Value for money

[De 2]

Only a newb so any guidance would be appreciated.

I have three shaving brushes, a Boots bristle that is about 35 years old, a £1 ebay badger brush, a £30 Old Orginial Shaving Brush badger brush.

In terms of looks I think the £30 brush wins, in terms of performance there is very little between the badgers and even the old Boots brush works well. I am looking for reasons to pay quite a lot more for something that doesnt work so very much better.

None of the brushes shed hair, no odd smells.

Am I missing something?

 

[Boycie83]

If it works for you, there's no need to change. Only spend your money if you want to. There's a couple of cheap options if you wanted some variety:

Yaqi 24mm Synthetic:
ï¿¡7.91 | Yaqi Red Marble 24MM Men's Synthetic Hair Beard Brush Shaving Brush

Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

s.click.aliexpress.com

Yaqi Silvertip Badger:
ï¿¡22.13 | Yaqi 24MM 100% Silvertip Badger Hair Red Resin Handle Shaving Brushes for men

30.62€ 13% OFF|Yaqi 24MM 100% Silberdachshaar Rot Harz Griff Rasieren Pinsel für männer|shaving brush|brush for menbadger hair - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

s.click.aliexpress.com

 

[De 2]

If it works for you, there's no need to change. Only spend your money if you want to. There's a couple of cheap options if you wanted some variety:

Yaqi 24mm Synthetic:
ï¿¡7.91 | Yaqi Red Marble 24MM Men's Synthetic Hair Beard Brush Shaving Brush

Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

s.click.aliexpress.com

Yaqi Silvertip Badger:
ï¿¡22.13 | Yaqi 24MM 100% Silvertip Badger Hair Red Resin Handle Shaving Brushes for men

30.62€ 13% OFF|Yaqi 24MM 100% Silberdachshaar Rot Harz Griff Rasieren Pinsel für männer|shaving brush|brush for menbadger hair - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

s.click.aliexpress.com

Thanks for the advice, appreciated

 

[happyshaver]

no offense but those aren't... exactly high end badger brushes. id be surprised if they qualified as "best" grade.

Try an omega silver tip. THEN try the ones you have. Youll FEEL the difference in 5 minutes.

 

[Paul L]

If it works for you, there's no need to change. Only spend your money if you want to. There's a couple of cheap options if you wanted some variety:

Yaqi 24mm Synthetic:
ï¿¡7.91 | Yaqi Red Marble 24MM Men's Synthetic Hair Beard Brush Shaving Brush

Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

s.click.aliexpress.com

Yaqi Silvertip Badger:
ï¿¡22.13 | Yaqi 24MM 100% Silvertip Badger Hair Red Resin Handle Shaving Brushes for men

30.62€ 13% OFF|Yaqi 24MM 100% Silberdachshaar Rot Harz Griff Rasieren Pinsel für männer|shaving brush|brush for menbadger hair - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

s.click.aliexpress.com

+1 for the YaqI Tuxedo
It's an excellent brush and superb value for money

 

[Rohleder]

So far your have compared entry level badger, synthetic (eBay badger is a synth) and boar brushes finding them all the be quite similar... I would have expected the Vulfix to be a little bit better than the other two which are a very basic indeed but YMMV so fair enough.

Do you primarily bowl or face lather? And do you prefer soaps or creams? Generally, face latherers prefer shorter knot lofts with either boar or a badger with a bit of backbone (so called 2-band mostly) whilst bowl latherers often like taller brushes with very soft tips (silvertip badger) the former work best for soaps and the latter for creams though of course nothing is fixed and there is some overlap.

If you are on a budget of say less than £50 and are happy with synthetics then I see no reason not to stick with them. Inexpensive, reliable and these days pretty damn good. Water and heat retention doesn't match that of badger hair and it never feels quite as plush but they can come very close indeed... Get a good one and you may never need to think of shaving brushes ever again.

As a face lathering soap user the models I have owned personally and would recommend are:

Simpsons Chubby 2 "synthetic bristle"
Muehle / Edwin Jagger 25mm (XL)
Plisson Synthétique

I tend to prefer the "Old world" brands as they have understated handles and historically the knots have been tied by hand which usually means a higher quality end product. The plethora of Chinese, US & CAN synthetics out there have gaudy handles with machine tied knots, many of which have huge glue bumps (glue from the base of the knot which seeps up into the knot.) I'm also not a fan of the fibres used in Yaqi etc brushes, I think they are better suited for their intended purpose which was originally make up brushes.

 

[De 2]

Thanks for all the replies.

In terms of current practice I use a Palmolive stick and a bowl, I have Taylors of Bond Street creams to use but using the Palmolive first of all.

I appreciate the nicer feel of the badger brushes over the bristle, and also the better quality of lather on my face, just not sure I can feel a 30X difference in quality between the low priced badger brush and the £30 brush.

I take your point that I havent made the right choices in terms of purchases to get the most out of my brushes.

Thanks again.

 

[Paul L]

Thanks for all the replies.

In terms of current practice I use a Palmolive stick and a bowl, I have Taylors of Bond Street creams to use but using the Palmolive first of all.

I appreciate the nicer feel of the badger brushes over the bristle, and also the better quality of lather on my face, just not sure I can feel a 30X difference in quality between the low priced badger brush and the £30 brush.

I take your point that I havent made the right choices in terms of purchases to get the most out of my brushes.

Thanks again.

If your current brushes do a good job for you then you'll save some money chasing the next best thing.

I've owned badger brushes and quite liked using them, but synthetics suit my preference better and I'll stick with them.

 

[TobyC]

You're happy, don't let a forum convince you that you need something that you didn't know you needed. I've been through synthetic, horse, some pretty incredible badgers, and boar, and boar wins hands down. I will never buy anything else, and I can't in good conscience recommend anything else to others.

https://connaughtshaving.com/omegapure.html


.

 

[De 2]

I think synthetics are for me also, since starting this thread I have looked into badger farming practices in China, the PETA report is not for the sqeamish.

If synthetics produce good results then it will ease my conscience, although I dont suppose it is significantly worse than culling.

 

[Steve Bowles]

When it comes down to it, a brush is a brush is a brush.

 

[donnie_arko]

You're happy, don't let a forum convince you that you need something that you didn't know you needed. I've been through synthetic, horse, some pretty incredible badgers, and boar, and boar wins hands down. I will never buy anything else, and I can't in good conscience recommend anything else to others.

https://connaughtshaving.com/omegapure.html


.

One more for an Omega boar.

I seem to have cycles where for a few weeks where I'll seem to only use a synth, but it never lasts and I find myself back to using a boar brush.

A Yaqi synth and an Omega boar combined can be bought for less than £20 and if you're looking for a new brushes IMO, it's a good way to add a few new brushes without spending too much.

This one from Shave Lounge is a good offer

Omega 10005 Boar Hair Shaving Brush – Shave Lounge

Boar hair shaving brush with a beech wood handle. Brush height: 115mm. Made in Italy by Omega.

shavelounge.co.uk

 

[BavariaBrewer]

no offense but those aren't... exactly high end badger brushes. id be surprised if they qualified as "best" grade.

Try an omega silver tip. THEN try the ones you have. Youll FEEL the difference in 5 minutes.

No offence, but Omega is far from "high end" badger also. If you wanted a knot that truly deserved that label, you only have a handful of choices:

- Simpson Super and upwards.
- Shavemac
- Thäter
- Declaration Grooming
- Black Eagle HT
- The Varlet

That being said (and having owned most of these), any modern day brush will create a good lather.

 

[De 2]

No offence, but Omega is far from "high end" badger also. If you wanted a knot that truly deserved that label, you only have a handful of choices:

- Simpson Super and upwards.
- Shavemac
- Thäter
- Declaration Grooming
- Black Eagle HT
- The Varlet

That being said (and having owned most of these), any mFendrihan odern day brush will create a good lather.

I appreciate all the helpful advice, thank you.

I have stopped using badger brushes, I have mastered my synthetic brush and will enjoy that.

 

[jaro1069]

I appreciate all the helpful advice, thank you.

I have stopped using badger brushes, I have mastered my synthetic brush and will enjoy that.

Just to add this , yaqi on aliexpress will be having their 11/11 sale and some of their synthetic brushes are on sale for very inexpensive during the sale.......

 

[TobyC]

No offence, but Omega is far from "high end" badger also. If you wanted a knot that truly deserved that label, you only have a handful of choices:

- Simpson Super and upwards.
- Shavemac
- Thäter
- Declaration Grooming
- Black Eagle HT
- The Varlet

That being said (and having owned most of these), any modern day brush will create a good lather.

Meh, any full and firm badger will work wonderfully, but boar is better.