AOS Brush?

[somebody]

Friends-

Does anyone know anything about the brush that comes with the AOS kit? I think the kit costs around $150 and comes with the pre-shave oil, cream, and after shave.
Thanks

 

[GreekGuy]

You can get the kit for $100 from nordstroms or AOS. Its how I first got into wetshaving, way before I discovered this place. The kit isn't a bad deal to get you started. The cream and aftershave is top notch. I like the oil, a lot of guys here don't use oil. I think it makes the shave smoother and more luxurious, but to each his own. The brush isnt bad. Definitely not worth $55 or whatever AOS charges for it. But if you figure 26 for the cream, and 38 for the AS, the brush and oil comes to $36, which IMO isn't bad.

To answer your question I use the brush everyday. It's a decent brush, but on its own its waaaay overpriced so don't buy it by itself. In the kit its a fair price IMO

 

[causalfault]

Friends-

Does anyone know anything about the brush that comes with the AOS kit? I think the kit costs around $150 and comes with the pre-shave oil, cream, and after shave.
Thanks

Check out this review. Make sure you read though all the comments, though, as the first review isn't necessarily the most unbiased.

If the brush included in their $100 starter kit is their Pure Badger brush, it's the same as the one I've got. It's currently my only brush, since I'm still a relative newbie to wetshaving, but here's my two cents.

The brush is a little scrubby at first, but after probably a month or so of daily use it'll soften up (obviously it'll take a little longer to break it in if there are other brushes in your rotation or you aren't a daily shaver). I find that it doesn't have quite as much backbone as I would like, but it's easy enough to get a good grip right around the base of the knot and give the brush a little extra oomph.

I've found that my brush still, after four-ish months of regular use, sheds the occasional hair when I'm picking up soap off a puck, probably at the rate of 1-2 hairs/week.

It seems to lather pretty easily on the face or in a bowl, but it's a little moppy when applying lather to the face after bowl-lathering. Again, a good three-finger grip at the base of the knot helps the brush stand up a little better.

I could stand to have a bit more heft to the handle, but for a relatively inexpensive brush, I can't really ask for too much. All in all, I'd say it's a good brush for a beginner, and a good travel brush, but an experienced user might find it a little lacking in one element of performance or another. It's still a pretty solid brush to have in a regular line-up if you're not looking to drop a whole lot of dough, but if budget is not a concern I would probably recommend springing for something a little higher quality.

Hope this helped!

 

[Mr. Igg]

Good responses.

The general rule on AoS is: Buy the "software" (soaps, creams, and aftershaves for sure, colognes, and oils if you like them) and avoid the hardware, which is OK, but massively overpriced.

It's true that, if you were to buy only the cream and aftershave, and not the kit, and then invest the remaining $35-40 in a brush, you could probably do at least as well and arguably better. Boar brush fans would remind us that you can get a top notch boar brush instead; and you can get a very respectable badger brush, too. (The manufacturer for the semi-official B&B starter brush recommendation, the C&E Best brush, is the English Shaving Company and you can get their equivalent best brush for $40ish shipped.). I actually went that route.

That said, in almost any case, the AoS brush is a safe risk, and by buying the kit, you're still getting the preshave oil to try for free.

[Disclaimer: I love AoS "software", except for the preshave oil, which was too thick for me. I've never owned nor have I used an AoS brush.]

 

[Mr. Igg]

PS: I agree, the kit should be $100. If it is around $150 , it probably also includes the cologne. I recall seeing some sales a while back that had the kit + cologne in that price ballpark. The cologne runs somewhere around $70; so, the same price logic applies, and maybe even moreso, as cream + balm + cologne could easily hit $125-130. If the kit is $150 just for cream, balm, brush and oil, just buy the cream and balm.

 

[Condorito]

I've gotten this kit also. It is what got me started into wet shaving. The brush is the only one i currently own, and i think its great. I get a great lather ( soap makes a difference of course, but so does technique), and i will probably compare every brush i get to this one. As what others have said, i wouldn't get it on its own, with the kit is "more bang for your buck"

 

[somebody]

Thanks for the replies everybody. This is the first brush I have ever used.

 

[Saxmoore]

I've had the AOS Fine brush for over a year and it is my main brush. I can't, however, get good lather from a soap with it. I use a Simpson's Commodore for soaps. However, the Simpson's feels scratchy in comparison. It's a great brush. As has been pointed out already, you can get an equivalent brush for much less, though. If you already have it, have no remorse. It's a good brush.