I've done some research and have concluded the following.....

First a little background (you can skip down to the next paragraph if you're the impatient type). Several months ago I switched off of the 5 gazillion blades in a razor trend and went with a DE like I recall my father using as I grew up. I picked up a Merkur Futur. After a few niks and cuts I've gotten pretty good at not drawing blood . However, I continued using my Lab Series Shave Cream and just applied by hand. That tub finally ran out and I was determined to switch to a brush. In a rush (was headed out on a long trip) I grabbed the Art of Shaving travel kit. It got me a quick intro in using a brush as well as pre-shave oil for the first time. But the brush is a travel brush and obviously too small to continue using full-time. And once the AOS shave cream ran out I found myself in a hurry for some soap. I grabbed a puck of Van Der Hagen from Walgreens and like my dad before me, threw it in a mug and just started lathering directly on the puck. It's been pretty decent so far.

So here I am ready to get a real brush, some better pre-shave oil, and perhaps try some other soaps. But for the purpose of this post I'll focus on the brush.

Thanks for all the quality posts in this forum. Based on what I've been reading it seems I can't go wrong with a Simpson. I've also determined that I might be happiest with a Best Badger. Since I prefer lathering on the puck in a mug I'm also thinking I want a bit more loft and a longer handle. So I'm looking really hard at the Simpson Commodore X3 Best Badger. For reference, my budget for a brush is sub $100.

What do you guys think? Any input for a newbie?

Welcome to B&B. You will never know if the Commodore, or any other brush, is what you are looking for but I think it is a good place to start.

I returned to boar for 99% of the time but the badger I will hold on to is an X1, the smallest Commodore. It is a well made and well performing (face-) latherer with a very ergonomic handle despite its small size and my big hands. I don't think you can go wrong with the X3.

Sounds like a good choice (though there are many). Still, a great place to start.

Just a comment, though some folks use it and enjoy it, in my book preshave oil is an unnecessary step (and possibly even a negative one) Push come to shove, with proper prep (read making sure your whiskers are sufficiently moist) you can get a fine shave with just water (I have). Hand soap (any old bar) helps (I did THAT for YEARS before finding this forum) and a good quality shave soap makes things even nicer. Just something to consider as you go forward.

Ken

I thought you were going to say ..... "And all brushes are the same, except for the handle, hair, softness and density."

Until you actually used the different brands and grades of brushes, reading reviews won't give you very much usable information.
I would buy a couple different lower-priced brushes off the BST, experience what each grade actually feels like, how each style performs, narrow down your preferences that way. You can easily resell them all once you've had your trials, and then you'll be ready to drop $$$ on a brush knowing that it'll be the right one for you.

Go West Young Man said:

knowing that it'll be the right one for you.

Click to expand...

Knowing?

I've come to the conclusion I can't "know" anything about a brush until I own that specific, individual brush. Now if you're saying you can increase your odds of making an educated guess, I'm with you 100%

Ken