Looking for recommendations for my first badger brush. Have been looking at the razorock 24mm barrell badger finest any thoughts?
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Looking for recommendations for my first badger brush. Have been looking at the razorock 24mm barrell badger finest any thoughts?
No experience here, Derb, but I have seen lots of Razorock hardware posted with good opinions. Their suds have always been good.
Which brush are you going for?
Otay! Here we go...
Attachment 296043
I dig it.
One thing that is almost guaranteed is that you will buy others when you have a better idea of what you want out of a badger brush. You have to start somewhere and I guess that RR brush is as good a place as any to start with.
Bob
I like um.all, but I prefer the black badger.
Attachment 296044
I like a dence badge brush. But these cost more. You need to use a few to find out what you like. Some like floppy, others like stiff. Some like 19mm and others like 30mm. Its a personnal choice.
20 Bucks.. I shall order me one? Says Mr. too many brushes!
Had I not too many, I would easily get on this.
I am assuming this is a 2-band? If lesser, too soft for me.
Van den Hagen makes a decent badger brush, it can be found at most Wal Marts.
I have read this ^^^^^ before but havent tried one. Might be a good way to start.
Ok have found a Thater 4125/1 or a Simpson Berkeley. Any help?
Derb, I am a handle snob, but not a knot snob. I just like the shafts to stand-up as the lather is built from the tips.
I just don't toss my brush in water. :nono:
My favorites are very old with TGN and Sheng 2-bands and a few 2-band Shavemacs (which I would not not have but for the generosity of MikeB52).
I dig my Omega boars and Vie Long Horsie as well.
In some way, a brush is a brush, It's all subjective.
I CAN testify that a good boar brush is MUCH better than a cheap badger one. Something IMO.
You can purchase badger brushes from $20-30 all the way up to several hundred dollars. It all depends on what you are looking for in a brush.
Do you mostly lather creams and soft soaps, or are you partial to triple-milled pucks? If you like hard soaps, then you will probably want a brush with more backbone. If you use mostly creams and softer soaps, a floppy brush will work well.
What sort of face feel do you like? Do you want your brush to have very soft tips, or do you like some scritch? A black badger is likely to be scrubby/scritchy while a silvertip is soft. Other types fall somewhere in between.
I like my brushes to have some backbone and to have very soft tips. So for me two-band finest and densely-packed silvertip brushes work best, but they tend to be pricey. I tried black badgers and pure badgers, but they irritate my sensitive skin.
If you purchase a brush that someone else loves, you may be disappointed as their needs and preferences may differ greatly from yours. Figure out what you need in terms of backbone and softness vs scritch/scrub and then try to find a brush that that will match your preferences and yet fit within your budget.
My votes for the Thater!Quote:
Originally Posted by Derb25
Economical ones:
* Maseto Shaving
* Stirling Soaps (yes, they offer some decent badger brushes)
* The Golden Nib
* Frank Shaving
More expensive ones:
* Shavemac (most variety and excellent quality)
* Simpsons
* Vie-Long
* Thater
* Paladin
Frank shaving, as mentioned by celestino above, have some good brushes at reasonable prices. If you get one of theirs be sure to order
their brush stands as well.
As far as budget brushes Stirling soap co. gets my vote, though the knot i have from Virginia Sheng (from ebay,China) has given me no problems. Can't recommend the TGN knots as mine sheds like a dog(maybe they've improved since then ,i don't know).JMHO
I've ordered from both but only used my TGN. Didn't shed much but my experience is probably not enough to say.Quote:
Originally Posted by tintin
I've got several knots for projects but will be needing to order a few small ones at some point for some brush projects coming up...
Now I'm wondering if TGN is not the way to go.
I'm a couple years behind, need to catch up on "current" source info..
Does anyone have suggestions on quality suppliers these days?
My reply to this thread:
IMO If you try many knots, you will likely have more than one knot type you appreciate each for different reasons.
If you build your own brush, it is a great experience, and heightens that appreciation.
Well I decided on none of the above... lol. I ordered a 22mm Silvertip from Larry over at Whippeddog!
I have to agree 100% with Tom (sharptonn) on his last statement about a quality boar out performs a cheap badger.. The AOS travel badger i purchased being case in point, worst money ive ever spent on a brush bar none... And through trial and too many errors my suggestion for a 1st badger is going online/bst maybe and purchase a couple vintage Eveready or Rubberset handles and insert premium VIGShaving badger knots.. I can almost promise you will be quite surprised at how nice those $13.00 knots are!! Im a boar fan myself but pound for pound or quality to price those VIG's can not be beat . take care, Scott W
I'd have to disagree on two points...Quote:
Originally Posted by TCMichigander
Firstly, a boar can't take the place of a badger. They behave and feel totally different. "Soft" tips of a broken in boar feel totally different to the "soft" tips of a silvertip badger.
Secondly, please check out Yaqi brushes on . Aliexpress and you'll see just how economical it is buying great quality badger brushes directly from the source (China).
@Nav.. I'm not sure what you are disagreeing with on your 2 points? I fully know that i am not trying to take the place of a badger brush when i use a boar brush.. If that was the case i would just use one of my badgers.. And i will stick by my personal opinion that a cheap pure badger brush isn't in the same ballpark of a nice broken.in Omega, Semogue and especially my Thater Boar.. I have a pretty tough beard and i really enjoy that right amount of backbone and subtle scritch my boar brushes give me.. On the other hand pure badger feela awful on my face when lathering and the few higher quality badgers i have or have used tend to be just too soft with not much back bone... Not what i prefer and feel that a boar gives my beard a better shave... And secondly im not sure if you read my full post or not but i gave high marks to my personal favorite badger brush that i own and use.. VigShaving as far as i know is in China and sources their badger from there also.. I have 2 of their highest quality knots that i dropped into vintage handles and they give a very nice lather and shave.. Not quite to my boars but very good indeed.. Those 2 brushes have a combined total of less than $35.00 invested... Quality & Economical for sure.. And since ive been putting off trying out a Yaqi for a long time now your response gave me the push to order one.. I just ordered a Arctic blue long handle 24mm Silvertip badger brush from West Coast Shaving for ,$35.12 total.. This is twice the amount i have into the 2 Vig's i have and we will see how the Yaqi stands up... Review to come.. Peace gents!. Scott W
Perhaps the most boldly ignorant statement I've seen posted here in a very long time. Quality boar and badger brushes both get the job done in terms of building and applying lather. What has face feel got to do with lathering viability? Your statement is similar to saying a synthetic paint brush cannot take the place of one made with natural bristles. If they can both paint a board, then one can take the place of the other plain and simple.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nav
Argue the merits of boar or badger over the other all you want. Ultimately, the fact remains either type works.
What other wet shaving wisdom have you been withholding from us for the past 5 years? :rolleyes:
I have a low end Simpson badger ($35ish) and it sheds more than my Labrador. When I first got it it was fine. Been shaving with it for almost 4 years now but it’s a floppy mess from all the hair that’s fallen out of the glue puck. I just spun up a handle for a tgn knot, premium silver tip, when I get the knot set and take it on a couple of test drives I’ll report back in a thread on brushes section. Probably will be Sunday, as I’ll set it tomorrow.
I am moving toward synthetics. The two Yaqis and the RazoRock I own perform very well.I still like to lather up hard soaps with my boar brushes, but the synths produce great lather from creams and croaps. My lonesome badger brush is getting pushed to the back of the shelf for now.
By the way, non of the synths or the boars cost me more than $25 US.
Rob your piggy bank and buy Thater 4125/B 24 mm. You’ll thank me. I’ve been at this 35 years. I own a 4125/B in 30mm 32 mm and 35 mm. I don’t believe there is a finer brush. Neither of the three have shed a single hair to my knowledge.
