I need a brush stat, and since I already have the Dridecker (and 2 vdh boars I never use) I figured the next widely available and inexpensive brush was that. But I'm open to suggestions. I just need something cheap and decent that can het me through the night...
I haven't seen a Tweezerman in any stores just on line. However, some Target stores carry the Shea Butter Badger Brush for about $9.00. I don't have one but I've heard that it's a good, cheap brush.
yup - that's actually the one I was referring to, nicknamed "the Dridecker" around here. It is a really good brush, especially for the price. But given that I already have one and NYC doesn't have any Targets (ok they have one uptown) I'm looking for something else. I've been popping into drugstores here and there with no luck, although I noticed down here much more than up where I live they tend to have a decent selection of interesting and/or luxury creams
One thing you have there is ethnic stores. Try popping into some Indian and Asian grocery stores, you may just get lucky. I know they have soaps and creams sometimes.
Not cheap options, but Pasteur's carries a range of Simpson brushes. IIRC, they are around 68th and Lex, but it's been a while. As for cheap brushes, some of the CVS and Walgreens around me carry the VDH boar brush.
I saw a VDH kit and had to pass it up, partly because I can't justify paying $11 for something that I've gotten for $2.50, but mostly because I just didn't want it. I did wind up getting a tube of Reamar & Co shave cream, on sale for $3.50. I've never heatd of it which makes me hope it could be good. That and some brut AS balm. I wouldve gotten a puck of Williams but with no brush I'd be there all night
I am late to the party so your need may have expired... I have seen brushes at Sally's Beauty and also organic food stores. I can't speak to the quality of them though. I think that the Sally Brushes are Master's which I am pretty sure are re-branded Omega and the organic food store near me has the Herban Cowboy brand.
The only other brush I have seen for sale is the discontinued Burma Shave Brush. It has the colors of a vintage Ever Ready (red and white), but not the quality. There is also a natural foods market nearby me that has an Omega Boar Brush, and Pre de Provence Shave Soap in stock.
Yeah. It is right next to Burt's Bees SS in quality. You lather it and apply it and by the time you set your brush down and pick your razor up and look at your face to start shaving, it is gone. Nothing but a dry silty film left on your face. If their brush is a poor as their soap, I'd avoid it, actually I have, like the plague. The Sally near me carries the Marvy shave brush which looks so very low in quality that I have passed it by too. The handle is plastic and looks like a Chinese vending machine toy, all pieced together crooked and glue all over. Bristles are all over the place. They are only $3 but knowing for $10 more I can get a killer brush like my Omega 48 has kept me from pulling the trigger. I only wish my Sally carried Omegas.....Osage Rub too for that matter.
Tweezer Man Brushes can be found at Harris Teeters, and VDH in rite aids in the Northern VA area. I seem to have more luck for Wetshave items in the Rite-aids, CVS than in Walgreens and Targets.
I know this may sound like an unclean thing to do, but have you considered going to an antique store to find a vintage brush? Yes, they are used, and some look pretty unusable because they're bent all the way in one direction, and some are just plain nasty looking and old. However, if you find one that appears to be sound looking and the knot is still good, you could buy it and then go buy a cheap bottle of hydrogen peroxide and soak the brush in it for a few hours. This will disinfect it and actually to a small degree lighten the color of the bristles if they are dark and brown, livening it up a little. Just a thought.
I have several vintage brushes with the original knot that I use in my rotation. They haven't killed me yet.
I have found the internet to be the best way to find good brushes for good prices. I picked up a Tweezerman online and it has been a great brush. Walgreens sells a cheap Clubman but I heard bad things. I know in my city there are some boutique shaving joints starting to pop up and those places tend to sell brushes at the $100 price point and nothing cheaper. A salesman at one of these swanky boutiques even told me that I would need to spend about $100 to get a good brush anywhere. This almost prevented me from getting into wet shaving at all. Thank fully I found that it is not true. There are good brushes for much cheaper. I found my Tweezerman to be pretty stiff at first, but once I got better at working it the bristles have softened nicely. As far as antique brushes I don't know. Not sure if this is sound advice but I had a barber tell me that brushes should be tossed out and bought new every 10 years.
