Ladies and Gentlemen - I will complete the 2014 Shave Purchase Sabbatical with no exceptions and no buys for the year. This calls for a victory lap and spoils of war. Well, at least the spoils of war - which will be a brush of some sort.
What I've used so far:
What I'm looking for:
I've looked at multiple Simpsons brushes (Duke 2/3, Classic CL1, Chubby 1 in Best), Semogue 730 HD, Da Vinci Uomo 290/293, and Saville Row 3822 or similar. But there are way too many brushes on the market, so this is where you come in.
Post your thoughts! And thanks in advance.
What I've used so far:
- Semogue 830 - my stock brush (boar)
- EJ Pure - not really thrilled with it, sold it off (this was very early in my shaving path)
- Omega 10275 as a travel brush
- 23mm Muhle STF v2: Liked it, not sure why I got rid of it
- RV "Persian Jar 2" clone w/TGN silvertip knot: My favorite brush, sheds a bit (have to get that fixed), but really a bowl lather brush; a bit floppy (which is fine for creams)
- SOC Boar: Not a bad brush, just too long.
- Omega 49: Same as the SOC.
- Vie-Long beehive (horse hair): not for me. Too scritchy.
What I'm looking for:
- Uses: all-around, more for soaps but can handle creams without too much fuss. This one will be a face-lathering brush that can handle bowl lathering.
- Badger hair: leaning towards Best or Super grade. Silvertip is okay if it isn't floppy; it has to hold up to lathering on the puck with very hard water (and sometimes a heavy hand). Nothing too crazy-scritchy (the 830 is for that). No boar, no horse, no synthetic hair this time.
- Knot size: I have small hands (size 7/small glove). The 830 is 23/55, and I'm not too certain I want to go much larger than that. I'd probably run in the 21-22mm knot size with a good loft, or maybe 24mm if it isn't floppy.
- Overall sizing: The 830 is a good fit in the hand (105mm overall length). The PJ2 clone is nice too, but that really is for bowl lathering. The Omega 10275 is small; the 23mm Muhle was a nice size.
- Price: Around $100 is fine, less is always good, don't want to go over $150 unless it's "the brush".
- For this exercise, let's stick to commercial instead of custom-made. I could go Whipped Dog/TGN if nothing pulls.
I've looked at multiple Simpsons brushes (Duke 2/3, Classic CL1, Chubby 1 in Best), Semogue 730 HD, Da Vinci Uomo 290/293, and Saville Row 3822 or similar. But there are way too many brushes on the market, so this is where you come in.
Post your thoughts! And thanks in advance.