Does anybody have any suggestions for a good starter brush? i'd like to buy my first one but dont' want to spend 100+, but i do want to get something that will last for a while and allow me to upgrade at some point... Any ideas in the $40ish range??
Welcome and try the Crabtree and Evelyn Best Badger $35 Omega Makes a good boar from what I hear $10 - $25
I think you should look at the QED Select line of brushes. I have a silvertip that I got for $62.50, with shipping. It is a great brush, and incredibly affordable. Go to this link for my review of my brush: http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10274 At the bottom of the review is a link to a page that lists prices for the various sizes and hair grades that Charles at QED offers.
Omega #48 Professional, 100% Ideal starter brush; take it nice and slow and you'll be fine You won't need another brush, let alone a $100 brush!
im waiting on a Edwin Jagger sm BBB and a stand. paid less than $35 for it. i was going to get the CE BBB but since its made by Jagger and they have 15% at The English Shaving Co i just went ahead and got it.
I'll third that one. I just sold a perfectly great pure badger that I simply wasn't using because my old VDH just keeps plugging on ... with no hair loss, by the way.
I wouldn't start with the VDH boar, even though I did. Quality Control from Van Der Hagen isn't very good and you don't know what quality you brush will be. Mine seem average in that it sheds a hair or two most shaves, but broke in reasonably and makes decent lather, with a little more work than with a badger brush. The C&E Best Badger is good, but apparently discontinued. The Edwin Jagger Medium Best Badger is the same brush (small for a "medium" brush) which is available for about the same price ($35 for C&E). It can lather any cream or soap. It is't overly floppy or stiff, and the best hair is plenty soft. I'm planning to buy an Omega boar brush sometime this year (no hurry as I have the C&E Best which I like), and you might consider this also.
Disagree with the quality issue. Used the VDH brush every day for 7 months on hard soaps and super lathering. The brush shed few hairs, kept its shape and softened up. Recently upgraded to a $21 slivertip ebay brush. Again, start with the VDH as a test run. If you decide wet shaving is for you then consider upgrading to the low priced omega boar brushes ($11), $15 twezerman, or the $21 silvertip ebay brush. Save money on brushes and use savings on quality blades, soaps and creams.
I'm not saying some VDH brushes aren't perfectly fine brushes, just that reports are mixed. Might get a steal for $5 or $5 worth of trash. I wouldn't take the risk for a first brush. I suspect an Omega boar or Tweezerman would be a great deal and good starter, I just don't have experience with them, though I'd warn a Newbie about the break-in for the boar and encourage them to learn to use that brush before adding a DE razor to the mix. The C&E Best I have used and can recommend.
Do you have the green handled VDH or the white? My green one sheds a few hairs with each shave but the white (deluxe) one does not.
Badger Any brush that is genuine badger hair will do. Super badger hair click here You can buy that one, or go find elsewhere because that site seems a little pricey.
I ordered a 'silvertip badger' brush from an eBay seller based in China yesterday. The pictures don't look like the typical silvertip brush, but it cost around US$20, so I figured that I'd give it a try. I'm currently using a synthetic brush from The Body Shop; you can get it for about US$11 if I'm not wrong. It's my first brush, so I can't make any comparisons. I'll let the forum know how the brush from China works out.
I started with a Burma Shave Boar and then got a C&E BBB. I still use the Burma Shave brush on occasion, though it does shed a hair or two per use. Those 2 brushes have met all my needs thus far using soaps and creams.
Perhaps it's best to tell you what to avoid. I would stay away from Herban Cowboy brushes at all cost. They are absolute garbage.
I started with the green handled VDH. It did me very well for several months. However, after cleaning it with borax solution (as per directions at Em's place), it started to loose hairs like crazy. I am on my 2nd EJ BBB. The first had a knot issue and was losing hairs fast. I contacted Edwin Jagger. They had me send my brush back into them and they sent me a new one. It took some time to complete the turn around, but their customer service was awesome. My third brush is an old ever-ready that I purchased and then replaced the knot on my own with a knot I picked up at goldennib. Probably my favorite brush. It works really well and I had a hand in its restoration.
I have that one, mine is an EJ rebranded as a C&E. It looks identical though. It's travel size so it's a little smaller than a "standard" brush. No complaints here, great little brush!
Mike, Im in the same boat. I dont even have all my stuff yet ,still waiting for my razor and strop to come in, I wanted to buy a Shavemac silvertip but just dont have the money right now, Im eager to strart brushing soap on my face so I opted for the $17 Tweezerman for now, Im sure it will work fine since I have no other experience with any brushes . Im also thinking that I will appreciate a really good brush more when I do finally get one.
