http://www.whippeddog.com/products/view/silvertip-badger You want to order the "brush", not the "knot." Prices start at $28. I personally would shell out the extra $14 for a 30mm brush w/knot, but I like 'em big. Edit: I've never ordered from Larry, but he has an excellent reputation here, and most standard brushes have a 20-24mm knot. You can find cheaper "badger" brushes, but they won't be silvertips. See my brush sticky in the brush section if you are unaware of the different grades of badger brushes.
Black badger brushes $30.00 http://www.whippeddog.com/products/view/r30bk-w-pure-black $32.00 http://www.whippeddog.com/products/view/24mm-pure-black-brush-fh130906h Small silvertip (might make a nice travel brush) $22.00 http://www.whippeddog.com/products/view/16mm-silvertip-brush
No matter what brush or brand you get, The knot, which is the part that sticks out of the handle, shouldn't shed more than a couple of hairs each shave for the first week or so you use it. After that, it shouldn't shed at all. The Tweezerman branded badger brush is notorious for continuing to shed until it falls apart.
It's the only one I've used... But, it's cheap, and badger. Walgreens local to me has Em as well. van der hagen.
Thanks for all the great info! I just read your sticky, great education for a beginner like myself. I was looking at the tweezerman brush earlier too, looked good. Now that you say its got a bad rap for falling apart I'm gonna have to pass on it.
Both of those (VdH and Tweezerman) are cut to shape and machine formed, as a result, they are less dense than most badger brushes and are way more scritchy (they are also really affordable). They are fine as a starter brush, but most people end up upgrading from those once they find out that there are better options. Edit: Read the reviews for the tweezerman on Amazon, they may have fixed that problem. I heard about it several years ago.
Pure or black badger brushes are the cheapest badgers but they do tend to be a little prickly. The Whipped Dog silvertip is probably your best bet in that price range. I don't have one but I've heard that if you have any problems with the brush, Larry has great customer service which you probably won't get from some random ebay seller. If you want to spend just a little more ($40 - $50) you could get one of the less expensive Simpsons in best badger and not feel the need to upgrade for a long time. Something else to think about. A really good boar brush can be had for less than your price target. They take a little time to break in but they'll be less prickly than a pure badger and have lots of backbone. The Omega 10049 can be had for about $10 and it's a really well-liked brush. I don't think you could go wrong starting there. Even if you decide to get a badger later (and you probably will), you'll probably still pull out the boar brush and use it pretty often.
I use daily and love my #6 Horse hair from bestshave...The price is unbeatable at around $5 shipped,although the QC isn't always that great, for the price you can order a couple and use the best one..I have several and although some of the knots aren't quite as dense as others, they all lather well for me of course "YMMV"..
You might consider a synthetic brush. A good synthetic brush compared to a badger will: cost less, feel softer, and dry quicker. Frank Shaving has some nice synthetics (as well as some extremely affordable badger brushes) on eBay. The Golden Nib sells synthetic knots as well as handles (there is an extra charge if you want them to put it together for you, but all you need is some two part epoxy to do this yourself.) I have order gear from both shops, they both have excellent service and good prices (FS is based in China, so there is a wait, but it's not long at all, about two weeks or so). I've also worked with Larry from Whipped Dog and can't say enough good things about the guy. No matter who you go with, those three shops are excellent vendors. http://stores.ebay.com/Ian-Tangs-Shaving-Workshop http://www.thegoldennib.com/
I am a big fan of synthetics. One that I would recommend to some starting out is the Mühle black fibre synthetic. http://www.shaving.ie/products/hjm-by-muhle-pure-synthetic-fibre.html I have one in my regular rotation, and it is always the one I take in a suitcase when I travel.
The VDH Luxury line includes a pure badger brush, the Deluxe line includes a boar brush http://vdhent.com/products.html http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ET7EFA/?tag=thshde-20 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004L4AMIQ/?tag=thshde-20
