Thread: Cheap brush ideas...

I'd get one of the large Omega Professional boar brushes, like Lynn uses in his video. They run about $10. That and a puck of good soap in a mug, would be hard to beat, price notwithstanding.

Every Walmart I have every checked had a mug, soap and boar hair brush set for about $8. It works. Every CVS or other type pharmacy has had a similar set for a similar price.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I have spent the last few days checking into all of these brushes over and over. I know it sounds dumb to spend all that time on something under $20 dollars but I couldnt help it. I ended up going with RayG's suggestion and went with the larg Omega Profession Boar Brush. Why? I dont know, I got very sick of obsessing over all these brushes and ended up on that one. Thanks again people. I'll let you know how I like it.

Originally Posted by Rugesters

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I have spent the last few days checking into all of these brushes over and over. I know it sounds dumb to spend all that time on something under $20 dollars but I couldnt help it. I ended up going with RayG's suggestion and went with the larg Omega Profession Boar Brush. Why? I dont know, I got very sick of obsessing over all these brushes and ended up on that one. Thanks again people. I'll let you know how I like it.

Good choice a very good choice.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

Best bang for the buck brush I have ever found.
The box in the middle and the brush on the right.
Attachment 45331

Worth getting two, except they do not wear out.

I am tempted to replace the knot in one, upgrading it
to Badger from Boar. I will try it some day....

I have a shaving brush just like that in my medicine cabinet. I purchased it eons ago before I even converted to DE razors.

I'll take it out of mothballs tomorrow and see how it lathers.

Originally Posted by Stylus

In the beginners wiki section one of the brushes it suggests is a tweezerman badger brush, I think it's $16. I've got the Van Der Hagen boar brush that nifty posted above, it was $5 for mine, and I'm satisfied with it.

The Tweezerman badger brush you are referencing was my first brush and was an outstanding buy for the money. For boar brushes I like the Omega 10005 beechwood handle that costs about the same.

make your own, i made this brush with a knot purchased from thegoldennib.com and materials from Menards (im sure any hardware store would do the trick). Its total cost was about 25$ and i had materials left over to make probably 10 more brushes (excluding the knot, the knot is the most expensive part). I made the stand with materials purchased from Menards and the total cost of stand and brush was about 30$.

Brush works GREAT its a silvertip badger knot. Making a brush is hands down the best way to go imho. and not to mention you get the satisfaction of using something that you crafted with your own hands.

McJacob is right -- the best brush to have is one you make (or restore) yourself. It's really pretty easy to do, and you will never go back to those overpriced "store" brushes again.

Here's an all badger shave brush sold by Shea Moisture for $9.99+Shipping. It got heavy review over on B&B and overall, became a favorite recommendation for "first brush."

Shea Moisture 100% Badger Shave Brush

Sometimes Target carries this line, but it's very hard to know which stores and when.

The VDH Brush sold at many pharmacies and WalMarts is a Boar Bristle Brush.

+1 on the Tweezerman. My boys got me this inexpensive brush for Father's Day. I was quite surprised by how luxurious it feels, and does a great job lathering. I hope you enjoy that Omega, though. And I keep meaning to check the local Target for the brush everybody's talking about.

This whole cheap brush thing kind of reminds me of what happened with acoustic guitars 15-20 years ago. Sure, you could spend $1500+ on an American made Gibson, and take your chances on the quality and sound (sound familiar, Smith and Wesson fans?). Or you could pony up several thousand for a high-end Taylor or Martin, and own a truly dream/lifetime guitar. Or you could spend less than $500 on any number of Korean and other Asian import guitars (where they finally learned to get it right after decades of guitars that were like sad jokes), and get an often stunning level of sound, craftsmanship, and playability for magnitudes less. Case in point: I once owned a Cort acoustic (cheap Japanese knockoff of a Gibson Jumbo) that I paid $125 for. Everybody agreed it sounded better than most of the actual Gibsons it was copying. Unfortunately, I sold it. So it goes with brushes. They seem to be another item the Pacific Rim countries have "figured out."

Don't get me wrong. I would love to own one of those high-end British bespoke brushes, and maybe someday I will. I can appreciate old-world craftsmanship as much as the next guy, especially seeing as how it's so rar nowadays. But it would be hard to justify on a teacher's salary, especially when I still have two sons who haven't started college yet. Maybe one of the mid-level Vulfixes, like the 2234, would eventually come from Santa! Until then, love my Tweezerman! Aaron