Badger shave brush under the $20

Hello dear forum members i like to know if there are quality badger brushes under the $20 that perform well and have decent backbone to build a good layer.
I hope to find information and experience here.
Thank you dear members.

I'm not aware of any quality badger brushes, but there are certainly a number of decent boar and synthetic brushes in that price range.

I tried a cheap badger and hated it. It was scritchy and painful to use. I use boars now exclusively. My omega and semogue boar were both under $20 and are glorious once broken in.

Someone might come up with something, but I'd hesitate to try it. Sometimes, you need to spend a bit more to avoid wasting it all.

I went to eBay and found some generic ones, including silvertips, listed as slight defective for under $10. There are still some to be found for that range and up to $15. They were from various Chinese suppliers. I figured if nothing else I would have a rotation through the muggy slow-drying summer. Eventually I had a handful of them. Several months later I still have all but one of them; its knot became unglued. Most of them shed two or three hairs each shave but eventually stabilized. I still rotate them, and also pack them in the WCS travel brush container for road trips.
That is basically five brushes for less than the cost of one name-brand. I still believe I got quite a bargain. That notion was reinforced recently when someone in the Facebook forums blabbed a friend's experience where he replaced his long-used 40-year classic shave brush with a costly Thater. The Thater shed about 10 hairs each shave. When the guy returned it to Thater, he got a return letter explaining that he obviously abused the brush and caused the damage, and no refund or adjustment would be made. He was out of his money with no recourse, just as if he had a bad experience with cheapies.

I won't call them 'quality' but you can find Tweezerman and Escali in that price range. Also, I have a Van der Hagen badger that sell for $19.95. It's a decent brush, it was my first, and I still use it.

When I was new to wetshaving, in my ignorance I bought an Escali badger brush for well under $20 on the 'Bay. It was (and is) a very good brush for me. Obviously I'm showing my lack of class by admitting I like this abomination, but if you're looking for such a horrible thing, I highly recommend it.

Semogue Excelsior boar brushes are not only excellent brushes for a low price, but they'll also meet with approval in the eyes of men. Both the 1305 & 1438 can be had for under $20 as well. They're also very nice-looking little brushes. For some reason their design reminds me of old-fashioned fishing tackle.

SirRoy said:

Hello dear forum members i like to know if there are quality badger brushes under the $20 that perform well and have decent backbone to build a good layer.
I hope to find information and experience here.
Thank you dear members.

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I've heard good things about Virginia Shaving silvertips. They usually cost somewhere around $20.

Snookledon said:

For some reason their design reminds me of old-fashioned fishing tackle.

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And I thought I was the only one that thought that

Escali brushes are usually available for about $10 and although they are not labeled "quality", I find them to be very good(even excellent) quality. Yes, they aren't as soft as they could be but they are not terrible scratchy either. If you insist on an under $20 budget you could be well served with one Escali AND an Omega Boar or even synthetic for about $10

Another option is to find an old EverReady

I've had great success with Delong brushes and they are ultra affordable.

Thank you!

timetofly said:

And I thought I was the only one that thought that

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If I wanted to spend $20 or less, I'd be targeting a boar or synthetic, simply because you can get really great performers at that price point. Lower priced badgers seem to receive less consistent praise. I have two badgers: a inexpensive Parker pure, and a thäter silvertip. There is a significant performance difference between the two, with the thäter being a true joy to use (and contrary to an earlier post, it does not shed.)

My recommendation: save up for a quality badger and in the meantime get a great boar or synthetic.

Herk said:

I tried a cheap badger and hated it. It was scritchy and painful to use. I use boars now exclusively. My omega and semogue boar were both under $20 and are glorious once broken in.

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+1

Either pony up for a good badger brush from a reputable brush maker or get a boar brush from Omega or Semogue. Some of the newer budget synth brushes are supposed to be pretty good too.

timetofly said:

And I thought I was the only one that thought that

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Thanks, now I want one of these brushes more than any other brush and I just bought 2.

Last I looked, both Ace and Virgina Sheng offer some reasonable Finest brushes for under $20.00. There is nothing poor about their quality.

If you don't mind gluing the knot in yourself, there are handles on ebay for $4.00 each ($2.00 each if you buy 6) and you can get an ACE or Virginia Sheng 19 mm finest knot for around $10.00 or $12.00 or a Silvertip for about $5.00 more. I have assembled and given away four of these in the last month. Handles are ready for an 18 mm or 19 mm knot and available in faux rhino horn, faux ivory, black, and a couple of iterations in wood. They make outstanding brushes. PM me if you want the links.

They are a little more than $20, but I bought a slate shave badger from amazon. It shed about 5 hairs per use, and after a little over a year the knot came loose. I posted about the longevity, (politely) and was immediately contacted by the seller offering a replacement.

Reminder, this was over a year after purchase. The new one arrived and had a better backbone than the original, loading a hard soap with ease. Not a single hair shed either.

Everybody gets a bad knot occasionally I guess, but that is pretty good customer service in my book. And as stated, the new one is superb.

P.S. My avatar is the original brush. Good look and great heft IMO.

If you step up to $28, you can get a Frank with a very cool handle:
http://www.maggardrazors.com/product/frank-shaving-finest-badger-20mm-faux-ebony-handle-travel-size/

I would go for a boar in that price range.