Am I Really Missing Anything by Not Having a Badger?

When I first started DE shaving I picked up the cheap and locally available VDH boar. What can I say, it was a brush. It is pretty rough and lost quite a few bristles.

I upgraded to an omega after about a month.
http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/om2beprmosmv.html

I got what I was looking for. I have a brush I can use on any soap, fits my hand well, and is easy to face lather with. I have found that face lathering really works for me, no need for an extra bowl around the sink (one more thing to get broken IMHO). As a bonus I am scrubbing my face, my complexion has never been better.

A "good" Badger brush will cost quite a bit more than the $15 I dropped on the boar brush. Is there really enough cost vs. performance difference in owning a badger brush?

Thanks

I'm sure I'm not going to be the one to FULLY answer your question, however, I have not splurged YET when it comes to brushes. I started with the VDH boar, and wanted to experience badger to see the difference. Having Amazon prime with free shipping, in a few weeks I snagged a Tweezerman Badger for about 9 bucks. Now I must be an exception to the rule, because between the VDH boar and the Tweezerman COMBINED I dont think I've shed more than 15 hairs in the past 3 months. I use the boar for the soaps and the badger for the creams, but both get used in regular rotation. I shave nightly. I have an AoS Trial badger that I play with from time to time, as well as an actual AoS Pure Badger that comes with the $100 kit. I know that none of these are badger brushes to be judged upon, but it has tickled my fancy, and once my RAD wears off, I am planning on splurging on a Simpsons brush in best badger. There is just something about the badger brush that feels right, the way it whips the lather, the way it holds the lather for a few passes. Many here will push you in the right direction of where to get an economical but great badger brush like Whipped Dog, etc. I can only express that I am glad that I started off with a CHEAP Tweezerman badger first to test it out. Soft, but as stated of most pure badger brushes it is rather scritchy, however, if you like the way your UNBROKEN boar feels, you may actually enjoy that feeling as it exfoliates..

If you like the boar, then you aren't missing out.

They are nice though.

Be content with what you have, but you can't truly appreciate the difference until you try one. When the opportunity presents, take it! I was in disbelief when I went from a VDH boar to a best badger from EJ. I was also staggered when I tried a couple of good boars later. Seems each knot and handle has a little something different to offer. If you are just looking to get the job done, stick with your Omega.

I got a 24mm Whipped Dog silvertip from the BST. It is a GREAT brush for the price. I have three other badgers (two "greys" from Em's Place (one a turnback) and a SOC 2-band). I also have a Semogue 620 (boar). It looks like the same Whipped Dog brush is $26 (resin handle) straight from the source. Try it!! You might like it. If not, you can likely get nearly all your money back on the BST.

I find that I prefer all my badgers to my boar. I only have the one boar so my sample size is limited, so take it for what its worth. We have very hard water. My badger brushes create and hold much more lather than my boar. I have been practicing lathering MWF recently and I just can't get the same results from the 620 that I do with the badgers. That is despite loading the brush for at least twice the time. I also prefer the feel of the badgers on my face. The 620 has good backbone and soft tips, but feels more, I am going to call it "stringy" on my face. It just seemes to splay and feels less solid. This could all be technique, but I find myself using all of my badgers much more often than my 620. YMMV

You don't know what it is that you're missing so yes you are missing out. Only after you try a badger can you truly determine if you were missing out.

Remember, all brushes come with a BST clause if you don't like it. Therefore you are only minimally at risk.

i love my badgers, and some can be quite cheap.

If you are enjoying the boar, then no need unless you want to try one. i would suggest pampering yourself with a Semogue boar, though, such as the 830 or SOC.
Good luck.

carldamnit said:

When I first started DE shaving I picked up the cheap and locally available VDH boar. What can I say, it was a brush. It is pretty rough and lost quite a few bristles.

I upgraded to an omega after about a month.
http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/om2beprmosmv.html

I got what I was looking for. I have a brush I can use on any soap, fits my hand well, and is easy to face lather with. I have found that face lathering really works for me, no need for an extra bowl around the sink (one more thing to get broken IMHO). As a bonus I am scrubbing my face, my complexion has never been better.

A "good" Badger brush will cost quite a bit more than the $15 I dropped on the boar brush. Is there really enough cost vs. performance difference in owning a badger brush?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Yes. Buy a badger.

Next question please.

oakeshott said:

Yes. Buy a badger.

Next question please.

Click to expand...

This.

I'm glad I tried badgers but after a lot of trial and error I've found that you can have top quality badger brushes for less then top dollars. This doesn't mean that my choice of brushes would necessarily be the choice of others. But I could easily live on with just boar brushes as well.

I would say that the main thing you would miss out on is the way a nice badger brush feels on your skin. I have no doubt that boars are capable of generating good lather, but the feel of the brush on your face is different. I have tried a few boars, and two of them I like enough to not toss out, but I rarely use them. In my experience, boars need to be somewhat floppy to be comfortable/soft enough for me to enjoy. To me, there is nothing like a soft badger knot with backbone. My recommendation for a first badger is a TGN Finest XH knot in an acrylic handle, set at 22/48 or 24/48-50. It will run about $65. For the $$$ it can't be beat. Second choice would be Simpsons Colonel 2XL for about $65 at westcoastshaving.com, to about $75 elsewhere.

Enjoy, that's the main thing. Be careful though, acquiring things can be addictive.

I would say if you are doing wet shaving as a hobby then go ahead and buy a badger. If you are doing this to save money on shaving stay away from badgers its just an additional cost.

You are missing the feel of luxury. The feeling of using something that you know is unnecessary to get the job done, but feels SO NICE. A boar will get you from point A to point B.... but the badger does it with luxurious soft tips .

Ben

I've tried and own a couple badgers. Nothing super high end expensive, and I have several well broken in pretty inexpensive boars (Omega, Semogue), and I almost never reach for the badgers at this point. No reason to not try them if you want to invest in one of the mid range, but I'd not say you are missing out if you don't, either. Some guys get the Brush AD bug bad, others of us just get a couple we really like and then move on to other AD's. lol

I took my VDH boar out of the recesses of my cabinet this morning to see what I was missing out on. Tremendous Tabac lather delivered. Tips were not harsh at all. And that is a big boar knot that doesn't flop when soaked, like my Semogue 1305. Shed about 5 hairs. This is more than adequate, but someday grab a badger.

carldamnit said:

Am I Really Missing Anything by Not Having a Badger?

Click to expand...

Maybe, maybe not. The only way to answer for certain is to try one and see. Not everyone sees the point in any brush whether it's boar, badger, synthetic, best, silvertip, a given loft, a given knot size, a given density etc. Brush selection is highly subjective.

Think about all the other things in life that you prefer. How did you determine that you preferred them? You may have read up about them or you may have not but in all cases you tried them.

carldamnit said:

Is there really enough cost vs. performance difference in owning a badger brush?

Click to expand...

Again, subjective. It's a call that you have to make for yourself. Clearly, many think so. The boar fanatics don't think so. Some use both. No one can speak for you on your preferences. You have to find what they are. You can always BST whatever doesn't work for you.

mistercitizen said:

YA boar will get you from point A to point B.... but the badger does it with luxurious soft tips

Click to expand...

A broken in boar will as well. It's a matter of preference.

global_dev said:

If you like the boar, then you aren't missing out.

Click to expand...

Not necessarily. You can't determine your preference for something that you haven't tried no matter what the topic is. The OP may be a boar person but we can't tell him if that's the case or not.

I have a Simpson Chubby 1 Best ($ 127), a TGN Finest XH knot in a custom wood handle ($ 70), a Merkur Vision Silvertip ($ 129), and a VDH Deluxe Boar ($ 9). They all work fine to make lather and are used by me weekly. The TGN and Chubby are 2 band and feel similar, scrubby (hairs stand up) but not scratchy on the tips. The Merkur is a three band, less scrubby than my two bands, and feels very soft on my face. The VDH Boar is firm, not scratchy, but not as soft as the two band badgers.

The only brush that I did not like was a cheap pure badger brush which was very scratchy at the tips. To sum it up, avoid cheap badgers, if you do not like scratchyness. I get good shaves from all of my brushes, only you can answer whether the extra softness is worth a lot more money. I like the Merkur Silvertip best because of its feel good softness, but do not descriminate among them based on any potential difference of shave closeness or comfort. I am a bowl latherer. A face latherer might place a higher premium on scrubbyness and tip softness.

Although I do not have a wide range of experience with brushes, my first choice for an economy badger would be a TGN Finest XH knot ($ 25 - 30) set in a vintage or recycled handle. My second choice would be a top end Boar brush such as a Semogue or Omega which do not cost significantly more than the cheap boars.

oakeshott said:

Yes. Buy a badger.

Click to expand...

+ 1

Are you missing out?

IMHO - YES.

You'll not know for certain until you try one.