I'd highly recommend one of the Frank Shaving badger hair brushes. This is one of those times that something from China is a good thing.. badger's are everywhere in China. I recently bought one his "Warwick Butterscotch Finest" for around $18 shipped. Arrived from China in 7 days. His eBay store is http://stores.ebay.com/Ian-Tangs-Shaving-Workshop
Frank shaving brushes are tops. I have the warwick butterscotch silvertip. An amazing brush all For around 30 bucks shipped. Can't be beat.
We are an: Eccentric Bunch of Preferential Wet Shaving Enthusiasts. Preferential is the key word. We all have our preferences: Razors/Blades/Soaps/Creams and Brushes. If you are unsure about the brush you want and you have limited resources, I would purchase an Omega Brush. Do a Google search and pick the silver handle one. It is very basic, rather inexpensive and does a pretty good job. Try it out before you purchase a high end one. Everything wet shavers use is a YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). That means it may work for me but not for you. Before investing in a high dollar brush, try a few of the inexpensive versions and work up from there if you want. I keep the basic Omega in my rotation and am very happy with it and use it regularly and have had it for years.
Oscar speaks truth and wisdom. I have the Omega 49. Great brush. If I may put it another way, ask 99 folks what brush/razor/soap/blade/cream to get and you'll get 100 different answers!
:happy096, I agree, but I think there's lots of reoccurring themes in those answers that have real value to a newbie. i.e. Omega's are amazing value, VDH is good cheap soap, GEM's give close shaves etc. As with buying your first brush it probably doesn't matter which one you get as an AD is just around the corner and soon you will have a brush for everyday of the week. This is the beginning of my brush AD My vie-long horse hair is my favorite but I would not recommend it as a first brush.
I also purchased a VDH brush at the drug store. It's leaps and bounds better than the Ever Ready brush I was using to start off. The first thing that caught my attention in a good way was how full it was. It feels like a massage when I apply it to my face. It's very nice when it's warm too. It's a nice brush for how little it costs. However, there is one thing that disappointed me. It smells.
As a newbie I feel trapped looking instead of buying. I am so close to pulling the trigger on several badger starter brushes, but I want it to be great. I have been leaning toward starting with a Frank Shaving or a Tweezerman, but JoeMal makes a compelling argument for starting out better with an EJ best badger w/ stand. I am giving that strong consideration and I am so close to buying it. What to do, what to do.
Why not scout around and find some local brick and mortar stores that sell brushes? That way you can see them first hand. Perhaps you will not be able to see every single brush mentioned here, but some is better than none. IMHO, the problem is that you are looking for the perfect brush the first time around and nothing less will do. Well, how can you know for sure what you like in a brush if you have never used one before? My advice is to get a reasonably priced starter brush and go from there. You can then formulate your own opinions on what is important in a brush. If you like the starter brush, then you are set. If you don't like it, you can always sell it in the Marketplace here and buy a brush with qualities you do like.
+1. I would strongly recommend Frank Shaving. Just search bay for user iantang19821024. He has some outstanding offers and the quality is superb. Good luck!
I don't have that problem with mine,When I first got it I washed it with conditioner and now all I can smell on it is the soap I used last.
My first brush was an Omega 10049 Pro. Currently you can get 'em for $9 from West Coast Shaving. Mine is still one of my favorite brushes...just keeps getting softer and better. Jeff
if i had to do it all over again with what i know now and i still wanted a good budget brush for my first. id get a Frank Shaving silvertip or a Lijun silvertip off ebay for $25+sh. i just noticed in post #25 by newb that there is a pic of the Frank shaving brush..its the one with the butterscotch colored handle and FS on the front.
The EJ brush is a good one, though a little on the thin side in terms of how dense the hairs are packed. Mind you I don't mean at a level where it's a functional problem, just that to some, myself included, it has a borderline floppy feel. For about the same price you can get a penworks brush that's packed a little better, but still not stiff. Very comparable to that EJ is this model.
I second what Iamthejody and newb said. Franks is a great brush for a great price. I also like very much the Semegue (whatevers) Boar brush. A whole lot of bang for the buck. Great lathering and soft with back bone.
No matter what else you do, buy a Frank Shaving finest badger and a Turkish horsehair. The former will set you back $25, and the latter $5. At least you'll have something to use while your high-end brushes dry, and it might cure your AD early as you discover that $100 brushes don't necessarily perform any better. And order some shaving cream samples from TSD while you're at it. JoAnna fills them to the gills, and you can find a few you really like without getting stuck with tubs of ones you don't.
