Synthetic/vegan brush shootout: Omega, Rooney, men-u, Muehle
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I have found the Men-U to be excellent. Surprisingly for a synthetic product, I think it has actually improved with time (one might expect it to stay the same): the bristles have got a bit less spring in them now (I suppose the polymer-strings must have fatigued or something), which makes for better lather and a better feel on the face. I find that the brush works best when I use a fairly thick lather - that way I get some 'suction', which brings the experience closer to that of using a good badger brush.
Where did you get the Cyril R. Salter brush from?
Kent has a line of brushes called the Visage range. I've mailed them asking what they are made of, haven't had a reply so far. The descriptions say things which make me uncertain if they are talking about synthetic or boar: "blended filaments for use with shaving gel", "badger effect pure bristle filling" and "pure bristle with badger effect".
I'd seen them too, so I emailed Kent Brushes saying "Do you make a synthetic shave brush (ie not animal hair)?" and received the following reply:
"Hi David
I'm very sorry but we don't all, our shaving brushes are either bristle
(boar hair) or badger.
Kind regards
Diane"
So there you are. Edwin Jagger produce 3 synthetic brushes of varying prices, their cheapest one might be my next purchase. Also, I found a mad Gothic styled synthetic one that I want to buy just because it looks so odd.
Ah, right. Thanks for clearing that up.
Where did you see the Jagger synthetic brushes?
Where did you see the Jagger synthetic brushes?
http://www.theenglishshavingcompany.com/cgi-bin/psProdDet.cgi/CIESBbb
Of all the brushes on the site only three have "synthetic badger" listed as an option. I'm presuming it's not animal hair but haven't emailed them yet (ok, now I have), if it was boar it'd probably be listed as "bristle". At present I have the Taylors of Old Bond Street medium "Imitation Badger" and the Muhle synthetic brush No. 31A824 (clear and blue acrylic handle). I'll be putting them both up for sale/trade if I find the Jagger brush more to my liking.
At almost £50, this one is expensive for a synthetic but it looks funky
http://www.spellowhouse.com/gothic_shaving.php
I'd like to try the Rooney synthetic but even though it's made in England it's impossible to find here. Classicshaving.com in the US seem to be the only people stocking it. Also, Amazon.com stock the Omega synthetic although it would cost me the price of the brush and more to post it to the UK.
Of all the brushes on the site only three have "synthetic badger" listed as an option. I'm presuming it's not animal hair but haven't emailed them yet (ok, now I have), if it was boar it'd probably be listed as "bristle". At present I have the Taylors of Old Bond Street medium "Imitation Badger" and the Muhle synthetic brush No. 31A824 (clear and blue acrylic handle). I'll be putting them both up for sale/trade if I find the Jagger brush more to my liking.
At almost £50, this one is expensive for a synthetic but it looks funky
http://www.spellowhouse.com/gothic_shaving.php
I'd like to try the Rooney synthetic but even though it's made in England it's impossible to find here. Classicshaving.com in the US seem to be the only people stocking it. Also, Amazon.com stock the Omega synthetic although it would cost me the price of the brush and more to post it to the UK.
Ah, I had checked the englishshaving website, but just browsed over anything that had best/pure/etc badger in the name. I bet the gothic one is exactly the same as the normal Jagger, but with a decorated handle. A bit different look can be nice, but if you don't even know if you're going to like the brush, an extra £17 is a bit steep.
On another note, I've picked up a brush from the Body Shop. I know it's had quite a bad rap over here, but the one I've got is really quite nice in its own way. Doesn't shed hairs, has some sort of varnish on the wood (instead of being totally rough like the one you can see on the Body Shop website), and most surprisingly doesn't have hairs which are trimmed at the top, but actually end in tips. Guess I got lucky, or perhaps they've gotten better suppliers.
On another note, I've picked up a brush from the Body Shop. I know it's had quite a bad rap over here, but the one I've got is really quite nice in its own way. Doesn't shed hairs, has some sort of varnish on the wood (instead of being totally rough like the one you can see on the Body Shop website), and most surprisingly doesn't have hairs which are trimmed at the top, but actually end in tips. Guess I got lucky, or perhaps they've gotten better suppliers.
The Body Shop brush has had a bad time in the forums but I might check it out as it's pretty cheap. It's also one of the few brushes I can actually walk into the store and check out before I buy too.
And yes, the Gothic brush is made by Edwin Jagger so it's probably identical but for the handle. As I'm not a goth I'll give it a miss. Should I ever become a vampire however, it will be my brush of choice!
And yes, the Gothic brush is made by Edwin Jagger so it's probably identical but for the handle. As I'm not a goth I'll give it a miss. Should I ever become a vampire however, it will be my brush of choice!
Looks like they've updated the picture on the website. My Body Shop brush looks like the one you can see here. A week or so ago they had a different picture up.
Jumping into this a bit late I think,
I have the Men-U synthetic, as well as the Omega Syntex synthetic, and have to disagree; to me, the Men-U synthetic is softer than the Omega, somewhere between the feel of natural boar and badger...just my opinion, of course...and the Omega is closer in feel to a broken in boar bristle brush.
FWIW I like both of them.
I purchased my Omega Syntex from Old Dominion (do they have their own brand now?) and the Men-U "Premiere" synthetic direct from Men-U through a group "good deal" awhile back over on MSN wetshavers group.
I used the Men-U for around 3 years as a detachment brush; wonderful brush. I think I could make toothpaste lather with that thing. I've only more recently gotten the Omega, and have been using it almost exclusively during the last 3 or 4 weeks (all my "good" stuff is still in storage) with a Wilkinson Sword shave stick. I am very pleased with this brush and feel it is one of the "good deals" left out there. For less than you would spend on a meal at McDonalds.
I'm not sure if they are the same ones, but I've seen some really tiny, chintzy looking brushes at the body shop-perhaps they will work but I would steer clear. Buy their shave cream, instead-it really IS good.
John P.
I have the Men-U synthetic, as well as the Omega Syntex synthetic, and have to disagree; to me, the Men-U synthetic is softer than the Omega, somewhere between the feel of natural boar and badger...just my opinion, of course...and the Omega is closer in feel to a broken in boar bristle brush.
FWIW I like both of them.
I purchased my Omega Syntex from Old Dominion (do they have their own brand now?) and the Men-U "Premiere" synthetic direct from Men-U through a group "good deal" awhile back over on MSN wetshavers group.
I used the Men-U for around 3 years as a detachment brush; wonderful brush. I think I could make toothpaste lather with that thing. I've only more recently gotten the Omega, and have been using it almost exclusively during the last 3 or 4 weeks (all my "good" stuff is still in storage) with a Wilkinson Sword shave stick. I am very pleased with this brush and feel it is one of the "good deals" left out there. For less than you would spend on a meal at McDonalds.
I'm not sure if they are the same ones, but I've seen some really tiny, chintzy looking brushes at the body shop-perhaps they will work but I would steer clear. Buy their shave cream, instead-it really IS good.
John P.
Better late than never 
The old Body Shop brush is awful, the new version they sell is quite good. YMMV of course, apart from where the old brush was concerned. It was truly awful.
The old Body Shop brush is awful, the new version they sell is quite good. YMMV of course, apart from where the old brush was concerned. It was truly awful.
The body shop near me stopped carrying the shaving cream in the tub (still have the tube), and they only have the old brushes, hope it's not a trend. I'll keep an eye out for the new ones though.
J
Omega makes a few synthetic brushes, the one people usually talk about is the $10-ish Syntex (or Sintex). That's the one you'll find in the first post of this thread. I haven't read anyone's experiences with the more expensive Omegas.
Well this thread is a bit old - but i would throw my support behind the Body Shop Brush... my experience is limited to well, just the Body Shop brush, but it has been very good to me. ... and as a UW Madison Alumni, I have a hard time taking a badger's hair 
m
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There are MUCH better synthetic brushes than the Body Shop offering BUT for value for money, you can't beat it.
I have both the Body Shop brush and the EJ synthetic. I love the EJ best. It makes great lather in my mug and is plenty soft for lathering on my face. The BS brush has stiffer bristles, but is a good value for the money. It's now in my travel kit. I got the EJ from the Old English Shaving Shop. It was about $38 inc. shipping.
www.theenglishshavingcompany.com/
www.theenglishshavingcompany.com/
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On a whim, I ordered Goldennib's nylon knot for $8.95 which was described as "This is a synthetic nylon knot, very, very soft for your sensitive skin. 23mm x 65mm Softness 1 ". Tony grades softness from 1 to 5 with 1 being the softness. I installed the knot in a old bakelite with aluminum top brush.
I was really surprising how soft this top felt. It's now in my regular rotation along with some silvertip badger brushes. Its different from the badger but a great alternative to badger. I enjoy it for face lathering
I wish I could compare it to the other synthetic brushes. I may have to buy one in the near future. Maybe the EJ is on my purchase list once my ship comes in.
I was really surprising how soft this top felt. It's now in my regular rotation along with some silvertip badger brushes. Its different from the badger but a great alternative to badger. I enjoy it for face lathering
I wish I could compare it to the other synthetic brushes. I may have to buy one in the near future. Maybe the EJ is on my purchase list once my ship comes in.
I can't seem to find this knot on their website - can you post a link?
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