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I'm Thinking of Buying One and Only One Synthetic | Which One Should I Buy?

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Jim - please forgive the question as I'm sure you've answered it somewhere before.....

Do you face lather, bowl lather or both?

Answered in OP, but...

Face lathering is immoral but I can't stop myself.480.jpg


100% face latherer.

Also, I mash the brush into my face (spraying it), and do circles. All the practices abusive of brushes.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
This is also a very good brush. :)

From the AP Shave Co site:

View attachment 1068223

(This is the handle I have. :))

Rave,

Hold your horses...

1582930854494.png


I've not decided to buy a synthetic. I'm just kicking tires and talking to the salesmen.

That said, if there really is a synthetic worth using, one which is as good as my not expensive badgers, one which doesn't cost too much for a plastic haired brush, I might be open to giving it a spin. It's gotta be better than the few synthetics I've tried (and I've got to be convinced of that before I'm buying anything).

I also have to be convinced I wouldn't rather have spent the money on one of the few brushes I don't have and kinda sorta want. Meaning these.
  • A Zenith boar with an unbleached knot.
  • A Zenith silvertip.
  • Another Zenith Manchurian (I only have two).
  • An Omega silvertip.
  • An extra dense Maseto badger.
I'm not sorry I bought the last brush I acquired, but, looking back, I'd have been happier had I gotten myself another Zenith.

Speaking of which, I don't know anything about the Zenith synthetics and rarely see any mention of them anywhere. I do like my Zeniths.

Eagerly following this one. If you actually find a synth that you will use alongside your badgers and boars, I will buy the very same one too. I’m betting otherwise though!

I get your point.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Muhle STF - well worth the extra coin imo. Beautifully soft with reasonable backbone for a synthetic. Far less of a lather chucker than others I've tried.

They - the Muhle STF brushes - are very highly regarded by a great many gentlemen which has got to be rather telling. I'm not ruling them out, but there are a few things not in their favor as I see it.

None of these have anything to do with the quality of the knot or its performance and might be silly.
  • The brushes seem expensive to me.
  • The knots are smaller than what I usually like (unless I've not looked far enough to find big knots).
  • I'm not wild about the handles I see holding the knots.
You certainly describe (and others have as well) characteristics appealing to me.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
They - the Muhle STF brushes - are very highly regarded by a great many gentlemen which has got to be rather telling. I'm not ruling them out, but there are a few things not in their favor as I see it.

None of these have anything to do with the quality of the knot or its performance and might be silly.
  • The brushes seem expensive to me.
  • The knots are smaller than what I usually like (unless I've not looked far enough to find big knots).
  • I'm not wild about the handles I see holding the knots.
You certainly describe (and others have as well) characteristics appealing to me.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Jim, knowing you like the bigger stuff, might I recommend the West Coast Shaving Two-Tone with the Boss knot? Very big comfy handle and one of the better lather making synthetics (and also most dense and soft) I have used.

I agree reg. price. Why spend $60 for a synth when you can get a good badger for that? With a synthetic be prepared for your brush to puke water and not keep the lather warm. Yay for progress!

 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Jim, knowing you like the bigger stuff, might I recommend the West Coast Shaving Two-Tone with the Boss knot? Very big comfy handle and one of the better lather making synthetics (and also most dense and soft) I have used.

I agree reg. price. Why spend $60 for a synth when you can get a good badger for that? With a synthetic be prepared for your brush to puke water and not keep the lather warm. Yay for progress!


They're out of stock right now.

I'd not considered the issue of keeping the lather warm. I use to be a cold water shaver but have, since August, 2019, been using hot water, and, in the last few months, a small Moss scuttle (which is the right size for any brush; I wouldn't mind if it were smaller and taller).

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
I too desperately prefer natural hair brushes (specifically Badger) but own one synthetic (I sold my previous forays into nylon brushes).

it’s a Muhle travel brush. Its really where imo synthetics shine. Their low maintenance and durability is perfect for being on the road.
 
They're out of stock right now.

I'd not considered the issue of keeping the lather warm. I use to be a cold water shaver but have, since August, 2019, been using hot water, and, in the last few months, a small Moss scuttle (which is the right size for any brush; I wouldn't mind if it were smaller and taller).

Happy shaves,

Jim

If you like red, they still have these. The scuttle will keep you warm enough I'd think. If you're bowl-lathering, synthetics are a different story. Although immoral, I am a stone cold face-latherer and judge all brushes on that alone.

 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
The Omega Evo has been mentioned. I like the handle selection. Anyway, here's a review.

They're not cheap.


No idea about the accuracy of the review of course.

He says it's a nice brush but somewhat springy. He also says it's much like two or three of the brushes already favorably mentioned especially the Muhle STF.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
I would recommend either APShaveCo's Cashmere or SynBad knots - they are soft (Cashmere is slightly softer), have good backbone (SynBad a little more), and they both splay easily and lather excellently for an excellent price. Yaqi's Mew Brown knot is another name for the SynBad, I think, so if you like the Moka Express handle better go with that. If you're only going to get one - I'd go for the SynBad as it's not as polarizing as the Cashmere which some people think is a little floppy.
 
I'm not interested in spending a lot on the brush so no Simpsons and such (unless you're a master enabler).

I tend to like larger brushes which means 24 mm knots and up unless there's something peculiar about synthetics such that only smaller brushes are acceptable. I like backbone and scrub and am 100% a face latherer. I use soaps and not creams.
I really like the Fine Stout too.
I agree with @bigbrucefan. The Fine Accoutrements "Stout" might fit the bill.

It's a Chubby clone with a 24mm Angel Hair knot. I find that it has decent backbone and splays easily. And, as a bonus, the customer service at Fine is top-notch.

Comes in a bunch of colours to suit your tastes:
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I would wait until Simpsons Trafalgar become more widely available and see a little more reviews.
First impressions from the Italian forum (goodle translated) are highly praised and they seem to have an adequate backbone due to density (I believe density is the key factor for synths to have backbone).
Honestly I am eyeballing one but wait until they become locally available.
I’ve been thinking about getting one of these. Are they hard to get in the States?
 
Steve @Graydog does an incredible job with the 26mm Full Moon knot:

View attachment 1068146

View attachment 1068147

The Mühle 25mm Silver Tip Synthetic (also used, under a different name, by Edwin Jaeger and Frank Shaving) is an excellent all around brush:

View attachment 1068153

The 26mm Shavemac Fan has also become one of my 'go to' brushes:

View attachment 1068155

All of these brushes will, in my opinion, hold their own for face or bowl lathering and against a big chunk of the brushes on the market, knot type notwithstanding.

Just my opinion and YMMV :)
Do I smell lilac vegetal synthetic cat pee.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
I've been reading about the Simpson Trafalgar.

I know I said Simpsons were out of my league, but these are budget Simpsons, and certainly within my price range going by the price for the T2 at Superior Shave.

Here's a link to a B&B thread on the Simpson Trafalgar. Some gentlemen like it. Some don't. Fancy that.

On a related note, I've tried a couple of the brushes mentioned in this thread and found them not to my liking. Springy! Makes me wonder if all synthetic are springy?

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
I've copied and pasted this post from another thread because it has information of interest to me as I consider these brushes.

The Omega Evo is a great brush.

My two favorite brushes are the AP ShaveCo 2Bed which is a very good synthetic interpretation of an old worn-in pure badger. It isn't overly dense and it splays if you so much as look at it, and it is just a tad scritchy but it lathers well and it "feels right" to me because it reminds me of the old TOBS pure badger that was my first brush and brings back good memories.

The Evo synth is a step up from that. It's a dense soft-tipped lather monster. It isn't very springy as has been mentioned. It splays naturally with moderate pressure even though it is dense. It paints beautifully too. It feels like a high end brush and the head is big and generous. I've never used a better synthetic. If the price doesn't bother you and you like big dense luxurious knots, it's a great choice. Ruds has a good review of it (posted above in this thread, so removed here).

Pretty sure he likes the Evo!

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
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