IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
I have been trying out all sorts of brushes over 100 dollars lately. Some of them I find worth it and others I don't. Comes down to what you want in a brush. I am very happy with my Thater.
Why Spend more than $100 on a Brush?
- Thread starter dreadpirate
- Start date
Quality, I suppose. I'm very happy with the Chief from the group buy, and that clocked in at around $100.
I'm glad I'm not the only one...
My $135 shaving brush is the first one I bought in 7 years. Why buy a bunch of middle of the road brush's and get a sour taste?
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- #25
All I am saying is that there is a lot of joy in less sophisticated and less expensive brushes too. A guy need not feel like he must spend $200+ on a brush to get a great experience - IMHO.
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- #26
A lot of this is relative. I have friends that shave with goo out of a can and think I am absolutely nuts for paying $100 for a Rooney; or even buying and using a brush at all.
M
I seriously fail to see your point. No one posted any self-righteous indignation here. The gentleman asked a simple question and the members are politely answering him. His post adds every bit as much value as the "what's your favorite sub $100 brush". I have seen no venom or resentment in this threas
I seriously fail to see your point. No one posted any self-righteous indignation here. The gentleman asked a simple question and the members are politely answering him. His post adds every bit as much value as the "what's your favorite sub $100 brush". I have seen no venom or resentment in this threas
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The Simpson Classic2 of course
I was saying my post wasn't stemming from self-righteous indignation.
You're right, it had not gone down that path, yet, and I never said it had, yet.
It's like the badger hair harvesting/humane brush threads. They start off innocent enough, but sooner or later...
For the record, I never claimed the OP was trolling or trying to stir the pot. I was just trying to pre-emptively stop the thread from going down the rabbit hole.
I'll go back to lurking now...
The one thing I haven't seen answered is what the $100 plus brushes have that lessor priced brushes don't.
And let's say things that aren't just cosmetic.
Also are we talking usable or collectable?
I don't know if there is a market for a gold diamond studded handle but that would be eye of the beholder.
Those are two directions this discussion could go.
Until I came to this forum I would have never considered a pair of $500 shoes. I have now been educated. Had I learned sooner I would have bought a pair or two a long time ago and probably still have them. I have basically been buying the same shoe for $150 every year or two.
And let's say things that aren't just cosmetic.
Also are we talking usable or collectable?
I don't know if there is a market for a gold diamond studded handle but that would be eye of the beholder.
Those are two directions this discussion could go.
Until I came to this forum I would have never considered a pair of $500 shoes. I have now been educated. Had I learned sooner I would have bought a pair or two a long time ago and probably still have them. I have basically been buying the same shoe for $150 every year or two.
I imagine people spend over $100 on a brush for the same reason I have easily $100 worth of shaving soap crammed in my bathroom drawer. Is having a ridiculous amount of soap any less sensible than spending $100 on the brush you use to apply it? I don't care if it makes sense; I just friggin dig it, mang.
I have a Whipped Dog Silvertip that's essentially my first badger brush. I enjoy it and I don't see the burning necessity for anything superior. That being said, I completely see the merits of more expensive brushes. I've learned to enjoy the overall experience of shaving the way that others have, and that's why the market for higher end brushes exists. WD knots are imported from China. They're fine knots. But thank god they're coming assembled from China otherwise they'd be out of my price range.
WD is special because they're a compromise in quality that clearly favors the consumer. Cheaper knots that are still good enough that people with $200 brushes are still interested in them. But I'm sure we can all name tons of other crap that we spend extra money on because it's hand made by someone in Europe or North America. Or maybe other things that used to be made very well when they were produced with higher standards in mind..... Shiny things... Made of brass.... That are slowly taking over my bathroom counter.
I don't own a brush over $35, yet I see a ton of perfectly good reasons for owning one.
I have a Whipped Dog Silvertip that's essentially my first badger brush. I enjoy it and I don't see the burning necessity for anything superior. That being said, I completely see the merits of more expensive brushes. I've learned to enjoy the overall experience of shaving the way that others have, and that's why the market for higher end brushes exists. WD knots are imported from China. They're fine knots. But thank god they're coming assembled from China otherwise they'd be out of my price range.
WD is special because they're a compromise in quality that clearly favors the consumer. Cheaper knots that are still good enough that people with $200 brushes are still interested in them. But I'm sure we can all name tons of other crap that we spend extra money on because it's hand made by someone in Europe or North America. Or maybe other things that used to be made very well when they were produced with higher standards in mind..... Shiny things... Made of brass.... That are slowly taking over my bathroom counter.
I don't own a brush over $35, yet I see a ton of perfectly good reasons for owning one.
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There are Simpsons and Kents under $100.
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- #34
- Thread starter
- #35
I did not mean to ruffle any feathers - so I stand here cap in hand and apologize if that's the case.
Can I indulge everyone by sharing some of my experience? As I mentioned earlier, I got a Dovo brush - just cause it was made of olive wood and looked cool. Well - Dovo really is a straight razor maker - the brush was intended to match a straight razor with olive wood scales. Not one of the "in crowd" brushes. It is a floppy brush - and the popular consensus is that a floppy brush is bad. Everyone raved about badger brushes that were dense and had a lot of backbone. So I got the Rooney 1/2 and the Dovo got shelved. The Rooney is good - but it is not my brush nirvana. So I continued to look at the rather expensive Rooney Heritage brushes, when on a lark I decided to try a boar bristle brush (an $8 Omega boar bristle) as a test. I discovered then that I liked a scratchier brush. So I decided to research these boar brushes more and ended up with the Semogue 830. Wow! What a great brush! It is soft - but not too soft. It's firm - but not too firm (the Omega is really stiff). It can lather up anything. The handle is ergonomically perfect (for me). It's an attractive brush with a respected brand. And the price is like $24. (OBTW - I gave the Omega away).
And then it hits me. I feel deceived. I almost dropped a lot of money on a very expensive Rooney - and I find my perfect brush for $24. Now the Rooney gets shelved. I have been using the Semogue for something like 2 years now.
If you are proud and happy with your top shelf badger brush - that's great. You can't put a dollar value on that. For me, it was a dead end and I don't think a $200+ badger brush is going to change that.
Oh - and by the way - I still pull out the Dovo every once and a while. Nothing wrong with a floppy brush and a tub of TOBS cream!
Can I indulge everyone by sharing some of my experience? As I mentioned earlier, I got a Dovo brush - just cause it was made of olive wood and looked cool. Well - Dovo really is a straight razor maker - the brush was intended to match a straight razor with olive wood scales. Not one of the "in crowd" brushes. It is a floppy brush - and the popular consensus is that a floppy brush is bad. Everyone raved about badger brushes that were dense and had a lot of backbone. So I got the Rooney 1/2 and the Dovo got shelved. The Rooney is good - but it is not my brush nirvana. So I continued to look at the rather expensive Rooney Heritage brushes, when on a lark I decided to try a boar bristle brush (an $8 Omega boar bristle) as a test. I discovered then that I liked a scratchier brush. So I decided to research these boar brushes more and ended up with the Semogue 830. Wow! What a great brush! It is soft - but not too soft. It's firm - but not too firm (the Omega is really stiff). It can lather up anything. The handle is ergonomically perfect (for me). It's an attractive brush with a respected brand. And the price is like $24. (OBTW - I gave the Omega away).
And then it hits me. I feel deceived. I almost dropped a lot of money on a very expensive Rooney - and I find my perfect brush for $24. Now the Rooney gets shelved. I have been using the Semogue for something like 2 years now.
If you are proud and happy with your top shelf badger brush - that's great. You can't put a dollar value on that. For me, it was a dead end and I don't think a $200+ badger brush is going to change that.
Oh - and by the way - I still pull out the Dovo every once and a while. Nothing wrong with a floppy brush and a tub of TOBS cream!
Because different people value $100.00 differently. In general, people making $250,000 a year put less value on $100.00 than someone making $40,000 a year. There are doctors, lawyers, and other professionals on this forum that could be making that much so, of course, their discretionary income is much larger.
true
There you go, Dreadpirate. There's certainly no need to spend mega-bucks on a brush just to be popular with the "cool kids". You should find what you like and stick with it. That's what I did with the first razor I bought; it was so good I never saw a need to try a hundred different one. And there's nothing wrong with floppy brushes; they're good for creams or hard soaps, including triple milled. My floppiest brush is my Plisson HMW (2 actually), I used it with a triple milled English soap yesterday and had no proplem lathering up. BTW, I didn't buy the Plissons, I traded 12 brushes for them, they're way over my price point
I don't take the op post to be directed against those who choose to buy a premium, luxury brush. Rather, I think many of us are just looking to get a DFS. When you see super expensive brushes, there is always a tendency to think, "am I really missing something? Could I be enjoying a much better shave?" So, without putting down those who wish to splurge, collect or spoil themselves, it's only natural for people to be curious as to what real "value added" are they forgoing by not getting a top-end brush.
Now, that value-added could just be the satisfaction of owning a truly exceptional, rare quality brush. And if that's what you want, then great! That's a valid enough impulse. However, the consensus seems to be that you start to see diminishing marginal returns pretty quickly as you go up the scale. Which isn't to say that these expensive brushes aren't, in some way, "better" , (the usual caveats of YMMV notwithstanding) but that the improvements are relatively marginal and incremental. Subtle refinements which some may well appreciate and that's great. If you have the resources and want to be a connoisseur collector, then more power to you.
The egalitarian flip side is that you can have a "good" affordable brush for under $100 and get 90-95% of the experience/performance. I think that's great because quality wet shaving should be something that is accessible to gentleman of all incomes and walks of life. I think it's important that newcomers realize they can achieve shaving perfection without spending a fortune.
TL;DR : to each his own, but it seems the consensus is you can have a great shave for modest investment. High spending leads to diminishing marginal returns in most things.
Now, that value-added could just be the satisfaction of owning a truly exceptional, rare quality brush. And if that's what you want, then great! That's a valid enough impulse. However, the consensus seems to be that you start to see diminishing marginal returns pretty quickly as you go up the scale. Which isn't to say that these expensive brushes aren't, in some way, "better" , (the usual caveats of YMMV notwithstanding) but that the improvements are relatively marginal and incremental. Subtle refinements which some may well appreciate and that's great. If you have the resources and want to be a connoisseur collector, then more power to you.
The egalitarian flip side is that you can have a "good" affordable brush for under $100 and get 90-95% of the experience/performance. I think that's great because quality wet shaving should be something that is accessible to gentleman of all incomes and walks of life. I think it's important that newcomers realize they can achieve shaving perfection without spending a fortune.
TL;DR : to each his own, but it seems the consensus is you can have a great shave for modest investment. High spending leads to diminishing marginal returns in most things.
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