Hi all I am going to be looking for a cheap good brush soon I think I would prefer badger but as I have never really seen a shaving brush let alone used one I am not really sure. I have read planofman talk about this one H.I.S. Brush, on Amazon however I had a quick look last night and cannot seem to find it on amazon UK. It was late and I was tired so sorry if it is there. Does anyone else have any recommendations I'm sure this question has been asked a thousand times b4 so sorry for that. I'm sure the brush is a totally personal preference but would like a good starting point. Thanks Nathan
Omega are good, I have 3 Omega boars all great (granted it does take awhile to get rid of the piggy smell but they all perform great) http://connaughtshaving.com/omegapure.html I have the Pro 49 in red it is a big knot and a good knot wil hold enough lather for 3+ passes. You can even get it on amazon for similar price but connaughtshaving has more choice of models. My GF got me the pro last year for birthday very nice. Semogue brushes are said to be very good (Ive never tried them, they are more expensive approx £15 ish for a badger rather than the £10 mark) and its said there is less of a piggy smell when you first get one. but that said my brush was well broken in when the piggy smell had gone. lol Being in the Uk you will see more vendors carring the Omega so you may be getting a much better deal once postage has been factored into the deal.
Turkish #6 horsehair from bestshave.net. $2.45 plus shipping, which seems strangely reasonable from that site (I checked, got a quote for shipping to the UK of another $2.50). I have one, and although it did take some work to de-funk it, it is now performing very well for me. And you cannot beat the price.
thanks guys so it looks like i don't have to spend a fortune which is lucky as i don't have a fortune. quick one about mugs/bowls can i just go to a supermarket and pick up a bowl i think will be suitable or will they just not work ? all the shaving ones i have seen online are about £20.
I'm sure you already have a mug or bowl that will perform admirably...Check out the pics in the 'SOS' thread and when you see something that looks like something you already have...Bingo. Now there are Scuttles and various specialty bowls...But if you're looking for the most cost effective at first...then you're lucky...You already own it...
Any bowl will do (if you want to lather in a bowl) sometimes specific shave bowls have grooves inside to help lather quicker, but if your using a shave stick you will be face lathering so no need for a bowl. For months I was using a plastic tupper ware bowl that had seen better days (but because it had seen better days it had some texture on the inside so lathered very well lol) You may find someting else that works for you we dont judge people on this site if you use none shave related stuff for shaving at the end of the day its your shave do what you can with what you have to make it a good one.
thanks guys this forum is awesome i really feel like part of something. i'm sure you don't want my life story but i've never really had a hobby i had my first of 3 children with my wife at 21 (i'm 29 now) hence why im skint. i'm really getting into the shaving thing and i love the sense of community here. thanks again. Nathan
Nathan, that's a beautiful family you have there! I think the best value brush I own is the Semogue 1305. It takes a couple of weeks or so to break in, but it's great brush, and mine had no smell to deal with. I think I paid $18 at Italian Barber. These tend to be hit or miss and because of that, I would not recommend these for a nube. My brush was junk. It looked fine when dry, but as soon as it got went and I started to face lather, all the bristles splayed out so there was a cavity in the middle. And smell? holy crap did my smell. Far worse than any other brush I have, it smelled like horse's arse (not that I have intimate knowledge of that smell) and took a long time to defunkify. I either tossed mine or gave it away.
I wouldn't bother buying anything yet, if ever. I use a coffee cup to soak my brush and when starting out I used a heavy soup bowl to bowl lather. Now I face lather 98% of the time and really have no use for a bowl.
to TSD Nathan...Beautiful family you have there, property looks real nice also.. First let me say that YES that question has been asked many Times before "BY MOST of US". Around here if you have a question "ANY" question no matter if you think its been asked many times before or it's silly or anything else YOU ASK!! The only way to learn is to ask. And BELIEVE me WE all LOVE to ANSWER!! I have to agree with Nuke try a #6 Turkish horse from "bestshave". While I agree the QC isn't the best(but you can still get a bad brush from the more expensive places) the price just can't be beat! I have four of them(bought at different times to rehandle) and they all lather well. For the price order two. I have boar,bagger and synthetic, but since I've had my Horse I've never wanted to use another brush, mine works well for both face and bowl lathering, soaps or creams. They kind of have the best features of both boar and bagger. Also none of mine stank of course "YMMV".
Your not a skint your frugal.. As one of the many "Frugality Kings" here in TSD I applaud you. Not spending 5 for something you can get for 2 that works just as well is "plain old GOOD sense"!!
May I recommend a Simpson: called: The Duke in different sizes: 1, 2 & 3 in Best Badger. Fantastic all round brush, either soaps or creams, face or bowl. Charles U.K
hi guys and again thank you for all your input 178-bplatoon thanks for the comments about the family however i wish that was my property that photo was taken in the church grounds by the river in a village nearby.
Welcome to TSD Nathan. I am sure there are loads of great brushes but my personal fav is my Semogue 1438 boar from italian barber for $18. My shave mug is an espresso mug from my outer banks vacation $6, and my bowl is a "icecream sundae" bowl from Target for $2. All of them can be found in my shave of the day pics. Remember, if it works for you, no one here will judge ill upon you. If someone finds or repurposses something inexpensive and great for wet shaving, please pass that info along. Then we will have more cash for our various acquisition disorders!
Take a look on Ebay for Lijun. I have a finest badger and it is my favorite brush. Big knot, super dense, great backbone and soft tips. It was just $20 delivered. The only drawback was the long shipping time.
An affordable badger brush ? Well, for a long time Frank's shaving in finest is what would come to my mind. BUT, I have heard that they have suffered poor QC as of late,. So my next choice would be to skip the badger and go with a quality boar. Omega or Semogue, you can't go wrong with either. Of coarse the HIS synthetic is awesome and affordable as is the Frank's synthetic. A good synthetic brush may actually be the best value for the buck available. IMHO
