Parker Premium 3 Band Pure Badger Shaving Brush with Stand Included - Packaged in a Gift Box - Generate a Thick & Luxurious Lather with Your Favorite Shave Soap - Black & Chrome Handle

UPDATE:After nearly 4 months of use, this brush has continued to impress me. The bloom continued to open up and is as wide and pretty as any Simpson or Rooney brush I've seen, without being floppy in use. Shedding stopped completely within the first week of use, outside of a random hair here and there (maybe one a week). The tips have continued to soften as they have split and are completely scratch-free.I have also experimented with some harder soaps like Arko Stick, Tabac, and Truefitt and Hill. These types of soap take awhile for the brush to charge (pick up enough product) but lather just as well as creams once properly charged. Letting some warm water sit on top of the soap to soften a thin layer helps drastically, as does holding the brush by the base of the knot to add a bit more backbone.In terms of build quality, this brush has continued to hold up extremely well. The black resin handle has stayed mainly scratch free, other than a few small scratches from traveling in my luggage alongside a DE razor (they go in seperate compartments now). A bit of acetone on a cloth smoothed these scrathes over almost completely.I can't say enough about this brush and would reccomend it to almost anyone as their second brush. Everyone's first brush should be something cheap enough that they won't be disapointed if they give up wet shaving early on, but can still be used for travel if they upgrade later on.Four months later, still an exuberant 5 STARS!END UPDATE:Coming from a basic board brush (Shaving Factory (XS) Boar Brush), this Parker is a huge step up. Handle size and weight are both excellent, fitting my average size hand perfectly with a confidence inspiring heft. The resin used for the black portion of the handle also feels firm and does not seem scratch-prone like softer/cheaper plastics. The Parker logo did start to wear during just the first lather, but a bit of rubbing alcohol on a wash cloth took it off completely and gave the brush a clean logo free look.The hair of this brush is extremely soft. The tips are untrimmed and have a natural white tip. Based on Badger & Blade grading, this brush seems MUCH closer to a "Best" rating than the lower "Pure" rating it is marketed under. You won't find a "Best" brush on Amazon for less than $45, and you won't find a "Best" with a handle as nice as this Parker for less than $60. The Parker may seem floppy to those, like me, coming from stiff inexpensive boar brushes. The knot is large, fairly dense, and blooms nicely right out of the packaging. After the first night of break-in the bloom opened up maybe another 5%, but I don't expect much more. The brush is soft on the face, not prickly at all, but does lose its shape a bit and could possibly use a bit more backbone (if we're being picky).I'm a cream guy more than a soap guy, and this thing demolishes creams. It whipped Proraso Cream into a fluffy whipped cream like lather that my boar never could approach, and did so in record time. I usually lathered for 30-45 seconds or more with the boar, but I can get a far superior lather in 15-30 seconds with the Parker. It can do just as well with soft soaps, like Proraso Shaving Soap, but hard soaps (especially Tallow based) seem to require a bit more effort. I don't have a shave stick on hand and I've never face-lathered, so I can't comment directly on those.I've only lathered with the parker twice so far... once during the break-in process and once while shaving this morning. The brush lost 3-4 hairs during the first break-in lather, and another 2 during this morning's shave. Both could have been loose to begin with. I won't make a judgment one way or the other on shedding for at least a week or two, though my Shaving Factory XS Boar was still shedding 1-2 hairs per shave after 3 weeks of use. Also, "badger funk" was minimal but present out of the box, but eliminated by the overnight break-in process. By contrast, my boar took 3 nights of break-in just to minimize the funk and another 2 weeks of use to eliminate it (though even then still present with a deep close whiff).The one minor low-point of this brush was the free included stand. It's a universal stand and not custom-made to match this brush. It's tall enough but not really deep enough to let the brush dry with a full, unhindered, bloom. The weight of the handle does, however, lend to a solution. By tilting the handle towards the back of the stand it settles at a roughly 30 degree angle from vertical, allowing the brush to dry in full bloom. I likely won't use this stand for long as I have a chrome brush/razor stand on the way, but it is a nice bonus and is perfectly useful with this brush using the above positioning.Overall, I don't think you'll do much better than this brush for around $30. You'll have to spend close to $45 to match it in knot quality and around $60 to match it in overall quality. This is indeed an excellent value for those looking to move from a boar to a badger inexpensively, especially those who mainly use creams. A well earned 5 stars and excellent value.

This is my daily shaving brush. It's quality. After 2 years, it has held up phenomenally.

Before buying this, I had never even heard of a shaving brush. I've suffered from ingrown hairs/razor burns since I was a teenager. My patchy beard grows in different directions, and some of them are curly. I've bought all kinds of razors (2-blades/3/4/ and 5 ) to see if that was the determining factor. I've also purchased different kinds of shaving cream cans with aloe / super sensitive skin... Still, I'd get the same horrid results after every shave. I went to a dermatologist and he told me the only way to "prevent" ingrown hairs/ razor burns was by either plucking them out one by one with a tweezer or using a beard trimmer. So, I got all excited and bought that, thinking that I had all my problems solved. Unfortunately,I didn't like the redness that the beard trimmer left behind on my chin nor did I enjoy the stubble look. Up until a few weeks, I had honestly just given up on my facial hair life and came to the conclusion that not all facial hairs are grown (or created) equal.. So, one day on Youtube, I saw some kind of men grooming tips video where a man demonstrated how he shaved using a shaving brush, a shaving soap and a double edge razor. As soon as I saw this, I became fascinated with the idea of rubbing that brush on my chin. I did some research before making my final investment. I learned about the different kinds of brushes and shaving soaps available on the market. Then, I took a leap of faith and purchased this badger brush.All i have to say is: WOW. This method of shaving has never even crossed my mind, and it has definitely changed my perception on getting a clean, smooth shave. Not only have I bragged about it to my family/friends like a little kid on Christmas Day, but now I'm trying to see what else can I purchase to enhance this shaving experience. I will never see shaving the same way ever again. I'm so glad I was about to find this method of shaving at such an early age. This brush is very sturdy, it has not lost a single hair nor does it have a smell. I really enjoy the plastic stand and I will definitely be back to purchase other products, as soon as I discover what's convenient to my sensitive face.