No luck with brushes

Good day all. In my most recent adventure I had a WD silvertip that I loved. But, it was a shedder. Larry did not have any silvertips in stock so I opted for a high mountain. That brush had more scrub than my broken in Omega 49. I thought I would love the Grooming Company brush. It has more backbone but is less expensive than a Plisson. I am not sure I like this brush either. It is springy to me and the lather seems to slide off instead of sticking to the sides of the hairs.

Now I have two brushes I am not loving. I cannot get another because funds are tight right now. I have been thinking about biting the bullet and getting a Savile Row 3824 but it is $131. ouch.

Any suggestions to finally end this madness?

A Semogue SOC 2 Band Badger.

Semogue 1305 boar. Great for both bowl and face lathering.

It will take a bit of breaking in.

Vie-Long horse hair brushes are also very good.

I've had an EJ Best large for about nine months...has not shed a single hair. It loads and lathers very well. As I've opined elsewhere, IMHO the EJ is better-made than my new Simpson Colonel (and more affordable). I love them both, but the EJ is very very nice indeed. I don't believe the large is available any more, and that's OK...a little more backbone would be a good thing.

Here's a good selection of EJ (all grades) from WCS:
http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Edwin-Jagger_c_117.html

My US$0.02...

TGN Finest 2-Band or 3-Band.

Gusto said:

A Semogue SOC 2 Band Badger.

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Ditto to this.

L'Occitane Plisson synthetic.

Vintage Blades Finest. It's the best value stock/retail badger brush on the market (IMHO).

cmh737 said:

Vintage Blades Finest. It's the best value stock/retail badger brush on the market (IMHO).

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I agree with this. I bought a 24mm in horn and that is one nice brush. As a matter of fact it was the same cmh737 who recomended one to me. Price is right too. less than $40.00 and quick delivery.

It appears that whipped dog has knots back in. Since you liked your first you may want to give him another try. Maybe better luck this time.

Gusto said:

A Semogue SOC 2 Band Badger.

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Not a good idea if the OP finds HMW to be too scrubby.

cmh737 said:

Vintage Blades Finest. It's the best value stock/retail badger brush on the market (IMHO).

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Solid brush for the price.

BlueLineWarrior said:

Good day all. In my most recent adventure I had a WD silvertip that I loved. But, it was a shedder. Larry did not have any silvertips in stock so I opted for a high mountain. That brush had more scrub than my broken in Omega 49. I thought I would love the Grooming Company brush. It has more backbone but is less expensive than a Plisson. I am not sure I like this brush either. It is springy to me and the lather seems to slide off instead of sticking to the sides of the hairs.

Now I have two brushes I am not loving. I cannot get another because funds are tight right now. I have been thinking about biting the bullet and getting a Savile Row 3824 but it is $131. ouch.

Any suggestions to finally end this madness?

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Were you originally just looking to replace the Omega 49? What is your budget and what was wrong with the 49?

My method for getting into brushes was to first find a boar brush that I liked, which was much cheaper than chasing the perfect badger brush. I ended up liking both the Omega 10065 and the Semogue 620, with the 620 winning a spot in the den. This was a relief since it gave me the freedom to be patience with the rest of my brushes. For instance, I had a shedding Whipped Dog as well, but I opted to be patient and wait for Larry to get more Silvertip knots... I don't have the money to be splurging on $130 brushes either, so this was the wise move for me.

There are several cheap synthetics out there that can be worth trying out. The last piece of my puzzle will be to save up a bit for a smaller Simpson brush to get a first taste of the high end brands for under $60.

Unfortunately you have to try things to learn what it is that you're really looking for. I spent 3 months being frustrated by the Semogue SOC before learning that I liked smaller brushes. Next I'm taking a small leap on a Whipped Dog synthetic, because the feedback I've heard about them has been spot on. Again, it doesn't bother me to have to rotate gear in and out because I have at least 1 brush that I know isn't going anywhere.

Another vote for the Semogue 1305. I'm consistently astonished at home much I love this brush. Some people will tell you it requires breaking in. I would say that it only gets better the more you use it.

What brushes do you currently have? What aspects of each do you like and dislike? Very important information in order to suggest a good brush for you.

Semogue 1305 or 1250. You just can't go wrong.

Gusto said:

A Semogue SOC 2 Band Badger.

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Musikmann said:

Ditto to this.

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This

cmh737 said:

Vintage Blades Finest. It's the best value stock/retail badger brush on the market (IMHO).

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or this.

marty

I do not like the size of the Omega 49 is all. It is nicely broken in and I like the way it feels on my face. I have to be very mindfull of how hard I push down on the knot or I have lather from my ears to my eyes and in my mouth. I have been wanting to have a smaller brush like the Omega 66 and a silvertip badger brush so I can rotate between them. I could order another badger from Larry as suggested.

I'd go with a 10066 or a Semogue 1250 for a boar.

Agree 100% with DrC above. Get another low-investment boar. A 10066 will be very similar to your 49 but smaller, while the 1250 will have a little different feel because the knot blooms out wider.

It doesn't look like Savile Rows get a lot of love here, but I'd recommend the SR silvertip. I have the 3824 and love the thing to bits. Of the two Savile Rows I have, both have never shed more than the initial 1-3 hairs from the first weeks on use.