Something to watch out for...

**pipskicks** · 06-02-2012, 10:53 AM

I was looking at "Frank Shaving" prices for a friend (wanted a budget badger brush in a good grade, figured it would be a good place to start), and I found a really cheap one, got excited, then realized it was "Frank and Livy."

I don't know anything about this new company, but almost seems like they are trying to vie with Frank Shaving because they came up in most of my searches for Frank Shaving....
A little shady thought it was worth a warning.

**rickboone1** · 06-02-2012, 10:58 AM

Maybe Frank got married and she wanted half?

**rickboone1** · 06-02-2012, 10:59 AM

Maybe Frank got married and she wanted half? BTW, another place to search for budget badgers is whippeddog.com. Build your own.

**pipskicks** · 06-02-2012, 04:29 PM

I really was just showing this one to my friend although he may be more into the name-brands (not that I think Frank Shaving isgood) but I was showing it to him to show him you can get a cheap badger brush, although I did warn him of the problems with the no-names.

I don't know if he'd want to build his own, but he definitely should get something else, I was surprised to see this other brush, unfortunately I have a feeling they're trying to run on the Frank Shaving name, although I would think there are better names to steal, oh well.

**pipskicks** · 06-02-2012, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by rickboone1

Maybe Frank got married and she wanted half? BTW, another place to search for budget badgers is whippeddog.com. Build your own.

Those ready-made brushes are pretty cheap! Is the quality the same as Frank Shaving?

**cb91710** · 06-02-2012, 04:40 PM

Originally Posted by pipskicks

Those ready-made brushes are pretty cheap! Is the quality the same as Frank Shaving?

Much nicer.

Here's his 26mm Silvertip after about 5 months of regular use.

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It's a Silvertip and very soft, but not "floppy"... but Silvertip generally trends toward being a bit softer.
It's nicer than my $60-$90 Simpson 56 and Commodore, not as nice as my $100+ Simpson Rover, and of course can't touch the $180 B&B LE Rudy Vey Shavemac D01.

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I bought a Franks turnback travel brush in silvertip.
It's a nice brush, but it is only used for travel.

**pipskicks** · 06-02-2012, 05:45 PM

Yes I'd admit Frank's seem to get terrible ratings for QA or maybe longevity because they are made cheaper, but it still seems like a great bargain, I am pretty hard on my brushes, mine may die quicker than normal anyways

I should look at that site, do they have good Boars too or just Badgers? I will definitely send that site to him.

**cb91710** · 06-02-2012, 07:23 PM

Pretty sure Larry has boars as well... not sure, they never interested me and if they did, I can get one for $10 at Walgreens/Target/WalMart.

My Franks was purchased with the intention of being used only for travel. I don't travel often, and couldn't justify $100+ for a quality Turnback, but I did want a turnback for convenience and cleanliness. I've had mine since January and have used it maybe 4 times. I won't be using it again until the first week of July.

Would I buy another Franks? If I wanted a cheap brush? Sure. I have no idea how durable they are, but they get decent reviews. Most of the complaints have centered around the owner and his representation of the company (he is actually a banned member here).

OTOH, Larry Andros of WhippedDog is a very active member here. I've buy another one of his brushes in a heartbeat if my cat were to eat one of my Simpsons.

**BallisticBurrito** · 06-02-2012, 08:33 PM

If your friend wants a low-priced 'name brand' brush..can't go wrong with an Omega! ;)

**pipskicks** · 06-03-2012, 05:29 AM

Well I've been sending him all the brands. I tried to coach another friend on a brush and despite any grades he demanded a silver or stainless steel (whatever it was) handle, so I try to stay out of it, sometimes people have much different buying criteria than I do!

**BallisticBurrito** · 06-03-2012, 09:15 PM

That kind of reminds me of people refusing to buy a car because they don't like how the windshield wipers work.

**cb91710** · 06-04-2012, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by BallisticBurrito

That kind of reminds me of people refusing to buy a car because they don't like how the windshield wipers work.

Yup.

My Tacoma didn't have intermittent wipers. The two speeds were "fast" and "too fast."

I yanked the stalk and replaced it with one from a Camry.

**pipskicks** · 06-04-2012, 09:19 PM

Originally Posted by BallisticBurrito

That kind of reminds me of people refusing to buy a car because they don't like how the windshield wipers work.

To his credit his fiancee owns a salon and I think he wants to try out brushes to find one for the store and he thinks it needs to be a brand name for the store. Business-wise he may be correct, I don't know.

**cb91710** · 06-04-2012, 09:27 PM

Stainless may be felt to be a requirement for sanitation.

Check local codes... there may be a big letdown. There's a reason that "hot lather machines" are used in barber shops and not mugs and brushes.

**BallisticBurrito** · 06-05-2012, 03:31 AM

Yeah I don't think you can use shaving brushes in a business.

Germs and whatnot.

**pipskicks** · 06-05-2012, 08:16 AM

He was thinking of bringing in 1-2 razors, brushes, soaps and blades to see how it would do in the shop. As a test, the shop mostly gets rich women, so men's shaving equipment may be a risk.

Either way, I don't think they plan on doing shaves, and I don't think there's any use for a shaving brush in a Brazilian blowout - he wants to try it, THEN order it for the store, I don't think he was planning on selling or using used brushes :)

Weird question I know, he's been sort of looking at weird companies too, so I was trying to find something cheap and with some actual reviews.