Is it worth spending loadsamoney?

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philamac

Joined
Tuesday July 14, 2009
My first brush was the Jagger small Best which I bought about 4 years ago for £16.

About 3 months ago I got a Simpson Duke 1 in best, for £46. It is a great brush, looks good (I removed the gold label prior to first use :D ) and performs well. It does feel like cotton wool against my face...........but.................I have to say that this is as far as I will go with brushes in terms of expense. The Duke is good, but not 3 times better than my Jagger, which was about a third of the price.

I suppose this is like wine, or whisky, and there is a law of diminishing returns. I would happily spend £50 on a new Duke in 5 years time, but forking out much more than that does not seem worth it.

I know others here get great satisfaction from a £10 Vulfix boar, so does any one think that it is worth spending say, £100, on a brush? If so, what are the advantages?
 
My friend,I have spend 90 euros on a Kent BK8,95 on a Vie Long finest badger and two months ago after watching Zach videos about boar bruhes on youtube, I tried two "cheap" boar brushes and I cant see myself going back to badger.Im sorry but I dont understand the high prices on badger brushes when for more of the half of its price you can get a nice boar brush which performs great with soaps.Try boar and see how you like it.Its not gonna break your budget and the reward from your boar brush could be wonderful.Mine are lathermachines now.
 
philamac said:
I suppose this is like wine, or whisky, and there is a law of diminishing returns. I would happily spend £50 on a new Duke in 5 years time, but forking out much more than that does not seem worth it.
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That's exactly what I see I have tried the following:

Wilkinson boar - £3
Men-U boar - £9
EJ BBB (Med) - £19
Rooney 2/1 super - £20

So far out of those it's a tie between the 2 badgers and there are significant steps up in enjoyment between the Wilki to the MenU and again to the badgers - I'm pretty sure I'd be annoyed at the Rooney if I'd paid full-whack for it, but there are some days when you don't want it to be too soft, but other days you do. A Kent BK4 is en route (thanks Shaving Shack for the shave points!), hopefully I'll love it :D it's mostly because I want to try a larger brush though.

Then I'll read something about someone blowing £100+ on a brush and I can't comprehend that it's 5+ times better than the Rooney or the EJ.
 
No it is not worth it, however many of our indulgence purchases are not worth it either. Is it really worth several hundreds (if not thousands) of pounds for a good seat at a concert or football match, no it is not, but the indulgence factor makes people do it because they feel pampered. A watch that costs several thousand to do what tell the time? or a £200,000 car which again does the same job as a Kia Pride, there is really no reason to spend loads but for some reason we do it and can't help ourselves.

There is a moral issue some have with using Badger hair, putting that aside I did indulge myself in a SR 3824 brush and it has not shed a single hair. It is easily the best quality brush I have. Is it worth the money, maybe since it is much cheaper than a Simpsons but I am sure I could have got a "similar" brush much cheaper.

Personally I am still mainly stuck on badger, I bought a Vulfix No.18 from Paul ages ago and the first few uses were underwhelming. I could not stand that it could not hold enough soap and I had trouble lathering, several months down the line as many uses later, sometimes I just went and made lather and threw it away just to get the brush broken in, my opinion of boar is changing.

I am not fully there yet and I can't see me throwing my badger brushes away but my eyes have been opened to the much cheaper brushes that are great performers.
 
There is a law of diminishing returns which kicks in and increases beyond a certain point. On the other hand cheap and nasty is no good either.

Then there's your other choices -- how you lather, whether you're cream or soap, etc. They will determine whether you want a big soft brush (usually more money) or a smaller stiffer one (usually less). As with cars: how / where you use it will pertly determine what's best for you.

I usually use soap and face lather and have two small-ish and stiff-ish best badger brushes (not trimmed and spiky but with a pleasant resistance partly determined by their smaller size). I use them alternately in a week on / week off rotation so they can dry out properly.

I have tried boar, synthetic and very soft silver-tip but for me I now have the right combo.

A good make is worth the money and will repay you with years of use but after that it is down to what you want to do with it: creams and bowl could mean a big soft badger; soap on face - something smaller and stiffer. Hard water, too, might make you want to go softer to beat more air in and size of handle re you own hand could also be a factor.

Cheers

Ollie
 
The Duke and the Jagger Best are working well for me. I use creams and face lather, with the occasional use of an Erasmic stick. I don't see that changing at this stage, but you never know!

Though even if I had won the lottery last night I would not be getting a Plisson.

Audiolab is right about indulgences, and they are a personal thing. I will fork out to eat in a good restaurant, and spend a bit more than most of my mates on clothes, but when my friend was showing off his new fancy car I just did not see the point of it. I'll stick to my basic model 206 (a girl's car :lol: ). He does not understand it when I drool over Rolexes cos he is happy with a £20 casio, so its horses for courses.

I did try a boar about 18 years ago, it was just too rough for me then and I don't have the urge to try again, though I'm sure that brush is lying around here somewhere.
 
If you do dig out an 18 year old Boar brush which you don't want PM me - I am looking for something to use on hard soap.
I have a Badger for creams and am using an inexpensive synthetic for soaps.
 
This may be an alternative if you don't want to make your'e own handle or spend a large amount.
Butcher a Vulfix 404 mix for the handle from Diamond Edge coupled with a Finest + 20% knot from Golden Nib. Approx £25.00 + time. I was not sure about the knot at first but it has broken in nicely and becoming my favorite face lathering brush for creams and soaps.
Of course you can choose any doner brush and buy any type of knot you prefer but I particularly like faux ivory and the size of that model.

48mmfrontfix.jpg
 
Too some people it is definately worth it. Too others it exactly the opposite. The sheeple sit happily in the middle.

Its all in the mind....I have a high end fishing rod. does it let me catch more fish? No, of course not. but i love it.

I have a Simpsons Chubby # 3 in super, do i get better lathers no. But i love it. Compared to my Semogue 2015HD ( is only 2 shaves old ) the chubby is like a Rolls Royce ( i imagine ) a smooth comfortable ride. The Semogue is like a Subaru Impreza , quick & nimble.
 
I completely agree with evryone here, i just want to add that yes there is a definate difference. My Ebay silvertip v a simpsons duke - no contest, the duke is the duke for a reason. Its the one high end brush i own. But the less epensive brushes make great workhorses. I have a synthetic also.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love the Duke and am very satisfied with it. It is a luxury item that does a great job. Also it looks really bloody good on the shelf next to my Progress. Especially since I peeled off the gold label :twisted: . Understated, elegant and very English.

I have become a real Anglophile in the last few years :D
 
My first badger was my EJ BB medium, then I bought a Kent BK4 to try out a bit more luxurious brush. While the Kent is very comfortable it's a little too soft and more often than not I reach for the EJ. Thinking about it it seems that the Kent is my weekend brush. Rooney is next on my list to try out.
 
More £ doesn't always = better.

I bought a Pure Badger Brush from Crabtree and Evelyn when I first started using a brush.

Since then I've bought (and sold) a Chubby 1 in Best, Kent BK4, Duke 2 in Best and even a Plisson Pure in an antique brass handle. None have worked as well (for me) as my cheap C&E.

The Plisson was a bit of an indulgent buy. I'd seen a pic of one and that was that.
 
My first brush was a Wilkinson's which cost £4 in Tesco's. I just wanted to see if I would enjoy this more traditional shaving experience. My Kent BK8 silvertip was a huge step up in price and quality. To me,worth every penny. I soon realised it is mainly suited to creams lathered in a bowl and painted on the beard. Then the Simpsons Duke 3 - same price range as the BK8. The Duke is worth the money. A great all rounder. Both are a pleasure to use, feel and look at.
Then came my Semogue 1305 at less than a tenner. This too is a great performer and fun to use. It looks rather sad alongside its more illustrious neighbours. Like a straggly cat. I love a bargain, the Semogue is certainly that. But I like a bit of luxury too. I don't turn my nose up at good value cheapies. But then I don't apologise for indulgences either.
Would anyone care to tell me which brush between £100 to £200 would be a sheer delight to own and use? I could be tempted........ I may not have many shaves left - one never knows.
 
Fido said:
Would anyone care to tell me which brush between £100 to £200 would be a sheer delight to own and use?
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Fido, everyone who owns a Simpsons Chubby seems very pleased:

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