Hi gents Im looking to get a new brush to add to my arsenal which is still small. I only own the VDH boar brush that comes with the deluxe shave kit and an Escali badger .brush that I ordered off of amazon which I heard is almost if not the same as a tweezerman brush. I was looking at a few Omegas and I'm open to boar or badger, I know it's not a lot of money but just wanted to hear your opinions. Oh by the way I bowl lather but I was thinking about face lathering in the near future. Thanks.
Brush recommendation (under $25)
- Thread starter Phoenix.
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OldSaw
The wife's investment
On your budget I would stick with boar.
If you want something a little loftier than the VDH them the Omega 10049 for about $10 is a very good choice.
There are many other very good quality boar brushes that you can get for that kind of money. I'm sure other recommendations will be coming along shortly.
If you want something a little loftier than the VDH them the Omega 10049 for about $10 is a very good choice.
There are many other very good quality boar brushes that you can get for that kind of money. I'm sure other recommendations will be coming along shortly.
As far as brushes under 25$ are concerned, I would go with boar. The Omega brushes are readily available, in all shapes and colors, in pharmacies and health stores. Although, I find other fibers better than boar and other makers preferable to Omega, their price value ratio cannot be beat. I have several Omegas, which I enjoy using regularly. However, my everyday go to brush is a Vie Long, a natural fiber combination of badger and horse-hair. It depends on you and your budget.
Happy Shaving. Sam
Happy Shaving. Sam
Semogue 1800 would fit the bill with your bowl, possible face lathering future.
Frank Shaving Synthetics will also fit your budget.
I would have second that Frank's shaving synthetic recommendation . I have an Omega 49 and a Semogue 1305 also , but would have to say that the Frank's is the best of the 3 .
For $25 I would consider the following;
Shave Factory XS (25x50mm) for face lathering or a taller loft Semogue for bowl lathering. The Shave Factory brush has IMO the best knot size loft ratio for face lathering of any inexpensive boar, and the Seomgues are IMO the best quality boar brushes overall. Omegas are fine, but again IMO get a little to floppy when fully broken in.
An unorthodox choice is the EcoTools Bamboo kabuki brush. No brush at any price will beat this brush for efficient production of perfect lather. The dense thin hair really whips up lather that is just a notch above what most shave brushes can. Plus its as luxurious feeling on the face as anything else out there. The only trouble being that it barely holds lather for 3 passes, and being a four pass guy myself, I generally have to go back to the puck and load/lather again. Even with the short coming, and a stable of other fantastic high end brushes, this one gets a lot of use.
My final suggestion is a HIS synthetic brush. Its just a hair over you budget, but its another quality choice that feels like a more expensive brush. The handle is a bit big for some, but its again quite efficient at making lather. Also the long loft makes it ideally suited for bowl lathering. Its ok for face lathering, but the high loft makes it less than ideal for it. Its saving grace for face lathering is its impressive backbone, though to be fair the loft again takes something away here. Its still fighting a heck of a high loft, but this is the only brush I can think of that pulls it off with any amount of real utility.
+1
Mine is currently lost in the mail, but this should also be a fantastic contender. There are several very positive reviews of these, and as far as I can tell the stats back up the claims.
Shave Factory XS (25x50mm) for face lathering or a taller loft Semogue for bowl lathering. The Shave Factory brush has IMO the best knot size loft ratio for face lathering of any inexpensive boar, and the Seomgues are IMO the best quality boar brushes overall. Omegas are fine, but again IMO get a little to floppy when fully broken in.
An unorthodox choice is the EcoTools Bamboo kabuki brush. No brush at any price will beat this brush for efficient production of perfect lather. The dense thin hair really whips up lather that is just a notch above what most shave brushes can. Plus its as luxurious feeling on the face as anything else out there. The only trouble being that it barely holds lather for 3 passes, and being a four pass guy myself, I generally have to go back to the puck and load/lather again. Even with the short coming, and a stable of other fantastic high end brushes, this one gets a lot of use.
My final suggestion is a HIS synthetic brush. Its just a hair over you budget, but its another quality choice that feels like a more expensive brush. The handle is a bit big for some, but its again quite efficient at making lather. Also the long loft makes it ideally suited for bowl lathering. Its ok for face lathering, but the high loft makes it less than ideal for it. Its saving grace for face lathering is its impressive backbone, though to be fair the loft again takes something away here. Its still fighting a heck of a high loft, but this is the only brush I can think of that pulls it off with any amount of real utility.
+1
Mine is currently lost in the mail, but this should also be a fantastic contender. There are several very positive reviews of these, and as far as I can tell the stats back up the claims.
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semogue boar, and any model at that....i think even the soc boar would be close to being within your budget; maybe a bit over with the shipping. checkout vintagescent.com for the best prices on semogue. (i am in no way affiliated with vintage scent, but have just found they have the best prices on semogue, ymmv....the only drawback to vintage scent is that it seems to take about 2 weeks for shipping from Portugal)
I went with a whippeddog.com silvertip for my first upgrade. It makes lather just as good as my Dukes which cost way more. My Dukes do feel better on the face but for $24 shipped in the US you can not go wrong with whippeddog.com.
Semogue 2000 Boar
i would highly recommend the Frank Shaving 24mm synthetic brush. Fantastic lather monster! $20 shipped!
If you're wanting to try more badgers I'd suggest trying a different type of badger. You can save up until you're in a different price bracket or go used or look into whippeddog and similar. There are certainly other brushes worth trying out in your budget though.
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I'm a big fan of Omega boar brushes. I like them better than a lot of the cheap badger brushes I've tried.
I suggest a Seamogue Boar, I personally have the 2000. right about the price you are wanting, and it is a lathering Work Horse after it breaks in.
Some Targets sell the new VDH pure badger brush for $10.00..... it's a steal!
I'm very surprised whippeddog hasn't been brought up yet.
Seriously, great brushes for the price.
http://whippeddog.com/products/find/brushes-knots
Seriously, great brushes for the price.
http://whippeddog.com/products/find/brushes-knots
The 1800 is an excellent brush- both for face and bowl lathering
http://vintagescent.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=69
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