Looking to pick up an inexpensive brush and bowl. Have seen some really cheap brushes and stainless bowls on EBay from China- can get both for $5-$10 including shipping. Assume the brushes won't last but are they even usable? If not any low cost recommendations?
Go to CVS Pharmacy or Wally World, or Target Look for these. The one on the left is about $19.00 Bucks Nice starter set. The one on the right is about $10.00bucks another cheap starter set.
Vaderhagen $10 set is how I started, with a couple of other folks I know. I was just in my local Walmart this afternoon, and sadly it looks like they have dropped VDH altogether. They had recently stopped carrying the $10 brush and bowl set and switched to the Luxury soap, whereas I have preferred the less expensive Deluxe. Today, no VDH of any kind.
I saw all of them the other day in Wally World by my house mixed in with all the Father's Day gift stuff. And they weren't cheap like they normally are. I guess it's called Father's Day Gouge or double the price. They had a Weber Barbeque for less than $100 bucks, and it was over $150.oo and it was listed as a Father's Day special.
Hiya geeeyejo and Welcome! Since I'm partial to a boar bristle brush myself I'd recommend one of the inexpensive Omega boars. They're excellent quality knots and many of the models with cheaper handles can be had for under $10, some well under, and there's a wide variety of knot diameters and lofts to choose from. As for a bowl, you can't do better in my experience than just popping down to your local Goodwill/thrift shop/second-hand store and picking up something like a funky ol' cereal or ice cream bowl, or the like. It'll likely not cost you more than a dollar or so, plus it'll have real character! The shoebox shaveshop has about the best selection of Omega brushes - http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/ombolaseinno.html Edit - apparently the owner of the shoebox, Gary, posted on facebook that he's offering a Father's Day sale - "Father's Day Sale.....save 10% on everything store wide on any order over $24.99. Enter coupon code FD2014 in coupon slot at check out & it'll give you the discount automatically....Good thru 6/15"
Found and ordered the VDH Premium on EBay for $8.99. Also picked up a bar of Arko and a Lavender scented glycerin bar to try- should be all set....for now, lol. Thanks for the great suggestions!
This is how retailers like Walmart end up shooting themselves in the foot. Every department is run like a different store entirely. This happens at both the store and corporate levels. One person runs each department and they don't talk. So whoever controls the As Seen on TV stuff starts stocking the Microtouch TTO, while the person who controls Healthy & Beauty stuff drops the DE blades and DE shaving supplies. This is one of the myriad of reasons I don't bother shopping there.
Isn't that the truth. They drop a product because Wal Mart can not force the owner of the company to sell to them at obscene low prices like Wal Mart wants. I bet Sam Walton the founder of Wal Mart is doing u-turns in his grave with the way his children & grandchildren have almost destroyed his legacy.
If there is a Marshall's or tj max around where you live they have nice bowls with ridges already in the bottle for less than $10
my stainless bowls are weighted pet food dishes. I picked them up at a yard sale for fifty cents each.
I started with the Van Der Hagen set, like many guys do (you can't beat the price). But the noise the brush handle made banging against the steep sides of the bowl drove me crazy. So, now my bowl is the $1 salsa bowl from Walmart! But the brush is a Whipped Dog silver-tip. The bowl works just fine and I don't have the noise!
