Perceived value of high end brushes

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Wayne I think this is pretty much the reaction to your "passive aggressive" question on this forum :)
Nisse, my question is not passive aggressive what it is however is an invitation to debate. One simply gets bored of 'What is the best blade, soap,aftershave,bum crack cleaner'? topics after a while so a good debate on expensive Vs cheaper options gets the juices flowing. When we have been on the forums for a while we need something to get our teeth into from time to time.
 
For what it's worth, I've had my share of mediocre badger brushes, which were to me at the time perfect and all I needed. But , through curiosity and natural progression I have two Shavemacs a D01 and a silvertip and more than content with these, they are far superior than any of my previous cheaper brushes, both in their performance and face feel.
That said I've never tried any of the Maestro/Chinese brushes, but if I was starting out now, they would be my target list, given the value and the performance appears hard to beat, but it's all subjective
 
I'm in an awkward situation as I do not have two brushes of a similar nature at opposite ends of the price spectrum to offer a constructive view. I have two custom made badgers (Cadman) that are exquisite. I have three budget boar brushes (Wilkinson Sword and Omega) that are worlds apart with the Omega being more than twice the brush that is the Wilky, and two 'budget' synthetics (RazoRock Monster and Body Shop) that I liken in the same way as the boars, whilst both budget, one blows the other away.

The only logical difference that SHOULD apply is performance. Beauty is always subjective, but how the knot serves is the thing I care about above all. The thin and weedy knots on the Wilkinson Sword, whilst functional, are not a pleasure to use. Same deal with the Body Shop synthetic brush. They are too springy and fling lather around the bathroom in a manner akin to a Chimpanzee's tea-party would be.

I feel that with my Cadman brushes, I got EVERYTHING I wanted. Performance and aesthetics that appeal to me. Sure, they cost a lot more than all of my other brushes combined, but they give me pleasure beyond their function. They look fantastic and were built my a man who gives a damn about his craft, and that to me is what makes my pair of Cadman brushes much more valuable than my production run made brushes.
 
2 remarks:
- I think that with expensive brushes, it's more the social image you cast that matters. It's a so intimate tool that beside wet shaving fora where you can show off, nobody will care about the fact you own a Shavemac or M&F...
- On the other hand, with high end brush, it's more about the "voyage" than the destination. You don't need a Rolls Royce to take the motorway, a Nissan Micra is more than enough; basically you can achieve perfect lather with cheap Chinese brush as well as artisan ones. So with expensive brush, it's also about the perceived quality from the use.
 
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