I used the Wilkie brush and blue bowl soap for a couple of years before I came in to DE shaving. I still use them now and again. Neither are perfect but for easily available and for about £7, for both the soap and the brush, added to your supermarket shop they are wrth the try. Of course the reality is that Palmolive is far better so than the soap but it's worth a gamble to have a play.
the brush does get better after a months use and I think it actually does have a very nice handle on it but there's no doubt it does shed a few hairs. I can get 3 passes face lathering with TOBS no problem out of it.
i don't see why it should put people off. Anything needs a few attempts and in my case it actually led me here and in to wetshaving.
As for the cheaper brushes, well that assumes you are going to go and place an order in Turkey over the internet which is fine but not exactly a spur of the moment impulse buy when you are doing the weekly shop, nor will be cheaper once P+P and maybe customs added in.
If you are going to use the internet then you can get can Omega, from many uk based retailers, for about a fiver plus p+p which will do a very good job.