The tag line is usually "Badger & Blade", so how you say no. I would try at least one badger, boar, horse and synthetic, and then see where your pulled next.
For me, when I bought my first badger brush, I fell into a rabbit hole big time. Knot sizes, lofts, grades of hair, qualities of grades of hair.... Every brush I own is different, and in building my collection I am trying to have no two that are alike. To me it is the part of wet shaving with the most variety, and the most fun. I shave with pretty much two razors, two brands of blades, and use one brand of soap 95% of the time, but I am a hopeless shaving brush addict. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
As a shaving enthusiast, you're getting one sooner or later. No time like the present. Personally, I like badger hair; especially for creams.
I bothered with a badger. Here it is: As you can see, it is a Vulfix "Hyde Park", a small(ish) brush with an overall height of 90mm; a 20mm knot diameter, at base; a handle height of 42mm and a loft height of 48mm. The knot is bushy and dense. It has a nice amount of backbone, presumably because of the shorter loft. I've been using it for one week; it no longer smells like roadkill in the rain, when wet. Although, to be fair, I had to stick my nose in it and none of that smell transferred to me during my shave. I have read that pure badger brushes are usually scritchy, maybe it applies to this brush, but it really feels very soft on the skin. It really is a very nice brush to lather with. If I was being super fussy - the handle is a little short for me. The knot size is pretty perfect; I like it a lot. It was £18 from Amazon.
I exclusively face lather soaps and creams, and badger brushes are my favorite. Here's what I currently have: Edwin Jagger XL Synthetic STF V2.0 - considered a high-end synthetic. It's just OK, works better if you like to paint the lather on your face, the handle feels good in my hand, dries quickly, and therefore makes a good travel brush. Ever-Ready C40 Boar - would scrub the paint off a car. I keep it for its vintage looks, and in case I want to repaint the car. Kent BK4 Silvertip - floppy badger, but I love it. It's my travel brush of choice because it is smaller than the Kent BK8. Kent BK8 Silvertip - floppy badger, and I use this one more than any other. It feels like I'm rubbing a pillow on my face, and it generates tons of lather. Rudy Vey Custom Chubby handle with Shavemac Two-band Silvertip - very nice badger brush with soft tips and plenty of backbone. Ideal for face lathering. Kinda expensive, but I figure it will last for many years. Semogue 830 (23/55) Boar - I would give this boar a slight edge over the Omega boars. Nice backbone and good for face lathering. I love how the brush has bloomed. It feels pretty good on the face too. I bet you could use all my brushes and come up with a totally different assessment. That's the cool thing about our hobby. All things considered, I'm glad you decided to try a badger brush. I think it will make the shaving experience more enjoyable.
The short answer is yes you should have a badger brush. There's a reason that badger hair has been used for a very long time for shaving brushes. Unlike humans though, not all badgers are created equal. There are some truly horrible badger brushes on the market. Trying to get a decent badger brush for the same price that one can get a good boar brush, is generally the surest way to find them. If you're willing to go north of $100, then the Simpson, Shavemac, Thater and Savile Row are all great choices. On the other hand if you want to stay below $50 the best deal on the market (I think) is the Stirling Finest Badger 24 X 54 mm shave brush for $35. This is really a very nice badger brush, especially for the price. It's not quite as nice as the more expensive brushes, but it's earned its place in my rotation based upon its looks and its performance. Edit: Sorry, I didn't see that you had purchased the Vulfix. Now that the badger has its foot in the door, however, what I said still stands -- for your next brush. Don't forget that some of the new Plisson style synthetic brushes are very nice brushes for the fraction of the cost of badger brushes.
Everyone should imo try a badger, if it doesn't fit your needs you could always pass it along. If it is out of your price range there are a lot of boar brushes out there that I find equally enjoyable just different as well as synthetic brushes. With the stirling finest brushes at or around $30 - $40 dollars they are becoming very affordable.
I used to think badgers were floppy until I tried a Simpson Special. It is a quality badger with a bit of backbone. I have several badgers, several boars, one horse hair brush. I just can't bring myself to try a synthetic. I prefer natural fiber.
Yep. You don't need to buy a badger to get a great brush. Honestly, I'd take a Semogue boar over any badger. And my two Maggards synthetics are better than boars.
Well, it was £18 new. I was pretty pleased with that and I love it. It's a great little brush and I'm very glad I tried a badger brush to see what the fuss was about. This one is definitely a keeper. Perhaps a different, or better, synth to replace the one I already have might be next.
Vulfix makes some reasonably priced and really nice shaving brushes - since it's the parent company of Simpson brushes you can expect a certain quality One "insider tip" is their Grosvenor 404 mixed badger and boar. A real steal for £10. I like synthetic brushes for ease of use and low maintenance, but nothing beats the feel of a good badger brush.
I didn't know they were the parent co. of Simpson brushes. That's interesting. £10 for that Grosvenor brush! Wow, that's cheap.
Vulfix bought Simpson in 2008, if I remember correctly. As far as I know they also produce many of the Truefitt&Hill brushes.
Stirling soaps is running a very good sale on their "best badger" brushes. I couldn't resist at $33 plus shipping. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Their Finest badger brushes have been getting awesome reviews as well. I believe they are also around $35
