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I don't know... I guess maybe I'm doing things against orthodoxy!
Boar vs Badger brush
- Thread starter bleddy
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I don't know... I guess maybe I'm doing things against orthodoxy!
Nice. Rebel against the system!
Like people are saying boar is porous, and hydroscopic and should be soaked in water so that when it absorbs water it doesn't bring soap & other contaminants with it. Badger does not absorb water and doesn't require presoaking.
Amid all of this discussion of badger vs. boar, I am curious if anyone has any recommendations on value/inexpensive brushes. I've been DE shaving for about 6 years. My father replaced my cartridge habit with a heavy (in my opinion) merkur handle and I've bounced between Feather, Derby, and Personna blades. I've order badge haired brushes by Escali from amazon for under $15. I get pretty great shaves.
Why choose? Get an Omega 11047
I have Pure and Finest badgers from Shavemac (love them both), a custom badger/boar mixed knot brush from Turn N Shave (very nice face feel and performance) and a budget friendly PB3 Silvertip from Royal Shave (a bit too soft for my personal taste). I haven't tried the particular brush you mentioned but I've read good things about Yaqi badgers (as well as their synths) if budget is a concern. Semogue also gets good reviews of their badgers. Someday I hope to try a Shavemac D01 Two Band badger, I've had great luck with that brand and it's where I started when I first started using shave brushes.
When dealing with an unknown brand it can be a crap shoot but it sounds like you're having good luck with the company you've chosen. It's always nice when a gamble turns into a win, especially when it's an affordable item to begin with.
edit: For the past year I've been using straights almost exclusively but I still keep a '59 Fatboy loaded for those times I'm in a hurry and need a quick shave. Israeli Personnas are my "Go To" blades and have been for many years, I also use Feathers occasionally but have to remind myself to be more cautious with them. When I bought my Finest Shavemac on BST the seller included a tuck of British Wilkinson Sword blades: they may be the finest DE blades I've ever used, I wish they were easier to find as I'd buy 100 in a heart beat.
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After giving it more thought, there are several good options for quality brushes on a budget. I can't list every great deal but I'll try to touch on a few:
First, the current generation of synthetic brushes are light years beyond what synthetics were just 5 or 6 years ago. Yaqi makes very good quality brushes and they're worth a look. There's an eBay seller from China who offers a good selection, the Yaqi storefront on Ali Express and West Coast Shaving is an authorized dealer. I used a Yaqi Timberwolf knot (purchase from Maggard Razors) to replace a shedding boar knot and I'm very impressed with it, I keep it in my shaving kit primarily for travel but I use it at home from time to time just for something different.
Semogue and Omega make some of the best boar brushes on the market in a wide range of prices. Boars are usually cheaper than badger to begin with but a $10 - $15 brush from either maker will serve you well for many years. Several great options depending on what qualities you like just keep in mind, boar knots take a little time to break in and develop the split ends that make them soft enough to equal badger in face feel.
Vie-Long horse hair brushes can be a great option as well. The softness is a result of mane to tail proportions, i.e. mane is soft like badger, tail tends to be stiffer like boar. I have a model 12705 65/35 mix that's a great performer as well as a 50/50 blonde (model 13066B) with a customized low loft that's as soft as my Finest badger Shavemac. I think both of those are great values and fine brushes.
Another option is to watch the BST forum for used brushes. I bought my Shavemac 177 Finest badger from a fellow member there just after last Christmas and couldn't be happier with it. It looks as good as new, performs flawlessly and saved me around $20 off the price of a new brush, plus he covered shipping.
I like the fact that I can comb my boars as they don't tangle like a badger can. Boars typically take longer to break in. I'm done with buying more badgers and plan to focus on boars and horse hair.
I've read about tangled horse knots but never badger, that's a new one on me. So far (knock on wood) I've never had an issue with any of my knots getting tangles, it must be extremely aggravating when it happens. I did try to comb out my Vie-Long brown horse once or twice with a wide toothed beard comb but it pulled a few bristles loose so I've decided against that practice. Now I just rinse out the shave soap as well as possible, shake them out in the sink and towel buff them to help drying. Then I'll usually try to bloom the knot out a bit by hand to help drying and hang them up until the following morning when they go back on the shelf. I did buy a bottle of Tresemme Clarifying shampoo to strip out any residual soap build up at the base of the knot, it seems to help a little and I can't tell that it's causing any harm to the knots. Figured I'd try that first before buying an actual "brush soap" to clean them with.
I've got a cheap boar brush that my wife picked up for me from The Body Shop back around '03 - '04 and my 922 Pure Badger Shavemac bought around that time as well that are both still performing as well or better than the day I got them. With just a reasonable amount of care, a quality brush will hold up for a great many years, making the initial purchase price well worth the investment. I used my 922 Shavemac every day for over 10 years and in all that time it's shed only 6 hairs. As much as I appreciate the beauty of some of Simpson's brushes, especially those sapphire models, I can't justify the purchase price on my limited budget - I've been retired for medical reasons since January 2005, I understand searching out the best value for the price very well. I agonize over many of my purchases, sometimes for years. The search function here on B&B and messaging members more knowledgeable than myself have helped me tremendously over the years. I've been satisfied with nearly all of my shave related purchases, though there have been a few soaps and creams I've been less than thrilled with but I tuck those away to break in new boar brushes so very little goes to waste.
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Nice story !
There's a newish Semogue SOC which has a resin handle, combo badger & boar; it is getting great reviews. Maybe you could ask Santa to bring you one.
They ARE tempting. I've got a 70% badger/30% boar knot in my Turn N Shave brush, it's one of my favorite brushes.
Well said. They all get the job done quite admirably. However, nothing beats the feeling, in my humble opinion, of a soft badger.
Hello. I just got my first Yaqi. I obviously need to use it longer to know more. But for value it's worth a try! My first drive around with it I was very successful. Also a value brush I know a lot more about is the honeycomb badger by West Coast shaving.. Y can you see pick those up for 20 to 30% off on sale plus they are already very reasonable to start with. I believe the Yaqi was a white mountain badger and the honeycomb handle WCS was finest badger. Talk about value! $40 for either one. What a deal. This is an amazing forum. Have a great day everyone.
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