How do you pick

Hi, Newbie here. I've been shaving with a brush for years, but never had any guidance. I live in rural PA, and no stores carry anything but the cheapest of brushes. Years ago, during a visit to Montreal, we stumbled on what appeared to be a beautiful brush with a silver plate handle that my wife insisted on buying for me. I don't remember the name or price, except that it struck me as quite expensive at the time. Over the years, it has lost quite a bit of hair, and as soon as I try to build a lather, it goes flat against my face. I've learned a good bit by lurking, and I'm ready for a new brush, but I have no idea what I want. It's not like buying a new pot to cook with, where I can visit a store and lift it, nor, even if I found a brush, could I try it out. And then there's all the confusion about bristle type...

So, I'm willing to say price is no object. I want to treat myself. Even the Rooney at close to $400 is in consideration. If it lasts 10 years, well, that's only $40/year or $3.50/month. I don't smoke and drink rarely, so I'm entitled to something But what's confusing to me is the names. I'm dyslexic, so it drives me nuts when "best" is not THE best and Shavemac feels silver tip is better than finest, and yet Rooney rates finest above silver tip... Is Shavemac's silver tip equal to Rooney's finest?

And what about knot size? I have no idea. Shavemac's largest is 30 mm, and I think Rooney's is 26, but either way, it's meaningless to me (BTW, I'm not limiting anything to just Shavemac or Rooney, they just make good examples).
And loft? And stiffness?
How do you choose when you do not have the opportunity to check them out in person. I know I want more stiffness than laying flat on my face, but how much more? Anyway, if they're all silver tip, why would one be stiffer than another? Doesn't make sense to me.

Oh, I'll be using soap and a scuttle if that helps. I'd appreciate any suggestions/explanations you folks have to offer.

Welcome to B&B. Have you perused the reviews section of B&B? You may want to check out the shave brush section- maybe something will catch your eye???

Daniel

I am just a newbie, but I'd strongly suggest that you don't go spending $400 on a brush just like that. Different people have different tastes in brushes, and it'd be a shame if you spend that amount of money and found the brush wasn't quite to your liking.

Shaving brushes come in different sorts of grades, one rarer than the other. But a Rooney silvertip can be very different from a silvertip of another brand. The grade of the hair isn't all there is to it. The tips can be more or less soft, the hairs can be floppy or springy, the brush can be dense or loose. There is quite some variety.

And that's the hard part, some people like floppy and some don't, some love large brushes and some don't. That's why I think it would be wise to either go for a brush in the $100 range or at least think very carefully before spending more.

Having said all that, the Shavemac 177 and Rooney "Super" brushes seem quite consitently liked and are around the $100 mark.


Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

Welcome to B&B! Here are some videos to get you started.

Some basic info on brushes:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEX7BnD595A[/YOUTUBE]

Part of this video video talks about "middle of the road" or "average" brushes:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbtiTgTROMs[/YOUTUBE]

And this video shows some "innovative" shave brushes you might consider:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-7O0F505G0[/YOUTUBE]

--Mark

UC --

Welcome to B&B. In addition to Mantics videos, I'd read extensively here in the 'shaving brushes' forum, and pay attention to what some of the veteran wet-shavers have to say. Some of these guys have significant knowledge of brushes.

I use soap myself and don't think I'd recommend the larger brushes you mention (26mm~30mm knot) for that purpose. Both of my Silvertips are 23mm~25mm and I don't think I'd go any bigger; both are pretty large for soaps, and I'd avoid anything 'trendy'. I think the most popular knot sizes are in the range of 21mm~23mm or so.

After starting with the inexpensive C&E BBB, I acquired the B&B 2006 finest Silvertip and a high-end Omega silvertip. I don't have any special knowledge of brushes and just fell into these acquisitions. But I've been quite satisfied with both of these. Whatever you end up with, using a soft silvertip with a rich, lush, warm lather is like getting a soft kiss from a beautiful woman.

-- John Gehman

Welcome to the B&B UnC
You may want to consider having the brush you have re-bristled by Shavemac,it seems to be a sentimental object and if its in good shape will be "better than new" Have fun!

Thanks for the tips guys. The videos are great but it's a shame that there isn't some place close to play with them. At any rate, seems I can't go wrong with a Shavemac, so I ordered a 177 from Vintage Blades. I wasn't impressed with the reviews on the Rooneys.

Still wondering why a silver tip is stiff in one brush, and not in another......

You'll love the 177, I have one...it's great. Later on, when you get a Rooney, you'll love that too

Good choice and let us know how you like it! What soaps are you using?

I ordered some soap from Mama Bear and have some if the cream from The Art of Shaving on hand. I also ordered a scuttle, so I should be pretty well equipped.

UnConundrum said:

So, I'm willing to say price is no object.

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Welcome aboard, UnConumdrum.

I'd be glad to help you with your selection. I'll need a bottle of cheap tequila and a deck of cards.

Welcome to B&B! You are well on your way to one or more of the *AD's I see .

UnConundrum said:

snip... And then there's all the confusion about bristle type...
...snip

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I am not sure if it will make the confusion any less, but I have compiled some of the bristle type information into a single ShaveWiki page. Very important to remember with shaving brushes is that the price is no guaranty that you will like the brush, the price mainly depends on the availability of the material used. I myself have both a Edwin Jagger Best Badger Brush and a Kent BK4 (silver tip). The BK4 is much softer as well as more expensive than the EJBBB, but I like both of them for different reasons. However I see you already got yourself a Shavemac, so enjoy!

UnConundrum said:

Thanks for the tips guys. The videos are great but it's a shame that there isn't some place close to play with them. At any rate, seems I can't go wrong with a Shavemac, so I ordered a 177 from Vintage Blades. I wasn't impressed with the reviews on the Rooneys.

Still wondering why a silver tip is stiff in one brush, and not in another......

Click to expand...

It comes down to the thickness of bristle, loft and density.

If you wanted to break down badger hair into its simplest form you have black, grey and silvertip. Most varieties seem to fall into grey, but companies sort the grey hair to get the ones that look silver at the tips or maybe they bleach them. I am not sure.

It becomes very confusing.
I think you will like the shavemac.

Zaniix said:

It becomes very confusing.
I think you will like the shavemac.

Click to expand...

Pretty much sums it up.

Since your handle has sentimental value, I would really look into contacting Bernd to rebristle it for you.

UnConundrum said:

Oh, I'll be using soap and a scuttle if that helps. I'd appreciate any suggestions/explanations you folks have to offer.

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I do not have much experience with brushes, but if it was me, I wouldn't spend all of my money in just ONE brush - it sound like heading for the biggest disappointment if the YMMV-part kicks in.

I think I'd pick one of the recommended brushes and then try another if it doesn't suit me.