I wanted to let everyone know that I really appreciate all of these recommendations! I love the variety of opinions and the variety of brushes that have been posted so far. I can see I will be trying many different brushes over the years as there are so many nice looking brushes out there and different styles to choose from.
I want to start with budget handles so I can find what I like without spending an arm and a leg exploring.
Thanks, and I still owe you a response (and in hindsight I would certainly reformulate my post, but that would make this discussion meaningless ...) I was unjustfully triggered by your "You cannot go wrong with ..." statement. I had just read another long "Vandoren reeds are !@#$%*" thread on another forum (with strong opinions), and those black and white posts really annoy me. I use and like Vandoren reeds, by the way Fortunately the TSD community is very different, but my mindset meant that I read your post in totally the wrong way. What I should have said, of course, is that your suggestions were great, and there are various opinions on very soft tipped synthetics (like the Plissoft fibres). If you want a bit more "scritch", you might also want to look at the Silvertip Fibre brushes (which you might want to order from the UK, by the way, given the USA prices) or at the Whipped Dog brushes. I hope this cleared it up ... again, I did not mean to attack you, and I should have formulated my post differently!
No worries, brother. Internet "mis-posts" happen to all of us at one time or another. I appreciate your taking the time and thought to clarify and rephrase your post. That's honestly what drew me and kept me at TSD. Virtually everyone here respects each other, is positive, and takes the time, like you did, to make things right when they mis-step. Cheers!
I have used synthetic knots from Maggards to reknot some brushes - 22mm and 24mm plissoft and black (Muhle-style) knots. Maggards puts the identical knots in the complete brushes they sell. They were excellent. And cheap. I also have a Cashmere and a Tuxedo 24mm synthetic knots from APShaveCo on Etsy that I have used in brushes. They are superb. And not quite as cheap as the Maggards plissoft and black knots but still not much. Finally, I have Muhle brushes with their Silvertip Fibre and Black Fibre knots, these ones in about 21mm. They are also excellent. And a brush from Supply Provision with a 26mm "silvertip" synthetic knot that seems modelled on the Muhle knots. Also excellent. All of my modern synthetic knots are superb. I have had boar brushes that were too scrubby and wouldn't pick up soap, and a couple badgers that were too floppy and lathered like dustmops. None of my modern generation synthetics have been bad or unusable. They all have reasonable backbone paired with reasonable softness, coupled with a universal ability to load soap quickly and to dry rapidly after use. To be honest, if someone did a blindfolded face lathering test on me, I probably couldn't tell you which synthetic was which - they are all good and to me feel very similar. At the current prices, a synthetic brush of a size and shape that appeals bought from any of the reputable makers/vendors is unlikely to be a bad choice. Even if it doesn't turn out to be the great love of your wetshaving life, it will be a usable brush and a good backup, travel brush or loaner in future. Regarding boar brushes, I think your two main choices for good quality boar brushes at reasonable cost are Omega or Semogue.
After a couple of weeks of looking at synthetics I decided to go with the RazoRock Chrome Silvertip Plissoft Synthetic Shaving Brush. It's price, weight, and size were it's two big selling points for me. It weighs 187 grams with a 24 mm knot and a 57 mm loft along with a chrome handle with a height of 63 mm.
