between.

Synths have one me over, and I have only kept one omega boar as a travel brush. My favorite brushes are below

My two favorite brushes: PAA Solar Flare and Stirling badger. Love the synthetic knot (dont know different knot types names) very soft and dense. The Stirling Badger feels very luxurious. Then the Tuxedo knot, pilsoft? and another synth unknown knot type.

edit: Thanks for the oumo tip @Timeclo

 

[JoWolf]

I’ve exhausted my RAD both vintage and modern, and explored many soaps and balms in my years here.

However, when it comes to brushes, I was mostly a boar/Synthetic guy. I do have a very nice Stirling Badger, but have decided its finally time to step into something thats not under $50.

Paladin, Rudey Vey, Simpsons, and so so so many mote choices. Seems some knots are handmade while others are not.
Can i get some advantages and disadvantages of upgrading my brush game, and a ton of suggestions? Thanks guys.

I figure that if you are rotating soaps and rotating razors.....you need lotsa brushes. To me the advantages are having different performing brushes to give you options. I rotate between a Plisson Silvertip, a Zenith Chubby boar and a Zenith horse. The Zenith Manchurian Badgers are well regarded by some members. The Gentle Shave - Zenith Shaving Brushes and More - https://www.thegentleshave.com/ they are all north of $50.00. I’m very impressed and pleased with the quality and performance of my Zeniths. I have ordered four knots and handles from AliExpress and will give assembly a try. If you are not in a hurry because the parts drift in slowly. Good luck on your hunt.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

Synths have one me over, and I have only kept one omega boar as a travel brush. My favorite brushes are below

My two favorite brushes: PAA Solar Flare and Stirling badger. Love the synthetic knot (dont know different knot types names) very soft and dense. The Stirling Badger feels very luxurious. Then the Tuxedo knot, pilsoft? and another synth unknown knot type.View attachment 1079473

edit: Thanks for the oumo tip @Timeclo

You know what I would do if I were you? Stay away from badgers. Save your money for toilet paper. No badger will ever be as soft as a synthetic, you will very likely miss that aspect very much.

Those look like medium-sized synthetic brushes which is what I like too. If you're hell-bent on a badger, get a Simpson Commodore X3. That's my favorite badger, even though I've been using my synthetic lately for the reasons in my original post.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Have a think about the knot size you prefer as this makes a huge difference in the price of high end badger brushes. Many brands use knots of 26mm and above as larger knots seem to be in fashion. I prefer a maximum size of 25mm so that rules out many such as Paladin - a shame but good for my wallet! Also, I will not go on a waiting list and stay up until 2am for a brush drop. I suspect half the appeal of some brands is the difficulty in obtaining them which creates demand and high prices. Those prices may be justified but the buying process alienates me so I discount them. If you favour boar then like me you may prefer a low lofted scrubby badger. I have owned many brushes but the only badger brushes that have remained in my den are the Simpson Chubby 1 Manchurian, Duke 3 Manchurian, a Wee Scot, and four Semogue Limited Edition 2 band finest brushes. The Semogues can be hard to find as they are normally numbered and limited to 100, the Simpsons can be ordered off the shelf or contact Mark if you want something different. I prefer the traditional handle shapes and colours of Simpson and Semogue, you will not go far wrong and spend about $200 per brush. There are plenty of other great choices though so good luck and have fun.

 

[Tomo]

The follow brands would be worthy of your consideration these are my favorites.

Simpson’s are great. The trouble with Simpson is that the best grade can be hit and miss. Super is a much better IMHO however it is only available in a few models.

Plisson
Shavemac
Simpson
Thäter

 

[Jut]

For a classic, all around great badger, get a Simpson Duke 3 in best.

For high end badger, get a Simpson Tulip 2 in Super or a Shavemac with a 2 Band Silvertip knot.

For a custom made/one of a kind badger, have Rudy Vey create you a handle that you help design and put a Shavemac 2 band silvertip knot in it.

Imho, this is all the advice you need...i wish i would have been given this advice 10 years ago. It might have saved me some money...then again, probably not[emoji1]

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[allyourbasearebelongtous]

this brush killed my brush RAD



for me, everything on this brush is on the dot. even the weight of the titanium handle. i just have to be careful using it with a ceramic bowel.

 

[NJDJ]

Morris & Forndran makes some beautiful handles and knots. Rudy Vey will do a custom however you want it and put a great Shavemac knot in it. Get a standard 2 band Silvertip and you will be very happy.

 

[AshleyQ]

You know what I would do if I were you? Stay away from badgers. Save your money for toilet paper. No badger will ever be as soft as a synthetic, you will very likely miss that aspect very much.

Those look like medium-sized synthetic brushes which is what I like too. If you're hell-bent on a badger, get a Simpson Commodore X3. That's my favorite badger, even though I've been using my synthetic lately for the reasons in my original post.

I will second a Commodore X3 (such great value)- I actually prefer it to the Duke 3 but the Duke is also great


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[cryhavoc]

this brush killed my brush RAD

View attachment 1079543

for me, everything on this brush is on the dot. even the weight of the titanium handle. i just have to be careful using it with a ceramic bowel.

That is a beauty, who makes it?

 

[BigJ]

You are looking down a DEEP RABBIT HOLE!!

So many great options, so little time.

The first thing to remember is that there is no standard for grading badgers. Each manufacturer has their own system. Plus, badger hair can vary considerably from batch to batch.

That said, everyone should try a Simpsons brush. Personally, I don’t care for their ‘pure’ grade: simply a bit too much ‘scritch’ for my taste. I would pick an appealing handle and knot to start with! The Duke and Chubby series are classics IMO. You should also look at options like their 50, Tulip and Polo series.

I also heartily endorse Shavemac! I currently have and enjoy two Shavemac 2-bands from Rudy Vey. Rudy is a B+B member who is a pleasure to work with!!

The key point is to enjoy the journey!!

 

[Badgerstate36]

It seems to me that if youre looking at a high-end badger, the conversation starts and ends at a Simpson Chubby 2.

 

[allyourbasearebelongtous]

That is a beauty, who makes it?

Koraat