If you could have one brush....

paddy · Post by **paddy** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 3:13 pm

howdy all!

a newbie here chiming in for the first time, although have been reading the site for quite a while.

my question is this - i am going to buy a new brush. i am willing to spend the money for quality as i know that a good brush will last a couple of years or so, so i don't mind spending the bread. if you could choose one brush to recommend me to buy and which is to be used as my everyday shaving brush which would it be? i am a cream user only (trumpers and taylor usually). after reading nathan's (rather extensive and educational!) piece on his brushes, I am toying with the idea of going for the simpson chubby CH2 best, but before i take the plunge i was wondering whether any of you out there have your own personal favourites. thanks in advance.

yours,

paddy

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 3:18 pm

I really like Rooney's http://www.executive-shaving.co.uk/shav ... rooney.php

Also, you may want to look into the SMF II group brush. Excellent value, custom brush.
http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5478

J

JackieMartling · Post by **JackieMartling** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 3:20 pm

Jeez, why don't you ask me which one of my fingers I would keep! Only one brush? Are you mad? Actually, that's pretty darn sane, now that I think about it. Since you've read my other post, you might guess that if I really did have to choose just one brush, it would probably be a Plisson 16 HMW. That does a good job on both soaps and creams. What is it you mainly intend to use the brush with? If it's creams, I'd say a CH2 is an excellent choice. I wouldn't make the same recommendation if you wanted to use it for soap lathering as well. Then, I'd recommend a Plisson 16, or if that's out of your range, maybe a PL8 or CH1, or even a T3.

Nathan

DavidB · Post by **DavidB** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 3:23 pm

You'll get a lot of inputs on this one, and what one chooses will depend on how much you want to spend. I don't have a lot of experience with brushes; I've not used a lot of different brands. But here are my suggestions, based on price range.

Under $15 - Omega boar brush - Will last years. Excellent quality. This is a dandy brush especially for hard soaps, because the boar hairs are stiffer than badger, but when an Omega is all wet with lather, the tips are amazingly soft. Personally, I think everyone ought to check these out as a low-cost alternative. Great as a gift for someone wanting to get into wetshaving.

$50-60 - Vulfix - Excellent bang for the buck. Quality brushes at a very good price. Excellent company that stands behind their products. This brush will last years and years. Available from lots of vendors, including classicshaving.com and emsplace.com. I have a couple of smaller 3-3/4" superbadgers and a 4" superbadger. All excellent brushes, well suited for everyday use.

$100 - Savile Row silvertip - This is a pretty exceptional brush. Thicker brush head than the Vulfix, stiffer hair but a bit gentler at the tips. Available only from qedusa.com. It's a recently introduced higher-end brush than their standard Savile Row brush. I have the SR3122 and think it's terrific.

Dave

javyn · Post by **javyn** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 3:37 pm

I love my Omega #48, but do you really think it will last for years, David? I buff mine against a towel pretty vigorously after using it, perhaps I am damaging it...a few of the hairs have broken off around the outside.

Post by **Sam** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 3:40 pm

if i could have one brush, it would be nathans plisson 16 hmw. oh, you did not mean for me to take someone elses? ok, well, of the ones i have, the xxl shavemac

sam

jvan · Post by **jvan** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 5:07 pm

I'll second Dave on the Savile Row, biggest bang for the buck IMO.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 5:09 pm

Sam wrote:if i could have one brush, it would be nathans plisson 16 hmw. oh, you did not mean for me to take someone elses? ok, well, of the ones i have, the xxl shavemac

sam

I'll take Nathans plissons also.

DavidB · Post by **DavidB** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 5:25 pm

John/javyn

The life of an Omega I should think would vary much more than a badger, which seems to be more forgiving. I don't thing it'd last nearly as long as a badger brush, but I've had mine for about three years, admittedly not using it every day, and it's held up well. Just based on the number of bristles I lose per week of use, I guesstimated that it'd last more than a couple of years, like 3 to 5.

Then again, I admit that with three years of wetshaving under my belt, my perspective is limited!

Dave

tonyespo · Post by **tonyespo** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 6:04 pm

I would PM Gordon and buy one of his Silver Tips that he no longer uses.

That is the deal of the century.

JackieMartling · Post by **JackieMartling** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 6:37 pm

Austin wrote:
Sam wrote:if i could have one brush, it would be nathans plisson 16 hmw. oh, you did not mean for me to take someone elses? ok, well, of the ones i have, the xxl shavemac

sam
I'll take Nathans plissons also.

Get your own damn Plissons!

Although, I might persuaded to part with the #18, if anybody wants to make a serious offer. I said serious.

Nathan

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 8:02 pm

Paddy, Yours is really a pretty impossible question; 1) because you set no price limit on it, so ANY brush could be named, and there are a hell of a lot of good ones out there, and 2) we really know little about your preferences, hand size, etc. etc. In other words, it's one mighty general question. I'll take a stab at it, but this is no more then the grossest generalization. I'll stick to mid-size brushes, because, personally I think they're the best choice for most shavers, especially if one plans to have only one ( good luck with that, by the way ).

Under $100; a Simpson Duke #2 Best, or a Vulfix #2235/376 Super

$100- around $200; a Simpson Polo #8 Best or Chubby #1/#2 Best or Tulip #3 Super

$200-$300; a Plisson #14 European White

Above $300; Plisson #16 HMW, or a Simpson Manchurian Chubby #2

I kept in mind that you use only soft shave cream, with this list. I have not used any of the upper ranges of Rooneys nor any Plisson European Greys, so I did not feel comfortable including them, but both are probably very good. To me, the catagory to focus on is the second one, the $100-$200 range. These are some of the very finest all purpose brushes, IMO, at a little more manageable price. ( and, no, Tony, no more killer deals on genuine silvertips this month )
Regards,
Gordon

stuff495 · Post by **stuff495** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:10 pm

First off, I'm a soap guy. While I've used a several different brushes from different makers, I certainly don't consider myself an expert on shaving brushes.

In my experience a smaller brush works just fine, in fact I prefer them most of the time. So I would want something with a 20-22mm knot.

I also think that past a certain point, all bristle qualities are essentially the same. I don't know of any uniform grading system, and I've heard mixed reviews of different "silvertip" or "super" grades. I do know from first-hand experience that the bristles on some Simpsons brushes were indistinguishable, even though some were marked "Best", and others "Silvertip". Frankly a lot of the claims I hear about whatever new "highest" grade bristle some company is selling sound a lot like smoke-and-mirrors at best, and snake-oil at worst.

Anyway, since this brush would need to last me a long time, I think the main quality I'd look for would be durability. From what I know, I would recommend Simpsons the most for durability. I also would caution against a plastic handled Vulfix, since I've had one crack in two places with normal use.

So far I've been really liking my Simpsons Harvard #3 in "Best" badger... except that I can't stand how slick it gets when wet. If Simpsons came out with a textured-G10 handled Harvard #3, then I'd be all set!

--Vincent

JackieMartling · Post by **JackieMartling** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:39 pm

bernards66 wrote:Above $300; Plisson #16 HMW, or a Simpson Manchurian Chubby #2

Gordon, I like your choices, although I think I might actually side with a White Super CH2 over a Manchurian. That would actually put it in the next category down, price wise. Of course, whether this is a prudent choice all depends on whether or not one prefers a stiffer or a softer brush, as well as whether or not one can even find a White Super CH2...or a CH2 Manchurian, for that matter. I suppose one could call up Trumper and see if they'd ship.

Nathan

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:53 am

Nathan, Well, yes, of course. I was kicking out the jams, on the theory that someone who was willing to spend that much, would also be willing to go a little out of his way, if necessary ( calling London, or whatever ). Yeah, I went with the Manchurian, because I think that it would be quite stiff enough for most gents ( myself included ), and is more likely to have that nice softer tip. But, for the stiffness uber alles fellows, the CH2 White Super would be the way to go.
Regards,
Gordon

Cliff · Post by **Cliff** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:23 am

I like what you've come up with Gordon. Good write-up, I concur.

Cliff

paddy · Post by **paddy** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:54 pm

guys

many thanks. food for thought that's for sure.

gordon - sorry! should have narrowed it down a wee bit. i would prob be aiming at the $100-$200 price range and have average sized (i think!) hands.

dave - a bit of google surfing from me has also turned up the following web address for savile row brushes, and they seem to have a few more than qedusa, thought you might be interested in it:

http://www.sesto-senso.com/shaving_brush.html

interested in the rooney brushes. i have never heard of them (and i'm irish!). they look real nice, but a bit too expensive. i'm sure they would be awesome though. seems to be overall agreement from everyone on the simpson make for quality and best bang for the buck. will let you know how i get on.

yours,

paddy