Got a couple of new brushes that aren't talked about here much. Maybe they should be.

KENT BK2

I was looking for something a bit smaller than my BK8. The initial plan was to pick up a BK4, but then I stumbled on a bargain price on the BK2. With the discount code prominently displayed on the website, it ended up being just under $50 shipped to California. Shipping from England took eight days.

This brush is a departure from Kent's naming convention: the BK12 has a 31mm knot, the BK8 has a 26mm knot, the BK4 has a 23mm knot. Sensing a pattern here? Well, the BK2 is exactly the same size as the BK4; the difference is that the latter uses silvertip hair and the former uses pure grey badger.

But this isn't your typical pure badger brush. The knot is clearly hand-formed, not clipped into shape. Looking through a loupe, it appears that some hairs have been cut, but most have natural tips. They're a lot coarser than the silvertip hairs, but that's not entirely a bad thing - the brush has a decent amount of backbone.

This is true even though the loft is set fairly tall. This leads to a dramatic bloom that is typical of Kent badger. The hybrid shape (somewhere between a bulb and a fan) and the wide bloom make this a big 22mm brush.

I used this brush 10 days in a row, and really think it's a contender in the $50 price class. Construction is absolutely top-notch, and although the hair isn't as fine as Kent silvertip it's much nicer stuff than any "pure" badger I've used before. A bit of scritch, but not prickly at all - I'd put it well ahead of Edwin Jagger best badger and comparable to WSP finest and Simpsons best.

Some retailers sell this brush for ~$100. At that price my recommendation would be a little less enthusiastic. But when you can get a quality brush from an equity brand at a price that's competitive with WSP and Fine Accoutrements, you've got to at least consider it as an option.

VIE LONG EPSILON

Vie Long Epsilon is a series of limited edition brushes made for Gifts & Care. They all have stubby black handles and 26mm knots set at 50mm. I got one with the fan-shaped white horse hair knot. Using coupon code "B&B" it was just under $40 shipped from Spain. Delivery almost two weeks.

I've only used this brush twice, but am very, very impressed. I expected the large knot, but was surprised by the density and the softness of the tips. The horse hair brushes I've used up until now haven't been uncomfortable, but they've all been pretty scritchy. Using this thing is like punching yourself in the face with a cloud.

I've had problems with horse hair tangling, so I deliberately abused this brush a bit to see if it would develop the "doughnut hole" that precedes a tangle. No matter how hard I mashed while making circular motions, it never appeared. That's not to say that the brush is going to be tangle-proof, but I'm guessing the short loft and the density of the knot are going to provide significant protection against tangling.

My only complaint so far is flow-through: this brush exacts a very heavy lather tax. If you're down to your last gram or two of soap, it will eat that up and give you nothing back. Hopefully this tendency will fade as it breaks in.

I've only got two shaves under my belt, but I'm gonna come right out and say that this is by far the best horse hair brush I have ever used. If you're interested in how a really good horse brush performs, you may want to consider jumping on one before they're gone. (Actually, the fan-shaped knots are already gone, but there are still a few brushes with bulb-shaped knots in stock. The white brush is a 50/50 blend of mane and tail hair; the brown is 35/65, so it'll have even more backbone and maybe a bit of scritch.) Hopefully Vie-Long will make another run of these brushes; I'd love to see them more widely known. Currently, though, supplies are very limited...