Which Shaving Brush?

[Scroni]

So, I'm going to purchase a DE shaving setup soon and figured I'd see what people might have to say about the setup:

Razor: going to start with something easy, Merkur 23C (seems to have solid reviews for starting out and not terribly expensive)
Brush: looking at a Simpson Commodore X2 or X3 (looking for something a little more solid, and from what I've read it has a stronger "backbone"). This is the item I am most looking for input as it is more expensive, and there are so many different types.

Have some Proraso and Taylor creams/pre-shave items picked out, seem to be popular.
I'm not terribly concerned about the blades, buying a few 5 packs for samples: Sharp, Crystal and Gillette, maybe some others before I pull the trigger...

I know that this is similar to cigars in the "you have to find what you like" type mentality, but I always like to ask around for input first.
Let me know what you guys think, thanks!

 

[Monsterdg]

Hi Scroni, do you currently wet shave at all, or is this your first set?

The Merkur 23C is a great razor, lots of guys like it for the long handle, and as you stated can be had for a great price.

IMO, The brush you've picked out is on the higher end. If you've been wet shaving, know what you like and are looking up upgrade, that's a great brush. If this is your starter set, I would get a much less expensive brush and see how you like it. The Omega is a very nice, inexpensive brush (~$13) available at our sponsors sister site, http://www.shavingcreams.com/

The biggest thing with a shaving brush is properly caring for it: rinsing it well when you are done and hanging it upside down to dry. You didn't mention any kind of stand for your razor/brush and I would strongly recommend one; they are available at a number of price points and in all different materials. Only other thing you didn't mention in the set up was a shaving mug, and again lots of different styles, prices and materials.

Hope this helps!

 

[Scroni]

Hey Tim,

Yeah, that brush definitely seems to not be on the low end... I haven't used a safety razor yet, but did have a small starter kit from 'art of shaving' that I used for a month or so. That brush was obviously nothing special. Very flimsy and the "hairs" fell out all the time. So I figured that if I was going to go all in right away, I may as well pick out a nice brush. I have my order split between shavingcreams.com and westcoastshaving.com right now (mainly because westcoast had more brush options and I read some good things about that Simpson).

As for a stand, I have an Omega picked out right now, nothing special, but does allow me to hang the brush upside down. I have a few different mugs that I can use at home, I also think my dad has an oldschool copper mug from a barber that he said he'd give me. So I think I should be OK with those.

Thanks for the tip on the brush, I'll have to take another look and think about if I want to spend the money or not... I see that shavingcream.com has some Hirsch brushes that look fair priced around 30. The only thing I don't see a lot of from them is blades, am I missing something?

Thanks again!

 

[Monsterdg]

I also hate it when a brush sheds, I'm always on the look out for that perfect balance of price/quality. (Honestly price usually wins out).

I didn't see any samplers on Shavingcream.com but they sell a number of blades in packs of 5 or 10.

 

[Hot_Sauce]

If your not opesed to a boar brush? The Semogue Owners Club in Boar is an excellent brush that goes for $45

The Semogue 1305 (boar) is another nice brush for $19

Rudy Vey is known to make some high quality Badger brushes for the $$

 

[Scroni]

I'm not opposed to a boar brush, just seems most people like the badger better. I'd like to order my stuff all from one place rather than multiple (obviously rather use a site sponsor as well). So if I don't go with the Simpson, I'll probably switch my order all to shaving creams.com instead of splitting it between two places. I would probably get a mid range badger since I don't see many options for boar. Any pros/cons you could give for boar vs. badger would be appreciated


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[Hot_Sauce]

There are different kinds of brushes here is a quick answer to them:

Badger: softer than others initially; not much of a break in period; traps water between the hairs
Boar: stiffer and more backbone; after a break in period the tips split and can be badger soft; absorbs water thus needing a pre shave soak
Horse: somewhat a combo of the above; traps water like badger; stiffer like boar; does break in over time with tips getting softer but I don't believe the ends split

If you want to go Bager here is the difference in badger hair grades per Edwin Jagger

Silver Tip Badger: (very, very soft) Silver Tip badger hair with natural untrimmed silver tips is the highest quality available in shaving brushes world wide. The pure colouring, enhanced by careful hand grading and filling, comes from expert selection of only the finest hairs from the neck of the animal. The shape of Edwin Jagger silver tip filled brushes, is created by hand and is not trimmed to create the overall badger bundle shape. The long hair is ultra soft and very flexible, guaranteeing wet shavers many years of luxurious shaving.



Super Badger: This is a very high quality grade of badger hair, only used in hand filled brushes. Visually, the badger bundle displays a distinctive black band capped with pure white tips and is presented in a natural fan shape, using the natural hair ends to create the shape. The shape of Edwin Jagger super badger filled brushes is created by hand and is not trimmed to create the overall badger bundle shape, which is a time saving method used by many other suppliers. Therefore we can guarantee our super badger brushes are very soft due to the fact that the naturally tapering tips of the hair have not been removed. Super Badger is extremely soft and flexible and will guarantee the wet shaver many years of shaving.



Best Badger: This is a good quality of pure badger hair, machine graded for machine filled brushes. It is normally regarded as the benchmark standard of shaving brush manufacturers. The white/brown colour in our brushes indicates an above average standard and also confirms that the mixture of hair is very pure. The hair is stiffer to the touch and is always very popular with wet shavers who use their brush to exfoliate their skin at the same time as preparing it for shaving. Our standard of best badger will also last many years and is presented with a natural tapered shape.


There are also different quality of boar hair that brush makers use. That is why I would recomend you pay a few $$'s more for an upper end Semogue. That said Omega has a good reputation for putting out quality boar brushes too.

 

[sean]

This is what I started with and love it. Not too sure what it means by "Badger Bristle" but the thing works better than the one I got from my grandfather years ago when I first started shaving (ta cheep synthetic that I couldn't make lather with).

 

[Seamus]

Don't go nuts on a brush until you understand what you want from it. My first brush was a cheap badger. I bought a silvertip shortly after and didnt like it. I should have waited until I understood why I was buying it.

 

[Hot_Sauce]

Kind of why I recomend the Semogue Boar brushes. They are a high quality brush that has a good following on the shave forums. You can get a nice one for $20-$25. Even the ones they sell less than that seem to be well liked too.

 

[Scroni]

Thanks for all the input guys, you have given me more to think about. Hopefully I can make up my mind soon. I'll make sure to share what happens.


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