Expensive Brushes?

I own 4 brushes. My first is a Tweezerman Badger. Nice and soft, produces a great lather. 2 Semogue Boar brushes followed, and a kind gentleman on here gifted me an Omega Boar.

I get a nice lather out of all three - the Badger is better with softer creams like TOSB, and the stiffer Boar brushes are nice on my Arko and Williams.

Now, I don't knock anyone for how they spend their money - I have spent way too much on Razors than a sane person should.

But my question is this - does a $250 brush really lather THAT much better than my $16 - $25 brushes? I love collecting razors - and to be honest I have an Executive that I spent $200 on, and just purchased a $160 Timeless Bronze and stand. But I just can't see, me personally, ever spending more than $30 on a shave brush.

Thanks for your input.

 

A picture would be useful.

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I'm not sure I understand. I am just wondering if a $250 Da Vinci or $330 Plisson actually gives a better shave than a $16 Semogue.

 

I am very happy with all of my brushes. I have no idea how a $200-300 brush lathers. It certainly is not proportionally better. If anyone wants to try one of my $200 brushes, just let me know. I will give you your pick. HA!

Jayaruh Shaving Brushes

 

I just like looking at brushes.
I don't think that price is a good indication of how well a brush works. IMO I have inexpensive brushes that work very well and expensive brushes that don't work as well for me. What do you think?

 

In that case The second from the right is the one I am currently using the most, hence the dampness:

 

The short answer lies in the knot alone. Collectors pay high premiums for attractive handles. This creates a bias you'll pick up on in reviews. There are only two types of lather, adequate and inadequate. As far as a better shave? Technique with regard to the blade has far, far more bearing on outcome than brush selection.

 

I have an Omega boar worth about £10, a badger one off ebay for about £4 (delivered!) and then JR168.

Got to admit the quality on Jim's brush is awesome and it feels like it's worth more, but both the cheap brushes are good too.

I imagine there are certain "feelings" associated with a simpson or a Rooney and they may very well be soft, but I can't imagine the lather they produce is any better or worse

 

Anyone would be hard pressed to prove a $200 brush works 10 times better than a basic Omega boar brush. I have brushes at both ends of the price spectrum, and they both perform well for me. I'll reach for my Omega boar as often as I reach for my Simpson Chubby 2 in Super.

If you have good technique, you can get fantastic shaves with a $10 vintage Gillette, a $15 Omega boar brush, a $1 stick of Arko, a 8-cent Voskhod blade, and a penny's worth of unrefined shea butter. I think many of us here just like the collecting aspect of our hobby and enjoy the variety of having and using different kinds of hardware and software. It's all good, as far as I'm concerned.

 

I've got 8 brushes 3 silvertip I super badger and 4 synthetic brushes, I don't think they cost me 250.00 dollars all total. To me the silvertips are the best.
I can't see a 250 dollar brush doing any better, But some of the handles on those brushes are a beautiful piece of work.

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One of my first purchases was a Tweezerman. It was a good latherer. I did not realize how small it actually was until my son gave me a nice Parker brush for my birthday. After I retired, I thought I would attempt making my own brush. Now, 235 brushes later, I am adopting out brushes for $25-35 generally.

 

I'm with @Bama Samurai on this.
Figure the cost of the knot to top around 30-40 bucks (talking a nice silvertip, here).
Anything above that is handle.

 

There are certainly some nice looking brushes out there with beautiful handles!

 

They are all good looking brushes.

 

I admit, I don't have any "high end" brushes, but I do have good ones. They have all performed anywhere from good to great. Sometimes I think it just depends on the soap that's being used.

 

I have a brush that cost north of 200 bucks and my Semogue OC boar beats it in all categories. Sure, its nice, but IMO dollar for dollar, it isn't worth it. Now, go spend 200 bucks on all sorts of inexpensive brushes

 

Given your razor purchases, how would you answer this question- do expensive razors shave better than inexpensive/ cost efficient razors? Same principle at work re: brushes.

 

That is a definite No. My $4 eBay Weishi aluminum shaves as well as my $200 Executive.

That was the reason for my question. I was wondering if the brushes were the same comparison.

 

To paraphrase a wise man, "It's your money, spend it on whatever you like."

 

Absolutely. My intention for this thread is not to berate anyone who enjoys the finer things, nor how anyone spends their money. It was simply a question of the function of the brushes and their manufacturers.