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I never particulary cared for Simpson Best hair and I've had many and sold them on, what you need to know is a TGN Finest knot will be firmer and because the hair is also courser while also allowing for better lather flow through. Set the loft shortish and it'll take a few weeks to break in.
Since I have a bit of time, let me add my 2 cents:
First of all, if you have issues with your lather using a synthetic, it will not get any easier with a badger - maybe even on the contrary. In my experience, synthetics are the easiest to get very good lather with. The lack of water retention, makes it a bit harder to get to that super hydrated stage, but everything else, is easiest achieved with a synthetic.
On a side note, I find boars (and I had many of those), the hardest to get great lather with...I am not saying it cannot be achieved, I am just saying, you have to put in extra work.
Having said that, I love my badgers and I can highly recommend them. They bring a lot of joy to my shaves and if you are after that super hydrated, really slick lather, badgers are the best choice IMO (followed by horse, but that is another story).
As others have said before, the brush consists of a handle and a knot, and it is important to know what you pay for.
The problem is in your case, you have no idea what you want - and you cannot find it out, but just reading stuff - although it helps. So I would not recommend, going the custom route - you might not like what you get and it would be a shame. I would reserve this for a bit further down the track, when you have a bit more experience...
I would recommend you to get a couple of solid, but economic brushes, to find out what you like. Maybe a Whipped Dog Silvertip with a lower loft and a Whipped Dog High Mountain with a standard loft, one with the standard handle and one with the longer handle, both 24mm knots.
They are really great brushes at that price point (I used to have 2 and a friend just recently got a new one) - the knots are great, the handles are solid and nice, but more importantly, Larry stands 100% behind his products and takes care of you, if something goes wrong.
Those 2 brushes will cost together much less than a Duke, but will give you way more insight, what you actually like. And they will definitely show you, what the whole badger hype is all about (in a good way). Once you have experience with those, you can make a much more informed decision, which knots and handles you (might) like.
If you want to go for the best complete package: I can highly recommend Paladin and Shavemac. Simpson has unfortunately a lot of variation in their knots at the lower end (Best hair) and a very high premium on their higher end (Super and 2-bands). Thater gets really nice reviews (and are still on my to try list), but the lack of customisation is always a deal breaker for me.
If you want to go fully custom, pick a handle (maker) you like and go for a Shavemac knot. Again from personal experience I can highly recommend Doug Korn, Rudy Vey and Nathan Clark.
If you want to go premium economy, have a look at Vie-Long knots/brushes. I have an Epsilon 2-band knot of theirs, and it is fantastic (and at that price point a bargain I might add).
But most important of all: don't try to find the ideal brush for the rest of your life. Enjoy the experience of trying different brushes!
Since I have a bit of time, let me add my 2 cents:
First of all, if you have issues with your lather using a synthetic, it will not get any easier with a badger - maybe even on the contrary. In my experience, synthetics are the easiest to get very good lather with. The lack of water retention, makes it a bit harder to get to that super hydrated stage, but everything else, is easiest achieved with a synthetic.
On a side note, I find boars (and I had many of those), the hardest to get great lather with...I am not saying it cannot be achieved, I am just saying, you have to put in extra work.
Having said that, I love my badgers and I can highly recommend them. They bring a lot of joy to my shaves and if you are after that super hydrated, really slick lather, badgers are the best choice IMO (followed by horse, but that is another story).
As others have said before, the brush consists of a handle and a knot, and it is important to know what you pay for.
The problem is in your case, you have no idea what you want - and you cannot find it out, but just reading stuff - although it helps. So I would not recommend, going the custom route - you might not like what you get and it would be a shame. I would reserve this for a bit further down the track, when you have a bit more experience...
I would recommend you to get a couple of solid, but economic brushes, to find out what you like. Maybe a Whipped Dog Silvertip with a lower loft and a Whipped Dog High Mountain with a standard loft, one with the standard handle and one with the longer handle, both 24mm knots.
They are really great brushes at that price point (I used to have 2 and a friend just recently got a new one) - the knots are great, the handles are solid and nice, but more importantly, Larry stands 100% behind his products and takes care of you, if something goes wrong.
Those 2 brushes will cost together much less than a Duke, but will give you way more insight, what you actually like. And they will definitely show you, what the whole badger hype is all about (in a good way). Once you have experience with those, you can make a much more informed decision, which knots and handles you (might) like.
If you want to go for the best complete package: I can highly recommend Paladin and Shavemac. Simpson has unfortunately a lot of variation in their knots at the lower end (Best hair) and a very high premium on their higher end (Super and 2-bands). Thater gets really nice reviews (and are still on my to try list), but the lack of customisation is always a deal breaker for me.
If you want to go fully custom, pick a handle (maker) you like and go for a Shavemac knot. Again from personal experience I can highly recommend Doug Korn, Rudy Vey and Nathan Clark.
If you want to go premium economy, have a look at Vie-Long knots/brushes. I have an Epsilon 2-band knot of theirs, and it is fantastic (and at that price point a bargain I might add).
But most important of all: don't try to find the ideal brush for the rest of your life. Enjoy the experience of trying different brushes!
Jump on fido's tubby! I don't know about that!!!Blackmass, it's too bad Fido/Peter (aka New Forest Brushes) is no longer making brushes, as his were really first rate and exceptional value. If you ever see one listed for sale you should jump on it, especially his Tubby.
Jump on fido's tubby! I don't know about that!!!
Ok so I've only got one brush at the moment, a Razorock Plissoft (24mm) with a Bruce handle.
I'd like to try a badger brush. I've been reading on here and on the web (including YouTube) but the more I read the more unsure I am of what I should get.
Here's some more information which might help with your responses.
I mainly bowl lather (with varying degrees of success).
With only trying the Razorock, it's hard to say what I'm looking for from a badger brush. The Razorock is soft enough but I would like maybe some more backbone and scrub.
Budget can be anything between £50-100.
I'm basically looking for guidance and how to narrow down my options.
Your advice will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Rob
@Blackmass is sorted now, pulled the trigger on a duke, got it in the post today so we will probably see it on SOTD very soon.Only just seen this post Blackmass...
I have several badger brushes...at least 3 or 4 silver tips, a couple of pure badger and a best badger...none of these cost me over £90. By far the best 3 brushes I've used in my 35 years of wet shaving have been (in no particular order):
1. An Edwin Jagger pure badger travel brush
2. A Simpsons Duke 3 Best badger (most recent purchase and excellent!)
3. Razorock Plissoft (again only tried in the last few months and massively impressed)
IMHO, you already have an exceptional brush in the Plissoft - I think it has a superb combination of softness with backbone, and cheap enough to replace every few years if you need to. If you want to go further in terms of cost, and towards the top end of your budget, then look for a Simpson's Duke 3 in Best badger...you can get one for under £90 from the Exec shaving company if you use the forum's discount code! They might be available from other forum-linked places with discount too, but I'm not aware of any.
It was on this forum that it was pointed out to me that Silver Tip badger from one maker can be very poor compared to Pure or Best badger from a really good maker. It's not just the hair used but the way it's put together.
Alternatively you can go to someone like Mervyn Cadman for a custom brush within your price range - contact him and talk through what you're looking for!
Sorry if I've repeated what you've already heard from others...I haven't read everyone's posts!
Oh...so he took my advice then...BEFORE I gave it! That must be some kind of cool!@Blackmass is sorted now, pulled the trigger on a duke, got it in the post today so we will probably see it on SOTD very soon.
Oh...so he took my advice then...BEFORE I gave it! That must be some kind of cool!
The Duke will bloom lovely, blooming lovely in fact. You made a great choice. I doff my hat to Paul, some very nice chaps on this forum.Laffin.@Greybeard It was very satisfying to read your recommendations, after the fact so to speak. Thank you.
I've been meaning to update this thread. I will do a more detailed update soon but here's a quick overview of where I'm at.
The Duke 3 was recommended to me by a number of people on this forum.
I also did a lot of reading on other forums and the Duke seemed to come out on top.
@Blademonkey AKA Paul sent me a PM (completely out of the blue) and offered to send his first badger brush for me to try.
I accept his very kind offer and only used it twice and loved it.
Here's "The Blademonkey":
I ordered the Duke on Sunday and it arrived today via Executive Shaving. I also used their discount code too.
Here's the "Duke":
I'll be using it tomorrow and report back.
Cheers
Rob
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