US Purchasing

Hi,

I am a newb from NYC and looking to order a new brush or set (I have to say that I am probably going to stick with a Mach 3 for now because I can't afford to nick up my face and show up to clients a complete mess).

So, where do I go from here? B&B is a little overwhelming at times. Among Shavemac, Savile Row, Edwin Jagger, etc..., I cannot decide what would be the best starting point. Also, where is the best place to purchase? Is there a good website - a store with the lowest prices?

I really want a Silvertip badger brush that looks nice on a stand with a matching razor. Am I focusing on the wrong area? Is that like saying I want a 10 megapixel camera without looking at all the other features?

I have very sensitive skin, and have been using the $15 Tweezerman brush to-date. I use a combination of $1.69 shave soap and Art of Shaving Lavender cream. I can sometimes shave across the grain without irritation, but have never been successful against the grain. Maybe I am using the wrong mix of product and should just stick with the cream - really I don't know.

I really appreciate any advice as to where to start looking. A website like Shavemac's looks great, but is that too expensive? I want to make sure that I have considered all options and have the support of B&B members because you guys are so knowledgeable in this domain.

Anyway, thank you very much in advance for helping out.

-Mike

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First of all welcome. Everyone will have varying opinions on what is the "best" in any of these categories. You will first need to decide what you want to spend. If you want a nice brush you are looking at $60 and up. I recently purchased a Rooney 3/1 Super from www.vintagebladesllc.com. They were fantastic to deal with and provide great customer service. I paid $83 shipped. I was looking for a brush that held it's stiffness while lathering and this fits the bill plus it's very attractive. If you want a more floppy brush many have recommended the Vulfix brand.

I would definitely upgrade your soap. I can't immagine anything that cost $1.69 works great. I use Tabac and really like it because it lathers wonderfully and produces a thick, rich, creamy mix every time. I bought mine from Amazon; I think it ran around $18 shipped. It comes in a nice ceramic bowl saving you from needing a soap dish.

Go to the reviews section of this site and you can check opinions, characteristics, cost and so on for each of the products you will need for wet shaving. Ultimately though you will just have to dive in and experiment. In the end everyone has their favorites and they're all right. Good luck and keep asking questions.

A more than decent brush can be had from Crabtree and Evelyn for around $30 (Best Badger). Jim at VintageBlades is a great vendor so you may want to give him a call and talk the purchase over with him.

The recommendation to check the "reviews" forum is a good one. Plenty of information to be found there.

Good luck.

Almost forgot...welcome to B&B!

Great Website! - Thank you very much for that.

I am looking in the $60+ range and if it comes with a set, I would go up to $200 even. So I am really open to anything, even DE shaving, but am a little hesitant to dive right into that.

I really appreciate the advice - I will let you know what I choose and update you when it arrives.

Thanks!

mgross said:

I am looking in the $60+ range and if it comes with a set, I would go up to $200 even. So I am really open to anything, even DE shaving, but am a little hesitant to dive right into that.

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First, welcome to B&B!

If it were me, I would really feel badly if I sunk $200 into a matched set w/an M3, and then decided to go the DE route. The custom M3 handles seem to add a lot to the $ of a set. But if you have money to burn . . send it to me! Seriously, I would personally stick to getting a good (better) brush.

P.S. There are several places in NYC that carry a fair amount of shaving stuff (Pasteur's Pharmacy and Cambridge Chemist come to mind), although I don't know how far they are from you and how much of a hassle it would be to get there.

You know, there really should be a "standard newcomer setup" or some sort of baseline that we can recommend to people, knowing that it wouldn't be perfect for everyone, but would give people a standard place to start for comparison.

Some of the recommendations I often see for newcomers are:

Brush – Crabtree & Evelyn Best Badger Brush made by Edwin Jagger
Razor – Merkur HD
Blades – Westcoastshaving.com Sample Pack (Recommended Order)
Shaving Soap or Cream – This could start a serious debate, but I rarely have bad luck with Nancy Boy, Taylor of Old Bond Street Avocado, or Proraso.

There really should be a Newcomer "starting off" page on the wiki that everyone can refer to, add to, and edit. Should we start something like that, and keep it short and sweet? The "Gear" part of the wiki is pretty long, and when starting out, it's nice to keep things simple at first.

Here's the quick page I started:
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/First_Time_Shaving_Gear

If there's already a page like this in the wiki, I'm sorry I missed it. I feel like we could use the wiki much more than we do, and make it a great place to link to for newcomers.

mgross said:

Great Website! - Thank you very much for that.

I am looking in the $60+ range and if it comes with a set, I would go up to $200 even. So I am really open to anything, even DE shaving, but am a little hesitant to dive right into that.

I really appreciate the advice - I will let you know what I choose and update you when it arrives.

Thanks!

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In for a penny, in for a pound my friend. No need to get all antsy about DE shaving. It's really not that difficult to get a workable shave and from there you perfect your technique. It's not so much that it's hard, it's just different. If money isn't a concern spend another $40 for a decent razor and some blades (www.westcoastshaving.com has sampler blade packs real cheap). Why delay what could turn out to be one of the best grooming decisions you'll ever make?

Thank you very much for all this information - it is very helpful.

And, I will take your advice. I'm going to buy a DE razor instead of an M3 - I just hope I don't show up to clients looking like I got into a knife fight.

The reason I came here to ask these questions is because I find the reviews section a little intimidating. It seems as though a lot of people have different preferences and that makes it hard to compare one person's 10 vs. another person's 10.

I would love it if someone who owns a lot of brushes gave one review comparing them all. Then listed an order of the brushes by overall best brush, best value, etc...

mgross said:

Thank you very much for all this information - it is very helpful.

And, I will take your advice. I'm going to buy a DE razor instead of an M3 - I just hope I don't show up to clients looking like I got into a knife fight.

The reason I came here to ask these questions is because I find the reviews section a little intimidating. It seems as though a lot of people have different preferences and that makes it hard to compare one person's 10 vs. another person's 10.

I would love it if someone who owns a lot of brushes gave one review comparing them all. Then listed an order of the brushes by overall best brush, best value, etc...

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That is a pretty tall order but look in the shaving brushes forum for a "Brush Wars" thread. Joel reviewed a lot of brushes side by side.

From your description it sounds like you want to be somewhat cost conscious on upgrading your brush and you have sensitive skin so you are looking for something soft.

First brushes that come to mind are Shavemac and Savill Row. A small Simpsons in Best badger hair migh also be worth considering as well as the Rooney Heritage series.

You're right it is a pretty tall order, and I don't want anyone here to think that I don't appreciate how amazing this site is with all its information. I certainly do as it is opening up a whole new world to me.

That being said, as I am learning more about the brush that I want (pretty much tied between a Rooney Super and Shavemac Silvertip), I was wondering what is good knot size to get? Obviously it depends on the person, but what does a small shave brush offer that a large does not and vice versa?

Thank you all again for all the help - I really appreciate it.

SmoovD said:

A more than decent brush can be had from Crabtree and Evelyn for around $30 (Best Badger). Jim at VintageBlades is a great vendor so you may want to give him a call and talk the purchase over with him.

The recommendation to check the "reviews" forum is a good one. Plenty of information to be found there.

Good luck.

Almost forgot...welcome to B&B!

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Welcome & +1 on the C&E BBB

Firstly, welcome aboard!

Re: brushes: I would give some advice from my own place on the learning curve.

I bought the C&E Best as it was so highly recommended as a starter brush here. I'm quite happy with it.

I've found now that I'm more of a soap/face lathering type of shaver than a cream/bowl guy.

So in terms of upgrading my brush, at this point I know I'm looking at brushes that suit my style. Shorter loft and not 'floppy'.

I'm glad I didn't spend too much on a first brush but got one that will be more than adequate for the long term as a backup.

mgross said:

That being said, as I am learning more about the brush that I want (pretty much tied between a Rooney Super and Shavemac Silvertip)

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Oddly enough you have narrowed your search down to the same two I did. Here is a thread I posted seeking advice. You will notice a consensus formed around the Rooney although it looks as though both brushes perform similarly. I went with the Rooney simply because it got the most votes. I'm not sorry. It's a stellar brush that blooms nicely but holds its firmness for precision lathering which is important to me. It's thick with soft hair so it soaks up water like there's no tomorrow. Whips up a great bunch of lather and feels good on the face. What more could you ask for? Let us know what you finally go with.

Welcome to the mix, Mike. I agree there's lots of information to digest through. My recommendation is to get a badger brush that will carry you through plenty of good shaves (with whatever razor you end up with), and spend the rest on a good DE razor (A Merkur or a SuperSpeed on ebay), sample blades from Westcoast shaving, some fantastic creams & soaps, a good pre/post shave oil/gel/cream. Check out the reviews, they'll be a great starting point - they were for me!

Getting back to the DE , don't fear it, I don't miss my MACH3FUSIONQUATRRO cartridge system at all, my face feels great, and I start off my mornings enjoying something I used to dread, plus my wife loves the different scents and smoooooth face.

Thank you all very much for your advice... The more I read, the more choices I have, and ultimately, less work gets done . Everytime I close the B&B browser, I start to feel the shakes, then as I do a little work, my mind starts to wonder and somehow, without any concious decision, I'm back here on your site. Is this how the addiction starts?

Anyway, there is something else I've added to the mix of choosing a brush. There are the Rooney Supers, the Shavemacs, and now, I'm looking at the B&B Limited Edition. Should I be considering the B&B Limited Edition as my first good brush? Or is it too specialized and I am not yet sophisticated enough to appreciate it?

If joel is on the mark with his description, that is a $300 brush for $140. And, If I'm considering a $100 - $120 Rooney or Shavemac, should I just bite the bullet and go for the B&B LE?

Or, if I were to buy it, would I be like that one kid in everyone's class who's father bought him a Ferrari for his first car and therefore, he has nothing else to look forward to in his life? Would I be skipping a necessary brush appreciation evolution?

I'm freaking out here, what do I do?

Thanks in advance for any help.

I don't think you can go wrong with the Crabtree and Evelyn brush (either one of them--the $35.00 Best Badger gets good press; I have the $85.00 Super Badger), and you'll be able to pick up some nice creams and/or soaps while you're there.

A good cream and brush is a great place to start but you're missing much of the experience if you stick with the Triple-Trac. Order a Merkur Classic or HD and some good blades. They're not nearly as dangerous as they look. Take your time. You'll be fine.

[FIGHTING WORDS]

The difference between the C&E (Edwin Jaegger) BB Brush and a silvertip is minimal. In fact so minimal, that you are far better off using the difference in price to nurture a healthy SCAD (shaving cream acquisition disorder)

[/FIGHTING WORDS]

Welcome to B&B. I've only been shaving for a month and I've got a setup that a lot of people recommend around here - Merkur HD, C&E Best Badger brush, Proraso pre-shave, Col. Conk Lime and Bay Rum and some Nivea aftershave balm. I also got a 1964 Gillette Superspeed that I'm not going to use until my birthday in a couple of weeks. I wouldn't get too hung up on picking the perfect item right off the bat - that's half the fun, trying many different combinations and seeing exactly what works best for you.

Don't worry about carving your face into ribbons. Watch all of Mantic's videos on YouTube and take it slow, watch your technique and you'll be a pro in no time. Most importantly...enjoy! That's my .02 cents.

Welcome Mike. Good idea to use the Mach 3 for now until you feel comfortable around brushes and lathering, etc. There are videos on Youtube by mantic59 that are great to set you up. Brushes?

The Rooney 3,1 in Super silvertip. Soft on the face with firm backbone to the shaft. Excellent for soaps and creams, bowl and face lathering. Only $75, which is a bargain in the shaving world.

Look at the 2,1 as well. Different handle shape but same loft and knot. $75.

www.vintagebladesllc.com

If you want to save $10, check out the same brush in Genuine badger. The bristles are silvertip, just like the Super above, but not selected for matching color.

www.classicshaving.com.

They come with three cool handle colors as well.