Thread: New brush shopping/Art of shaving a bunch of wackos?

As I stated in another post, I'm upgrading my gear to higher end stuff. I went to art of shaving an I almost fainted after the sales guy told me the price of his brushes there. Are those people actually selling those items for that much money? They must have one hell of a marketing team! I told the guy his prices seemed high, but he assured me that they were on par with the competition. I don't think that he realized that he was talking to a 10 year straight razor shaving vet! Any way, the parker silver looks attractive to me and so does the stirling line of brushes. Anyway, before I ramble on any more: What is the lifespan of a high end brush? Do all brushes eventually give out and need replacement, or are they the type of thing that can last as long as you take care of it? My current brush is the original one that I've always used, so it is ten years old now. It seems to work fine, I just don't have anything to compare it to as I've only used this one.

I don't take good care of my brush by the way; sometimes when I'm in a hurry I leave it brush down in the cup only to find it crusted with soap and deformed later in the day. Oh well C'est la vi! YOLO

I have the perfect solution for you, and I might dare to say your going to love it..
Go to the dollar tree down there and buy a set of paint brushes. I think you will love them...and they come, I believe, in a six pack with three different sizes!!!

I think if you mistreat shave brushes they will fall apart quicker than if you take care of them regardless of how much or little you pay for them.

If you think the brushes AOS sell are expensive take a gander at these high end brushes.
Simpson Shaving Brushes: Products: Limited Edition Brushes

Stirling shave brushes are available from various places including directly from Stirling.
https://www.stirlingsoap.com/shave-brushes/

I don't have any brushes Stirling makes but have read some reviews of them that were positive.

Bob

I have looked at the Art of Shaving brushes and my reaction was similar to yours. I suspect there is quite a markup there. The knots, or the hair part of a badger brush is usually the most expensive part. You can buy just the knot, depending on the grade from multiple on line retailers (I think they mostly come from Chinese farms), for anywhere between 18.00 and 40.00 dollars depending on the grade and the quantity you buy. The handle can run into some cost if you get a custom made wooden or acrylic handle but some of the ones I've seen made here by members are truly spectacular and priced well under AOS. (http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...-brush-me.html). Simple plastic handles with some metal trim like those at AOS should not account for the additional cost. Those are pretty easy and inexpensive to mass produce.

A good natural hair brush can last a lifetime - but you do have to take care of it. Is your current brush badger hair? Some folks like boar hair or synthetic material. That makes a big difference in cost.

Adam

I think I paid around $30.00 for this brush and it's been great. AoS is very pricy for what you get.

I can feel your pain as I've been down this road relatively recently. For my part I had owned a few different brushes, including an AoS brush that has largely been put out to pasture but remains to do occasional duty in the shave den. In the end I settled on a synthetic simply because I couldn't bring myself to spend a bunch of money searching for the perfect badger brush, preferring to spend less finding a synthetic (or three) that I could love. Here's a link to the thread detailing my journey:

Synthetic Brush Shootout

In the end I'm very happy with my brushes. While the custom handles aren't a budget approach the works of art that Chris (aka Trimmy72, aka Brush Craft) produced for me give me great joy to both look at and use during my morning shave.

My advice is to try to figure out what you want in a knot. I thought that I would like a bit of scritch but I discovered that I greatly prefer super soft tips. Backbone is more variable for me. Some days, or soaps, demand a stiff knot while on others I want a soothing "floppy" brush that I find comforting. Once you figure out what you want the business end of the brush to feel like you can pick out a handle that is comfortable in the hand and maybe even be a thing of beauty.

Keep in mind that all of us want to help by passing along our experiences but YMMV. Also keep in mind that the membership here represent a wide array of budgets, from the strict value shaver to those who can fully enjoy in all of the luxuries available to us. Only you know what you are able and willing to spend!

AOS is known for their prices and especially since they were bought out they are now a high end store.

Once you know your budget you can buy online. Whether you buy direct from one of the well known outfits who sell top of the line or bottom of the line you can do much better than AOS.

If you neglect your brush you better buy a low end piece. Like anything else if you abuse your tools you know what happens to them.

Why not just get one or two cheap synthetic brushes as they work, very well, and you don't have to worry about taking care of them.

Originally Posted by Aerdvaark

I have the perfect solution for you, and I might dare to say your going to love it..
Go to the dollar tree down there and buy a set of paint brushes. I think you will love them...and they come, I believe, in a six pack with three different sizes!!!

I'm going to respond and might dare to say that that sir is ridiculous...and no. LOL