Needing a new brush

Hello fellas!

Recently added shaving soap to my den, and am now happy with my assortment of lather creators.

Now for my next purchase...a better brush. I'm looking for a brush that works equally well with soaps and creams. Looking for one that holds water well, and (most importantly) one that won't rape my wallet.

I am currently using a very cheap one I found on eBay. It's just okay. VERY average.

If anyone has any suggestions (or a brush they're willing to sell), please reply, or send me a message.

Thanks!

Well, the rabbit whole goes deep. I think at this point the most helpful question to ask you is, how much do you want to spend?

Speaking of eBay, the Frank Shaving brushes coming from a Chinese seller are getting some excellent reviews and are a huge bargain.

I picked up a butterscotch-handled finest badger brush from him and I'm thrilled with the quality and price.

Here's the rather-extensive thread discussing the Frank Shaving brushes.http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=160334

I'm also looking for a new badger brush, and it seems Frank Shaving brushes are a bang for the buck. I'm using mainly creams, but occasionally I use hard soap and always make my lather in a bowl.
Which of the Frank Shaving brush would be the best choice in my case?

Pen Works makes some great middle of the road brushes in the $40~60US range. They are soft, have plenty of backbone, and are just fine in density. The Finest grade seems to offer the best performance out of their line, and they are cheaper than the sivertips to boot.

If you are willing to make the jump to $80~100 Simpson Best are an amazing value. They are very dense, have magnificent backbone, and are nearly as soft as any high dollar brush. I have one, and cant suggest them enough to someone wanting the best value per dollar. There are brushes that do some things a little bit better, but overall these brushes do everything very well with no real weaknesses. Not to mention you can find them in any number of knot/handle combination so there is bound to be something just right for you. I would suggest a Persian Jar or a 50 Series for something middle of the road between a soap and cream brush.

For a good all around performer, I would suggest a Rooney 2/1 in Super. It runs about $75 at Vintage Blades and Classic Shaving.

beginish said:

For a good all around performer, I would suggest a Rooney 2/1 in Super. It runs about $75 at Vintage Blades and Classic Shaving.

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+1 another good suggestion from a great vendor. My brother has a 3/1 that might be a touch better all around performer as it has a little shorter loft. I have to admit I have one on its way to my door. I still like the Simpsons Best better (try saying that 3 times fast). However sort of that you would be hard pressed to find a better brush at $75.

I don't want an expensive brush. $30 tops, no more than that.

A Rooney 3/1 is silvertip is $65. Works well on soaps or creams, holds plenty of water, nice and soft.

While it may be more than you want to spend, I would suggest the Simpson Grosvenor. At $96.00 for a two band Super Badger, I think that it is a very good value for a brush that will give you many years of pleasurable service.

If it within your budget, get one while you can.

Enjoy your shaves,

Doug

I don't think that you can go wrong with a $15 Tweezerman.

They are always available on Ebay and Amazon.

Even with the dollar value being low, $75 is a very high price for a Portuguese citizen. It may be cheap for an american, but here in Portugal is a lot of money. I hope you understand

I will take a look at the Tweezerman's brush.

Lusitano said:

I'm also looking for a new badger brush, and it seems Frank Shaving brushes are a bang for the buck. I'm using mainly creams, but occasionally I use hard soap and always make my lather in a bowl.
Which of the Frank's Shaving brush would be the best choice in my case?

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I purchased the 'finest' for soaps and the 'silver tip' for creams. If you are only going to purchase one brush, I would recommend the 'finest'.

Maineac said:

I don't think that you can go wrong with a $15 Tweezerman.

They are always available on Ebay and Amazon.

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I agree that it's hard to go wrong with the Tweezerman. My first brush was a tweezerman, and I recently purchased the two Frank's Shaving brushes referenced above. While I believe the Frank's Shaving brushes are a step up from the Tweezerman, the quality of the badgerhair appears very similar to me. The knots in the Frank's Shaving brushes are more 'robust', IMO.

You get a lot for what you pay for with either of these 2 brands, IMO.

Get a Simpsons "Special" in Pure Badger this can be done for $30.

Lusitano said:

I don't want an expensive brush. $30 tops, no more than that.

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Most of the old school Italian barbers use Omega boars; they can be had for <$30 and they perform excellent.

Semogue is another great option.

Snargle said:

Speaking of eBay, the Frank Shaving brushes coming from a Chinese seller are getting some excellent reviews and are a huge bargain.

I picked up a butterscotch-handled finest badger brush from him and I'm thrilled with the quality and price.

Here's the rather-extensive thread discussing the Frank Shaving brushes.http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=160334

Click to expand...

Why does it say I can't access that link? Like a forbidden forum or something.

jmcrawf1 said:

Why does it say I can't access that link? Like a forbidden forum or something.

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That thread was deleted for infringement of the forum's rules.

oversaturn said:

That thread was deleted for infringement of the forum's rules.

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Ah, got it. Thank you.

RazoRock said:

Most of the old school Italian barbers use Omega boars; they can be had for <$30 and they perform excellent.

Semogue is another great option.

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I already have a Semogue 1305 boar brush Now I wanted to try a badger. But the issue is not really a problem anymore, because a generous member will send me a Tweezerman

Lusitano said:

Even with the dollar value being low, $75 is a very high price for a Portuguese citizen. It may be cheap for an american, but here in Portugal is a lot of money. I hope you understand

I will take a look at the Tweezerman's brush.

Click to expand...

Cheap? Portugal? Semogue 1470.

That is all.

Badger under $30? Hmm. TGN 24mm Finest 2 band xtra stuffed bulb in some 1" wide pvc pipe.