Reddit mentions of Semogue Excelsior 830 Shaving Brush

A big negatory on all three of those. They're equally bad. Matter of fact, Amazon is generally a poor choice when it comes to shopping for a shave brush. Yes, you'll occasionally stumble on a good one, and might even get a bargain on it, but you have to know what you're looking for and how much it should cost.

If you have to shop on Amazon, and if your top price is $20, I recommend any Semogue boar. They're economical, and, once they're broken in, perform very well.

If you want a badger brush in that price range, go to eBay and buy direct from China. Here is an Ace Shaving silvertip for $19 shipped. Ace is a respected vendor; you could look at Virginia Sheng and Frank Shaving, too.

But IMO the best $20 brush that doesn't need to be broken in is a synthetic. Again, stay away from Amazon. Maggard Razors has a bunch of good choices for you.

Semogue freak checking in.

Affordable Boar (my personal favorite brush) Semogue 830

Top Tier Boar Semogue Owner's Club w/ Ash Handle

Top Tier Badger Semogue Owner's Club Badger w/ Cherry Handle


Semogue's are the best. I'll take that to my grave. YMMV....but when you're right, you're right. These bad boys take AGES to break in... but once you break em in it's the greatest shaving instrument you'll ever use..ever.

I recommend the Semogue 830 to everyone.

I have both of those. I got them when I started too. It is definitely worth it, in my opinion, to get a higher quality one.

Here is the brush I use. You can get it in different colors and such.

Here is a commonly recommended Omega brush.

I've never hear a bad thing about either of those brushes. Boar brushes take a bit of time to break in (like a week or so, don't worry). You'll notice that the hairs get a lot of split ends. This is a good thing. The brush stays 'stiff' and maintains the same amount of backbone, but becomes very soft.

Here are the Stirling soaps. They are all pretty much the same but with different scents. The only difference is the 'glacier' ones, 'on the rocks' one, or 'arctic' one. They all have menthol, which, like that green proraso I talked about earlier, will feel great, especially in the summer. The executive man one is the most popular (I think you can sort it by that).

Oh also, don't get blades in a store. You'll pay too much. These are the ones I use at less than 10 cents a piece.

Note that synthetic brushes have different "generations" meaning that the fibers used are different. Sadly I don't believe Amazon sells any of the good synthetic brushes.

If you are on a budget and locked to Amazon I'd probably go with a Semogue 830 boar brush, or little bit cheaper Omega 10048 boar brush.

https://www.amazon.com/Semogue-Excelsior-830-Shaving-Brush/dp/B006EMKX00/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=semogue+shaving+brush&qid=1564578545&s=gateway&sr=8-6

had this for years and still works great, fairly cheap too!

https://www.amazon.com/Edwin-Jagger-Kelvin-Double-Safety/dp/B00K6Z24SK

https://www.amazon.com/Merkur-Heavy-Double-Razor-Included/dp/B000QYEK88

https://www.amazon.com/West-Coast-Shaving-Synthetic-Brush/dp/B06XX1C84G

https://www.amazon.com/RazoRock-BARBER-Plissoft-Synthetic-Shaving/dp/B01EK5MDC8

https://www.amazon.com/Fine-Stout-Shaving-Brush-White/dp/B017V3DFGO

https://www.amazon.com/Razorock-Plissoft-Synthetic-Shaving-Brush/dp/B01CD6ZCC4

https://www.amazon.com/RazoRock-BRUCE-Plissoft-Synthetic-Shaving/dp/B01EK43SKA

https://www.amazon.com/Semogue-620-Superior-Bristle-Shaving/dp/B004OJM9XE

https://www.amazon.com/Semogue-Excelsior-830-Shaving-Brush/dp/B006EMKX00

https://www.amazon.com/FEATHER-Oclock-SILVER-Blade-Sampler/dp/B004UIZFQW

Yet this brush has 37 reviews http://www.amazon.com/Semogue-830/dp/B006EMKX00/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426626063&sr=8-1&keywords=semogue+830