I have been back and forth from forums to reviews to ebay you name it and I think I know what I'm looking for in my first badger brush. What I would like to know is there a known list of manufacturers to stay away from. I know the more common names Parker, Simpson, Kent, AoS etc....all of which I assume are safe; but then I see names like Franks Shaving, Lijun, and Orchid shaving on ebay. Is there a list out there of Buyer Beware that has been compiled?
Actually, your question may be more along the lines of what to buy rather than what not to buy. The list you've compiled there seems a good starting point and it doesn't make sense, imo, to venture out to uncharted territory, when there's an abundant supply of good known choices around. Perhaps you can also consult with one of TSD's on board brush gurus..GD Carrington. He's been known to offer some excellent advice on the subject. In fact Gary might just be along to do just that...
There's only one I can think of, and I can't think of the name of the company. They are overpriced anyway. If you find one you like, just run it past the forum. If all the maker sells is shaving brushes, you can count on it being a quality brush. They wouldn't be in business otherwise.
Always keep in mind however that a company I have a good or bad experience with you could have the exact opposite with. Before I send anyone money I check any review I can find and I email them at least once. See how long it takes for them to respond, in what manner your question is answered, are they actually helpful or just giving you the shortest answer to get you to buy. Ask around people here aren't too shy, they will give you an answer or an opinion. If it's any help I've actually found most of the shaving venders I've dealt with friendly and honest....
From what I've read lately, Franks Shaving has gone downhill in both the customer service and quality control aspect over the least few months; however I haven't personally thrown money at it, I'm just parroting out some recent reviews. The above advice is best, hunt around for some that interest you and then just ask us here. Chances are at least one member has owned one of the brushes you'll end up inquiring about
Better late than never I guess. Justin is correct on Frank Shaving. They are interested in "cookie cutter" brushes and no more. Bad business practices and poor quality control. I would also avoid e-Shave brushes as well for poor quality control. Parker on their Badgers can be good, but again quality control is spotty on all Parker products. LiJun has got a pretty strong following followed by Ace Shaving. These are low end producers and you can get a good reward, but their are risks in dealing with the language and culture differences. You might want to tell us what you are using, what size brush you want, how much backbone, softness versus scritch, and price that you want to pay. If you have questions please feel free to ask.
I have two Lijun brushes ordered from ebay. I am happy with both brushes. The first brush took a long time for shipping. So be prepared for a wait. My finest is super dense with allot of backbone and I just received a silver tip which is softer.
I currently use a VDH boar brush I got with the "premium bowl and brush kit", I find it difficult to get a decent lather without having to work pretty long at it. I have fairly sensitive skin (scratching an itch on my neck leaves pretty noticeable red marks for 10 to 20 minutes) and would like it to have enough backbone to bowl lather. From what I've read I think a best badger to a super badger will give me the softness I want with enough backbone to still bowl lather. If I'm wrong please tell me. I'm not sure about the knot size or the loft but I want something with a little more contoured handle than the VDH; as the fat handle (or the time it takes me to produce a good lather) makes my hand cramp a little. I would like to spend as little as possible of course but right now could spend probably $60.00 for a decent brush. Oh and by the way thanks to everyone willing to take the time to help a guy out. I am pretty impressed with how great everyone in the Shave Den is about answering questions. Hope I can get to a point I can return the favor someday.
Given your list of desires including price, here is one that closest matches. Vulfix 2234 in Super Badger - Faux Ivory http://www.bullgooseshaving.net/vu22insubafi.html It is $5 over what you wanted to spend, but it is from an excellent vendor which is a big plus when buying your first serious brush.
YMMV (your mileage may vary). Some people say to completly avoid boar brushes and some people only but boar brushes. You can not go wrong with a tweezerman. It is 15 bucks and it is badger. This is my first brush and it mixes lather fine. It has a short wood Handel and it spreads out nicely. This is what I was looking for in a brush since I wanted to bowl lather in a shallow bowl.
There's also the option for the Muhle Silvertip Fibre brush at Bullgoose as well. It has a great weight on the handle but is extremely comfortable to hold. The synthetic fibres are just as soft as silvertip and whip up an amazing lather - it's been duking it out with my Simpsons badgers the last few days and is so far - winning. I believe the 21mm knot is closest to your price range, the 19mm would probably be a little on the small side for what you're looking for, and the 23mm is above your range a bit too much for me to suggest it.
For what it's worth, my two brushes from Franks Shaving performs flawlessly, and have never shed more than a few hairs (knock on wood) Now, I have only had them a few months so it might be too early to tell. But so far sooo good
I bought myself one of the Vulfix brushes for my Christmas present to myself. I'd been using the VDH "El Cheapo Supreme" for about a year and decided it was time for an upgrade. I bought mine on ebay from this dealer. http://www.ebay.com/sch/berta322/m....me=STRK:MEWNX:IT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562 I LOVE mine.
You might want to give Whipped Dog a try, they have some quality brushes at very reasonable prices and everything is customizable. http://www.whippeddog.com/
If you ever wanted to try re-knotting, you could do what I did and come in way under budget (as long as you have some tools to do the re-knot). Just take the knot out of the VDH handle and put a 22 mm Silvertip knot from TGN in it. Their top of the line knot is $31 and after using mine for a week, I really like it. If you clean out all of the old knot in that handle, you'll be left with a hole about 17 mm deep. So if you put that 65 mm TGN knot all the way in, you'll have about a 48 mm loft which seems to give decent backbone. It bowl lathers great and is incredibly soft on the face, even compared to my Omega Pure Badger. You won't even believe the difference coming from the VDH boar.
Good suggestions so far. You mention you want a bowl lathering brush - no such thing. That is, no brush is just for "bowl" lathering, or "face" lathering, or just for soap, or just for cream. All shaving brushes, regardless of size and/or material is designed to create lather. There is only one kind of brush - the one you like.
Kent VS 80 THE disaster I have some Frank and Lijun,no problem at all I am expecting another one from Frank,lets see if the things changed to worst as you said my friends.
The tweezerman is a great little badger. It does well as bowl latherer or face latherer. I continue to use mine for travel as well.
A brush that sprang to mind when reading this thread title is the L'occitane Travel Brush (synthetic). It's been pretty widely panned, but L'occitane still sells this overpriced horror:
One of the brushologists here, SodaPopJones, turned me on to the Simpson Colonel X2L it's $64.40 @ West Coast Shaving. It was one of my first and still has a warm spot in my shave den... eventhough I have much more expensive brushes. In fact I shaved with it this morning!
