delsom
SE Super Freak
Posts: 3
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Post by delsom on Jul 10, 2017 11:28:20 GMT -6
Hey Guys! I've been thinking about starting to use a shaving brush, I haven't used one before, been using my finger tips all these years lol. I did get one as a gift a few years ago, but I didn't really use it at the time since I was sporting a beard so wasn’t shaving much. My biggest fear is if I’m spending some money on a brush, I don’t want it to be something that is crappy or doesn’t work properly. I saw some options compared on this site and am leaning towards the Parker Safety Badger Brush. theshaveauthority.com/category/shaving-brush-reviews/What do you guys think? Trying to get some input. Thanks for the help in advance.
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poppi
Lather Catcher
Posts: 555
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Post by poppi on Jul 10, 2017 12:48:15 GMT -6
I'll chime in with a recommendation that you go with a synthetic brush. Why? you ask.
They are inexpensive, easy to use and whip up great lathers.
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Post by birdlives on Jul 10, 2017 12:56:49 GMT -6
Hey man...you can't go wrong with an Omega Boar brush...they are cost efficient (most cases under $10), never shed, last for years, lather hard soaps easily, and are great for exfoliation....feels like a facial massage everytime you lather....
Check them out...don't let their low price throw you...they are a quality piece...
I don't know where you are from...If in the US...West Coast Shaving or Fendrihan....UK try Connaught Shaving ....or just go to Omega's site...find a brush you like the looks of and then google it on Amazon.com
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Post by birdlives on Jul 10, 2017 13:26:10 GMT -6
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Post by wchnu on Jul 10, 2017 13:56:43 GMT -6
Are you using soap or creams. A synthetic will tackle both. I like a boar more on soaps. Omega is goodstuff. Semogue is also. If you do not have a soap and such yet look inti a VDH set. Not a lot of ching and not bad stuff.
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pj3r
Lather Catcher
Posts: 842
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Post by pj3r on Jul 11, 2017 0:52:54 GMT -6
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Jul 11, 2017 7:51:02 GMT -6
I think you asked this question on another forum, but I'll add more here to what I wrote over there.
When I was starting I got the VDH kit, the low end one with the boar brush (Today I think they have a higher grade kit also). As previously written the entire kit doesn't cost much. The brush was crap, but what did I know? It worked and I was a noob. One thing that it has going for it is that it's inexpensive. It's a place to start.
Boar is hard to beat and it works great. For quite some time I used nothing but boars and if I stayed with them I don't think I would have missed much. Yes, a quality Omega can be had for under $10 or that was the case not all that many years ago. Their less expensive brushes save money of the handles but not the knot and to save $ that's exactly what you want to my way of thinking.
Synthetics are extremely good and have tremendous performance, feel, and longevity (especially if abused), for the price. But there is no scale tha grades the fibers and they can change from manufacturer to manufacturer and in some cases from model to model.
Horse is good if one has a heavier hand, but all brushes canbe destroyed through misuse. Their price is reasonable.
Then there are the badgers. A good badger can be a very expensive proposition but doesn't need to be. An inexpensive badger isn't worth having IMO, they're just garbage. Badger can run the gamut from scratchy to cloudlike softness. Then there are the hairs... If a manufacturer produces brush after brush and every one looks the same you can be absolutely certain that they're cheating and using lower grade but chemically treated hair. Hair of that type is inexpensive because lower grades can be used, but the chemical treatment allows them to sell as silvertip and such. Some top rated brushes use chemically treated hair and they're expensive when they should sell for much less. I could name names, but one really only needs to look at the brushes to figure out what one is looking at. Another clue to this is if the manufacturer makes no duds, but every brush feels exactly the same. That clearly is not natural fiber since each animal has different fur and the fur is different from each part of the body and those areas tend to blend together. So some scritchy hairs can get mixed in with the higher grades of hair. No such problem with chemically treated hair, but IMO it's cheating because it should be priced lower than the real stuff. Basically those manufacturers are selling a lie.
In general the longer handled models are best used in a lather bowl or cup and shorter handles are best used for face lathering. At least that's what I've found. Since I face lather exclusively the handles on my brushes are relatively short. I also prefer synthetic handles esp' if the brush fiber is synthetic.
If I was starting out today and knowing now what I know now I would start with a $10 Omega boar or a synthetic. I would reserve badgers for the future IF and only if I was curious about them. As I already stated they can run into a lot of money and one needs to know what one is buying. Plisson makes a nice synthetic that I laughed at when I first got mine because it was so different from my other synthetics. I almost didn't even try it and that would have been a great disservice to myself. It's a nice brush that's reasonably priced with the wooden handle. But I prefer the synthetic handled models that sell for a higher price. I just don't think that brush fibers that can take abuse should have a wooden handle that can self destruct. I would tell you the price, but frankly my pricing data is out of date.
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Post by birdlives on Jul 11, 2017 18:31:56 GMT -6
Very nicely put together treatis on types of brushes... Brian has once again, with his usual panache, constructed a clear cut, easy to understand, concise report on one's options in picking a new brush... AND it's a good read! Bravo!!
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Post by wchnu on Jul 11, 2017 19:02:18 GMT -6
Very nicely put together treatis on types of brushes... Brian has once again, with his usual panache, constructed a clear cut, easy to understand, concise report on one's options in picking a new brush... AND it's a good read! Bravo!! I often read a ShadowsDad post and wish I could write that good. I find I write like Captain Kirk talks. Kind if jumpy and jerky.
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Jul 12, 2017 8:07:54 GMT -6
Aww, shucks! Thanks guys.
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Post by birdlives on Jul 12, 2017 17:37:05 GMT -6
Very nicely put together treatis on types of brushes... Brian has once again, with his usual panache, constructed a clear cut, easy to understand, concise report on one's options in picking a new brush... AND it's a good read! Bravo!! I often read a ShadowsDad post and wish I could write that good. I find I write like Captain Kirk talks. Kind if jumpy and jerky. Captain's Log, today we concentrate on getting the inhabitants of Arko, to bowl lather as good as they can face lather...Will need phaser's set on Lather Bomb....Scotty will beam ShadowsDad and Me down later today...And no.....neither of us will be wearing the Red Jerseys...Fuzzy Out!!!
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Post by wchnu on Jul 13, 2017 2:28:10 GMT -6
I often read a ShadowsDad post and wish I could write that good. I find I write like Captain Kirk talks. Kind if jumpy and jerky. Captain's Log, today we concentrate on getting the inhabitants of Arko, to bowl lather as good as they can face lather...Will need phaser's set on Lather Bomb....Scotty will beam ShadowsDad and Me down later today...And no.....neither of us will be wearing the Red Jerseys...Fuzzy Out!!! Lmao!!!! Awesome. We have to find a red shirt though. You can not have an away team with out at least 1.
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pj3r
Lather Catcher
Posts: 842
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Post by pj3r on Jul 13, 2017 4:58:51 GMT -6
Well... About that chinese brushes... My friend said they are good. For the price.
It looks like they made knots for some famous stores, but this is not that knots.
Sorry...
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