How did I escape the brush obsession?

I've got dozens of straights, and still manage to acquire at least one a week. Enough shaving soaps and creams that I could shave for the next 4 months and never use the same one twice, and I'm currently fighting the urge to place another order for another 3 or 4. The 9 or 10 hones that I have are certainly insufficient and I'm looking to splurge on a high-end stone such as a CF, Thuri or Escher real soon. My after shave selection grows steadily, and have even experimented mixing my own.

I have 2 brushes, a $4.00 boar from the drugstore, and a $10.00 pure badger Bass which I bought because it came with a matching plastic holder. I see all these brushes going from a few dollars to over $400, and I doubt that I could tell the difference between the 2 extremes. I feel like I'm missing out on something wonderful. An unrefined, crude, uncouth boor that cannot appreciate the angelic kiss of a Plisson High White Mountain Badger or Kent Silvertip.

I bought my first brush in 1973 or so. It is a Hoffritz for Cutlery branded badger. I used it exclusively for 35 years and then I found the shaving forums. Last I counted I have over 25 brushes. :banghead: Got a rotation you might say and I bought a boar brush, my first boar, today. Hones ..... I don't want to go there .... Its a slippery slope is all I can say. :shrug:

Jimmy, that sign is priceless!

To the OP, Just because it you haven't been hit with the BAD yet, does not mean that you'll be forever safe from it! For me, acquisition obsessions tend to come and go in phases.

First it was razors, then it was soaps, then it was strops, then back to razors, then aftershaves, and so on and so forth. It never ends!

Who knows, in 3 months time you could decide that you need 3 more brushes!

I picked up a straight razor to save money on cartridges and shaving goop. That was a gazillion dollars ago...:banghead:

RAD, HAD, and SAD have been hard on me :p and like you I have not been bitten by BAD... I feel lucky :)

One thing I have noticed is that I only seem to like Horn handles so far and I already have one, ShaveMac SRP '08 (THANKS AGAIN!!).

Along the way I have aquired 3 vintage boar brushes from large lots I have purchased and from my mothers stuff she had squirreled away. Only my mothers boar brush holds my attention and I want to restore it, but have NO CLUE where to start that mess...

You all scare me. I consider my RAD full-blown stage IV...but I only have 2 that are currently in one piece AND honed. (About a dozen waiting for some attention)

Soaps, I've tried three...stickin' with my VDH from CVS (Although it's getting reeeaaal tempting)
Brushes...Cheap $5 boar...I love the thing, I simply have no desire for softer
Strops...I still make my own out of tack. I've got slick'uns and heavy drawers. I think it's more in the leather prep than the leather itself (Shoot me later for my blasphemy...or release me due to ignorance.)
Hones...Shapton Glasstones 5,1k, 4k, 8k,16k, and some DMTs for lapping...I'm going to succumb to HAD soon but, lucky me, I'm broke due to starting my own business. A 12k is first on the list. From there will depend on my $$$ situation.


Heck, who I am kindin'. If I had expendable income I know I'd be as bad as you guys!!!!! It's inevitable isn't it?:banghead:

IMO you don't need 20 brushes, but you should at least treat yourself to ONE good quality brush to sit next to your $10 model. And it doesn't have to be a $300 Simpson either. There are many excellent brushes that cost 1/2 or 1/3 of the really high end ones.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I bought my first brush in 1973 or so. It is a Hoffritz for Cutlery branded badger. I used it exclusively for 35 years and then I found the shaving forums. Last I counted I have over 25 brushes. :banghead: Got a rotation you might say and I bought a boar brush, my first boar, today. Hones ..... I don't want to go there .... Its a slippery slope is all I can say. :shrug:

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Which boar brush did you get? I recently bought a Semogue Owners' Club Boar brush and like it quite a bit.

I would agree that most people should treat themselves to at least one very nice badger brush. Me, I am still looking for that one badger brush that is perfect for me. I think that search is partially to blame for some brush "acquisition disorders."

The answer to the title of this post is that you haven't, trust me. It will rear it's ugly head in due course.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

The answer to the title of this post is that you haven't, trust me. It will rear it's ugly head in due course.

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No truer words where ever typed :p:banghead:

Gentlemen:

I can do well with one straight razor, one strop, one brush, one shave soap and one styptic pencil.

I can also get by on one meal a day.

But I think I prefer six small meals a day — and a glass of fine wine for the evening.

Regards,

Obie

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Originally Posted by Obie

Gentlemen:

I can do well with one straight razor, one strop, one brush, one shave soap and one styptic pencil.

I can also get by on one meal a day.

But I think I prefer six small meals a day — and a glass of fine wine for the evening.

Regards,

Obie

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Yes, and a fine brush is like a fine wine. The wine cellar must be fully stocked.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Yes, and a fine brush is like a fine wine. The wine cellar must be fully stocked.

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My dear thebigspendur:

How well you speak.

Yes, the wine cellar must be fully stocked.

And it is.

After all, Pliny the Elder said, "In wine there is truth."

Regards,

Obie

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Originally Posted by Chelicerae

I've got dozens of straights, and still manage to acquire at least one a week. Enough shaving soaps and creams that I could shave for the next 4 months and never use the same one twice, and I'm currently fighting the urge to place another order for another 3 or 4. The 9 or 10 hones that I have are certainly insufficient and I'm looking to splurge on a high-end stone such as a CF, Thuri or Escher real soon. My after shave selection grows steadily, and have even experimented mixing my own.

I have 2 brushes, a $4.00 boar from the drugstore, and a $10.00 pure badger Bass which I bought because it came with a matching plastic holder. I see all these brushes going from a few dollars to over $400, and I doubt that I could tell the difference between the 2 extremes. I feel like I'm missing out on something wonderful. An unrefined, crude, uncouth boor that cannot appreciate the angelic kiss of a Plisson High White Mountain Badger or Kent Silvertip.

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I once convinced myself I needed only one brush! Then I got a second a third and.................. then I published this:

Fido's Shaving Brush Blog

So beware.