Thread: First brush - How good $$$ should I go?

What do I get for my first brush? Don't want to jump into the deep end but don't want to go too cheap either.

Sometimes, cheap brushes aren't nasty. The "Turkish 'No.6'" is possibly the cheapest brush you can buy ($2.45 minus shipping from bestshave.net) that's any good. It's horsehair, so it'll be on the scrubby side once broken in. It'll also smell rather nasty, but that *does* wear off... thankfully.

Failing that, any Semogue boar brushes or the Progress Vulfix 404 badger/boar mix. All not expensive, and have good reputations.

The amount of money spent on a brush does not necessarily mean more quality or longevity for a brush. If you can stand a stiffer brush an Omega 10066 boar brush @ about $9.00 will work just fine. It takes a few weeks to break in. I have used mine for soaps and creams. A dandy workable brush.

Bob

One of my two brushes is an $8 Kent VS80 boar brush from the CVS drugstore…the other is the $260 "Thumbprint" silver tip badger brush made for Tiffany & Co (don't panic, no one paid retail for that!).

I love them both, but use the $8 Kent more for its stiffer backbone and narrower profile.

High quality knots are quite reasonable, complete brushes, OTOH get spendy real quick.

If you are handy with tools and epoxy, buy a knot and stick in into...anything you care to make fit. I use vintage brush handles. The least I've spent on a knot is <20 bucks for "pure badger" which now lives in a vintage Rubberset "Pure Badger" labeled handle and looks great...I don't care for the pure badger, give me the good stuff!

Originally Posted by BobH

The amount of money spent on a brush does not necessarily mean more quality or longevity for a brush. If you can stand a stiffer brush an Omega 10066 boar brush @ about $9.00 will work just fine. It takes a few weeks to break in. I have used mine for soaps and creams. A dandy workable brush.

Bob

I second the boar brush suggestion. I have two badgers and a boar and use the boar because I've come to like its firmness on my face. I find I have to be a little more aggressive when mixing lather, but the boar is a much tougher brush.

Originally Posted by WadePatton

High quality knots are quite reasonable, complete brushes, OTOH get spendy real quick.

If you are handy with tools and epoxy, buy a knot and stick in into...anything you care to make fit. I use vintage brush handles. The least I've spent on a knot is <20 bucks for "pure badger" which now lives in a vintage Rubberset "Pure Badger" labeled handle and looks great...I don't care for the pure badger, give me the good stuff!

This is getting better and better...I didn't know you could make your own brushes. I am a tinkerer but I don't have a lathe.

Can you tell the learning curve is very steep at the beginning?

I paid $15 for a handmade (apparently) badger brush on ebay and it's very nice and works well. I have no desire to change it. On even more of a budget, the suggestions above are good. Interesting about the frankenbrushes - i have a brush with a working handle but bristles that are so uncomfortable, its likely be more fun to have venereal disease than to shave regularly with ($3 ebay brushes are *not* worth it, so it seems)

Originally Posted by grover

This is getting better and better...I didn't know you could make your own brushes. I am a tinkerer but I don't have a lathe.

Can you tell the learning curve is very steep at the beginning?

It doesn't look too tough:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/brush...-can-turn.html

Streaming video is blocked here at work but I'll check it out when I get home.