Please help me find THE ONE!

J

jhclare

Messages
517
Hi all,

Right. I've had it with SBAD! I want a one-and-only brush. I've tried a few, and still don't think I've found what I'm looking for yet.

So..... here are my requirements, based around the B&B brush advice template:

My existing harem of badgery beauties:

  • A Taylors Silvertip (Vulfix) - Nice, but too floppy, and not good with soap.
  • Rooney 3/1 Super - The nearest I've come yet, however my experience with Rooney has been mixed. First copy was great after break-in but was a shedder. Second copy didn't shed but just wasn't as nice as the first. Tips were more prickly and didn't seem quite as dense.
  • Simfix CH2 Best - Too big and not quite firm enough. Maybe CH1?
  • Semogue 1305 - Superb for the money but didn't retain heat or hold enough lather for me, even after break-in.
  • Omega Pro 48 - Gigantic, way too big for face lathering.
  • Savile Row 3824 - Just a bit too big and I'm not convinced it's as good as some brushes for soaps. It's also very soft, but most of the time I want firmness and a bit of scrubbing action, but don't want prickly tips. [/list:u]

    My lathery leanings ... basically I face lather with soap 80% of the time, with cream 10% of the time, and use a bowl with cream/soap for the remaining 10%.

    What I want from my next brush .... Basically a good all-rounder that is not too big, that is dense, scrubby and firm but not scritchy or prickly, and one that I will keep for a number of years without wanting any other brushes. I also want it to be readily available new, and easy to obtain in the UK.

    Brush aesthetics ... Not too important, but I want the handle to be comfortable.

    Budget. Maybe £100, no more.

    Brushes that have already piqued your interest ....
    • I'm thinking maybe a Rooney 1/1 or another 3/1 on the off chance that I just got some atypical samples.
    • Maybe a Stubby 1 or 2 Heritage, or another Heritage model?
    • A Simpsons Chubby 1 in Super or Best (can't decide). Obviously will be Simfix unless some kind soul wants to sell an original Simpsons one
    • A Savile Row 3x20 or 3x22 - or will these be too soft with not enough backbone for me?[/list:u]

      Lastly, I wanted to tell you that this will be my last and only brush, and that SBAD hasn't really gotten ahold of me, etc.

      No really. :shock:

      Thanks all!

      John
 
First you must make a choice, the RED or the BLUE tablet, the blue tablet will take you back to your pre DE shaving days with cartridge and goo and you will be happy in you're ignorance. The red tablet will reveal the truth, which is...
 
antdad said:
First you must make a choice, the RED or the BLUE tablet, the blue tablet will take you back to your pre DE shaving days with cartridge and goo and you will be happy in you're ignorance. The red tablet will reveal the truth, which is...
Click to expand...

LOL :mrgreen:
 
Hi John

I have:

Kent BK8 - a big floppy soft silvertip (but not too floppy) Wonderful with creams but although good, not so practical with soaps.
shavemac 177 (not mentioned this here before but will write a review soon) Another even more floppy silvertip, great with creams but not for soaps.
Semogue 1305 - great with soaps - wouldn't use with creams - cannot match the luxury of the badgers.
Semogue 2000 - a good all-rounder but lacks the quality of the badgers.

And:

When I visited The Gentleman's Shop, I asked Robert to recommend an excellent all round brush - no upper price limit. He suggested the Simpsons Duke 3 Best at £74. He uses it himself every day and said he has not touched another brush for quite a while. I took his advice and got one.

Based on my limited experience I can strongly recommend the Duke 3 best as a one and only brush. It can deal with everything, it's not very big but big enough. It's neither stiff nor floppy. I'm sure there are plenty of others to compete with it but it has to be on a shortlist of best all-rounders.

Good luck in your quest.
 
If you are after badger a Simpsons 2 Band,Semogue or Plisson - Not neccessarily in that order.

The Semogue boars - 620, 1520 & 1470 are all first class face latherers. Plus a shorter loft than the 1305 & that might float your boat....

Omega make some nice "smaller" brushes as well as Koh-I-Noor. Have a gander at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/boar.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/boar.html</a><!-- m -->

Vulfix are highly thought of too.

A custom brush is another option.

Good luck.
 
Just one more point. If I were choosing just one brush, I would make a huge effort to see and handle it before buying. For me, that means London or Hungerford. Being in London you can get to the shops where there are large collections on display.
 
Obvious other ones to consider:

- 2 band Simpsons - supposed to have great backbone and soft tips. Chubby 2 should be very dense. Not making chubby 1 in 2 band
- Shavemac custom in D01 / Finest with short loft (tell Bernd exactly what you want from the brush and he should sort you out)
- Rooney stubbey heritage from Vintage Blades - ask someone in the US to forward to you or use a forwarding company in the UK

I am interested in something similar to you and waiting to see if Diamond Edge get any 2 band chubbies in. If not, I could be interested in a Shavemac or Rooney stubby heritage in case you want to combine postage etc
 
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