Things to consider when buying first badger brush?

So I am looking at buying my first badger brush I currently use boar. And dislike synthetic. The three brushes I am considering are Simpsons Duke 3, Semouge OC two band and the Epsilon burgandy two band. https://www.giftsandcare.com/en/epsilon-...225mm.html

Anything I should know about a badger hair brush before I pick one?

If you're in the US think about trying a Stirling 26 mm finest. I love mine and mine is everything that the others in my collection are for 1/8th the price. That way, you can see if you like badger brushes without spending too much.

I was thinking about that but I can get the epsilon for around the same price where I live and it’s a hand made knot.

I found Epsilon knots to be a bit prickly for my tastes. Not scritchy, but prickly, which irritated my skin a bit too much to use very often. Not sure which specific model you were looking at in their range, but between the prickly hair and incredible density of the knot I tried, I just never found myself using it.

My most-used brush is an SOC 2-band, which I love and would recommend if you like good scrub and a hint of scritch with what I consider to be probably the most comfortable handle style out there. It did require a bit of breaking in for me, and the knot improved for about a month of use.

On Simpsons:

Simpson knots today are every bit as nice as they were back when the Simpson family were making the shaving brushes. The Duke is a great handle and I have three of them, two experienced and one modern. The Duke 3 is about the same overall height as the Chubby 2 or the 56 and other mid size Simpsons. The Best Badger knot is just slightly less dense than the Chubby with great backbone and soft tips.

All 3 brushes are from excellent companies and probably excellent brushes. There may not be a bad choice and you will probably be happy with the purchase

Perhaps list the characteristics of the boar brush you like or do not like for the synthetics. I would include handle shape. Find something close in those 3 brushes.

Hey everyone thanks for the replies! Some good information all around.

Spend a tad more and get an Elite Razor Manchurian. You definitely won't regret it. I had a Duke 3 in finest and it had a fair amount of scritch that drove me nuts.

Paladin or Brad Sears/M&F brushes might also be an option.

The three brushes you have listed are very different...it would be helpful to know what you like, dislike in the brushes you have tried and how you prefer to lather?

I have one of the first Epislons and it is a fantastic super dense large knot - soft as a cloud with great backbone from the density...not sure how the current ones are.

The Duke 3 is a medium size brush with medium density and the SOC is almost a small brush (for me anyway) with a rather high loft.

If price is of concern, maybe check out Maseto brushes on Ebay as well - fantastic value for money.

If you just want to be happy, get a Paladin. Email/message Ken and he will point you into the right direction. My first high-end badger was from him and I never looked back