Newbie brush question

Hello all, this is my first post so hopefully I picked the right forum. I'm looking into getting into wet shaving, but don't have a lot of extra money to buy everything all at once. So, I figured I'd buy a brush first since I'm about to run out of shaving gel. I'm looking at a boar brush because they are cheaper than badger and people do seem to like them. I've been looking at the Semogue 830 and 620. I don't know if I plan on face lathering or using a bowl but I do know that I would like to try both techniques. So, is one of these brushes better for a complete newbie than the other? Thanks for your time and I look forward to your responses.
dan

Brushes really come down to a matter of preference. I like boars a lot. A Semogue Owner's Club brush would be a great one. But there are lots of fans of badger brushes- Simpsons are very popular, for instance.

Welcome! I used boar brushes for a couple of years when I got back into wetshaving and I liked them. Then I got an inexpensive Parker badger brush from Amazon and I liked it even more. Badgers tend to be softer and hold more water. However, I still use and like my two boars for hard soaps. Start with the boars for now-there is absolutely nothing wrong with them.

Welcome to the forum! i would go with the 830 as it can be used for bowl or face-lathering.

I went with the 620 for my first brush and it's REALLY great! It's just a bit smaller than the 830 but I find it a much better fit for my face since I only face lather.

Welcome to B&B. Either brush would be fine. Brushes are a matter of personal preference.

You may also want to take a look at the B&B Essential Brush. It is terrific and a great value.

I'd say go for either the B&B Essential Boar or the Semogue 830 – they both have a similar loft suited to either bowl or face lathering.

The Semogue Owners Club is a good all-rounder too, but it costs twice as much as the aforementioned brushes.

It's a matter of personal preference,really. A good brush will be able to do both types of lathering.I use all of my brushes (6 boar,two badger) for both.

Unless you intend to build lather in an honest to goodness coffee mug, I'm not sure there's such a thing as a brush that can't be used for bowl lathering. I tried to use a tiny little Vie-Long horse brush in my "#1 Dad" mug when I was first starting, and banged my knuckles something fierce. Beyond that, though, you should be fine.

I feel similarly about face lathering, but I know some guys don't like the brush to cover too much area when they build lather that way.

Anyway, Semogue boars are good brushes. I started with the 1305 and still use it. Omega is another good boar manufacturer. I have the Pro 49, which is a fairly large brush. I use it for face and bowl lathering, and it cost me less than $10 from Amazon. It's an easy experiment.

Really cheap badger brushes are usually Pure badger, which tend to be a bit floppy *and* scratchy. Some guys with thicker skins than I like them a lot, but for the most part an equal amount of $ spent on a boar will probably net you a better brush.