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Views on Frank Shaving Brushes?

There was some controversy a short while back regarding schillers pushing these brushes, which is why you don't see them talked about much here these days.

The general opinion of a lot of folks who tried them is that they are a very good value and perform above their asking price.

I can only speak to the Finest, but I've been very happy with mine.
 

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
Nudd:
Checck out this Thread and Posted Replies on Frank Shaving (FS) Brushes. It should answer have all your questions and conerns. :thumbup1:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=151707

Frank Shaving (FS) Silvertip Shaving Brush Reveiw link. :biggrin1:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=166327

Christopher
proxy.php
 
I posted my review the other day. I honestly feel these are the BEST value for money in terms of quality, performance, service and extras (you get a drip stand with every brush and the brush is presented in a really nice box!)
 
I am new to the boards and have been wetshaving for around 2 weeks. I stumbled upon these brushes from Frank Shaving and they look like a great deal. I searched a bit on the boards and saw that they have been mentioned rarely. What are your views on these brushes?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Silvertip-Badge...ultDomain_0&hash=item4155def88d#ht_1025wt_912

If not FS, what would be your recommendation for the sub $50 price range?
I am waiting on delivery (should be today) on an FS Silvertip. Will update with my inpressions.
 
I have 1 Silver Tip, 2 Finest (different handles) and 1 Best. I like them all and now they are the mainstays of my brush rotation. Rarely use my Roonies, Vulfix or Vie-Long any longer.

If you don't want to spend a lot of $$, these are the way to go. Good product at a good price
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Why don't you pm the producer and ask him any questions you may have?

Oh yeah, that's right..........
 
ok, I'm torn now. I like good value but I don't like dishonest business practices. Thanks for the replies. Any more information to aide in my dilemma would be appreciated.
 
ok, I'm torn now. I like good value but I don't like dishonest business practices. Thanks for the replies. Any more information to aide in my dilemma would be appreciated.

Why don't you pm the producer and ask him any questions you may have?

Oh yeah, that's right..........

Okay, so the guy made a [big] mistake of doing what he did on B&B but I think it's about time we move past that.

Whether he is able to be part of B&B or not is another matter. The fact of the matter is that he provides a fantastic brush at a fantastic price and my dealings with him have been nothing short of "gentlemanly".

Just be sure to custom order your brush, the 55mm loft is just silly. I got mine at 47mm (fan shape) and I just love it! :thumbup1:
 
The brushes aren't that good. They just aren't Horrible.


The New Forest 2201 (No longer available).
The Berkeley 46 Best Badger
The TGN Finest knot in a restored or custom handle

These options are all much better entry level badger brushes. If you really can't afford a penny over $25, then you don't have much choice. They work fine and they meet that price point.

But when people come in and act like they're great brushes, the correct answer is "No, they aren't." Just like when someone tells you that Hungry man Frozen TV dinners makes amazing fried chicken, you have to realize that people are wrong a lot.


Got $30? Buy a TGN finest knot and a cheap handle and make a brush.

Got $50? Buy a Berkeley.
 
The brushes aren't that good. They just aren't Horrible.


The New Forest 2201 (No longer available).
The Berkeley 46 Best Badger
The TGN Finest knot in a restored or custom handle

These options are all much better entry level badger brushes. If you really can't afford a penny over $25, then you don't have much choice. They work fine and they meet that price point.

But when people come in and act like they're great brushes, the correct answer is "No, they aren't." Just like when someone tells you that Hungry man Frozen TV dinners makes amazing fried chicken, you have to realize that people are wrong a lot.


Got $30? Buy a TGN finest knot and a cheap handle and make a brush.

Got $50? Buy a Berkeley.

less than $50. go to westcoastshaving.com and get 10% off for B&B members . i just got one last week. hell of a brush.:thumbup1:
 
The brushes aren't that good. They just aren't Horrible.


The New Forest 2201 (No longer available).
The Berkeley 46 Best Badger
The TGN Finest knot in a restored or custom handle

These options are all much better entry level badger brushes. If you really can't afford a penny over $25, then you don't have much choice. They work fine and they meet that price point.

But when people come in and act like they're great brushes, the correct answer is "No, they aren't." Just like when someone tells you that Hungry man Frozen TV dinners makes amazing fried chicken, you have to realize that people are wrong a lot.


Got $30? Buy a TGN finest knot and a cheap handle and make a brush.

Got $50? Buy a Berkeley.

I agree 100%. I bought and tried one. I have used and own a lot of other brushes to compare it to.
 
I am glad to see that I am not the only person who feels that Frank shaving brushes are not bad but not great - I have about 8 brushes in my rotation, including a Frank silvertip and a Frank finest and notice that I do not find myself using them very often. In the plus column, they get the job done and don't shed, but the handle is not very heavy and the brush hairs are not packed together too densely. The glueing on the knot on my finest is a bit off and you can see a layer of glue on a bit of a diagonal where the knot meets the handle. This does not affect functionality at all and I really was not expecting a Simpson, Rooney or ShaveMac quality brush for a small fraction of the price. They are not as much fun for me to use as a quality brucy but I think that if is all you can afford, they are fine. But if you are not on a tight budget, there are better choices out there. For me, this includies the New Forest 2201, which I bought around the same time as I bought my two Frank brushes but which I really enjoy using.
 
The NF2201 was a really nice brush for the price. Basically a well made TGN finest without the work in my book. It's a shame he doesn't make them anymore (my suspicion is that he wasn't making much profit so he released "higher end" hair brushes in order to subtly raise the price and work a bit of profit into it for himself). I didn't keep mine long but only because it was extraneous since I owned a Simpson 2 band and a couple TGN Finests already. I've considered replacing it a time or two when I saw one on BST, but I always reasoned that I really didn't need it, I'd just want one to have as a nice brush that's no longer made.

The FS (I was one of the first to try them, He had the Finest and a "best" grade then). I bought just to formulate an opinion. They were ok, very floppy, but not so much so that they didn't work. I understand he will do custom lofts now, and that would help since his default lofts were quite high, but I've made a LOT of brushes (a few dozen anyway) and played around with every loft you can imagine. There's a limit to what you can do with loft. Eventually a lack of density is a wall that prevents improving the brush further. And FS are not dense. They're some of the sparsest knots I've tried (though my only other <$30 brushes are boars and TGN knots). A little more density goes a long way, and that's why I prefer TGN knots to bottom dollar badger brushes. Also, I have doubts about the quality of the hair based on the density. Big loft and low density can hide a LOT of hair flaws by preventing the tips of the hairs from pressing into and scrubbing against the face.


I have maybe 2 dozen brushes in my rotation. From $16 TGN knots up to a $320 Rooney Finest. I haven't tried many sub $50 brushes relative to how many total I've tried, but, of what I've tried TGN Finest and the Berkeley stand out as clear winners, and I remember the 2201 being a very nice brush for the money as well. In the end, of what's currently available, I just don't think anything I've tried beats a Chubby 1 Best as a daily brush. Though a well-designed custom Shavemac D01 2-band would be close. (I really like Rooney Finest, and Shavemac D01 2-band shares some of it's best qualities without nearly as much scritch... of course I've learned to love the scritch).

Under $50 though... every time I get out the Berkeley it seems better than I remember.
 
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I have used several TGN finest knots and I much prefer the Frank Shaving brush. This is ofcourse a YMMV thing but for me, the FS brush allows easier lathering and by this I mean that it nicely places the lather on the face instead of hogging it.

I am not trying to say it is the be all and end all of badger brushes but for $20 for a high quality brush with a VERY sturdy handle AND a drip stand...how can you go wrong???

I would also use the example of the Semogue 1470 boar. It is the CHEAPEST Semogue boar available and a lot of people prefer it over the more expensive ones. Out of the 8+ boars I have used (Semogue, Vulfix, Omega, several no names) I also put the el cheapo 1470 at the no.1 spot.
 
All i can say is that I have used frank shaving silvertip and finest, love them both, my experience is however scarce but i cant immagine why you would need any more than these brushes have to offer, with a price that low for what your getting you cant go wrong, i think similar quality will cost you ALOT more with most other brands you will see. In the end its all a matter of oppinion anyways, haters who spend 250 bucks on a badger brush that is bested by a 35 dollar brush have a good reason to be mad i suppose.
 
All i can say is that I have used frank shaving silvertip and finest, love them both, my experience is however scarce but i cant immagine why you would need any more than these brushes have to offer, with a price that low for what your getting you cant go wrong, i think similar quality will cost you ALOT more with most other brands you will see. In the end its all a matter of oppinion anyways, haters who spend 250 bucks on a badger brush that is bested by a 35 dollar brush have a good reason to be mad i suppose.

Will a Frank Shaving brush put a workable lather on your face to shave with? Yes.
If you're happy with the FS brushes, great. It will save you money.
Just don't tout that a FS brush is better or equal to a higher quality, even $50. brush. It's not.
You haven't compared the FS brush to a variety of brushes. I have.
I have no interest in how much a brush costs and readily admit to the law of diminishing returns. However one can get a more satisfactory experience spending a few dollars more without entering the luxury realm.
 
Paid $20 shipped for my best. It works ok and I will use it for travel, that way it's no big deal if it gets lost:thumbup1:
 
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