Recommend small brush

Can anyone recommend a good, small brush (best badger or better) for under $70? I currently have the Rooney, small in silvertip, but find the badger hair too soft.

I know Joel talks about a Vulfix in one of his videos, but not sure which model.

Mike in Cincy said:

Can anyone recommend a good, small brush (best badger or better) for under $70? I currently have the Rooney, small in silvertip, but find the badger hair too soft.

I know Joel talks about a Vulfix in one of his videos, but not sure which model.

Click to expand...

Soaps or creams?

The Shavemac finest might suit you - they go for around $80, but at 23mm, the brushes stocked by vintagebladesllc.com might be a bit big.

However, if you go to the Shavemac website, he has smaller ones (21mm) for about $70, or you could custom order one in 20 or 21mm for about the same price.

You'll also have to pay shipping/duties, etc., but the price of the brush might come down if they include VAT tax, which you don't have to pay.

There's also the lower end Simpson brushes (the Best, Commodore, etc) they claim to be "best" hair, but they clearly use a lesser grade hair than the "best" used in the higher end brushes.

The Vulfix brushes tend to be floppy, including the new ones that are supposed to be better with soaps, so I'd only suggest one of these if you're primarily a cream guy.

Hope this helps.

Hope this helps.

If you find the Rooney small Silvertip to be soft then you might find the Simpsons Super badger range more scritchy but a lot more than $70. Have you tried the Savile Row XX18 range?

copperhead said:

If you find the Rooney small Silvertip to be soft then you might find the Simpsons Super badger range more scritchy but a lot more than $70. Have you tried the Savile Row XX18 range?

Click to expand...

The SR will be even softer than the Rooney, IMO. Which Rooney style did you get? If it's not the Style 1, I would recommend that, due to the shortest loft.

If you want the ends to be scritchy, I recommend the same in Pure instead of Super. Best of luck.

J

Mike in Cincy said:

Can anyone recommend a good, small brush (best badger or better) for under $70? I currently have the Rooney, small in silvertip, but find the badger hair too soft.

I know Joel talks about a Vulfix in one of his videos, but not sure which model.

Click to expand...

Do what I did and call Lee at Lees Razors. I asked the same question of him and he sent me a Vulfix 660 medium in super badger. $51 and it's wonderful for either soap or cream. Go ahead and call him though. It's definitely worth it.

For small, I really like the EJ super badger. It is 19mm. I also have an EJ medium super. It is 21mm. Both are great and I recommend either!!

Mike-

If you want to part with the Rooney drop me a PM.

I'm new to high-end brushes and I've never used a Rooney...however...

I'm now using a SR 3118 and I love it more each day. It combines a softness and backbone that works wonders for soaps and creams; really a formidable little brush.

simpson case!

i wrote a little rave a few days ago about it. fairly short loft not too dense and quite small and a bit of scritchiness to it. 18mm knot but it is way small than my sr 3118. great little brush. it is my go to brush the time or two each week when i do a quick shave in the shower.

cheers,
ryan

Suzuki said:

There's also the lower end Simpson brushes (the Best, Commodore, etc) they claim to be "best" hair, but they clearly use a lesser grade hair than the "best" used in the higher end brushes.

Click to expand...

It might be true they use a lesser grade hair but it should sill be very nice. I have 2 Simpsons in pure and one, is pretty soft without a lot of scritchiness. Yet the 2nd one is pretty scritchy but not as much as my C&E best.

Piedmont said:

I'm new to high-end brushes and I've never used a Rooney...however...

I'm now using a SR 3118 and I love it more each day. It combines a softness and backbone that works wonders for soaps and creams; really a formidable little brush.

Click to expand...

The 3118 will be softer than what he is using now, IMO.

Regards.

J

Many great brushes that would fill the bill, Ive been looking at the Rooney 3/1 Super. The model 177 Shavemac in Finest is also a great brush, worth checking out.

http://www.shavemac.com/index.php?lang=en&area=men&sel=2&cat=4&product=17721


Dave