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Two Band/Bristle Mixed knot (Oumo) 24mm Brushes

So I placed a big alibaba order from Oumo and got myself all the 24mm knots I could ever want In mixed hair/bristle fans.

I've made six so far.

Two on the left are significantly softer than the rest. You can see how much they bloom compared to the others. Not certain at this point if it's less boar in them, a different 2 band, or just a little more room at the opening of the handles that let them bloom that big.

The one on the very right is for comparison it's an APLuxury 70/30 mixed 24mm fan I've had about a year.

Handles are three unknown maker vintage Butterscotches, an EverReady 750, a Modern Duke 1, A Vintage Simpson, and an Unknown vintage butterscotch.

Lofts are 44mm to 47mm.

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I LOOOOVE the handle on the far right one. So comfortable. I have a second one waiting for a knot too. Probably tied with the Eagle for my favorite handle shape.

The center is an EverReady 750. They are pretty easy to snag on eBay... it was a popular brush. They are VERY well made for EverReady's, solid, turned (I assume), quite comfy and I agree, good looking handles. They're my go to for an affordable Butterscotch handle to reknot.

The Barrel handle I like just because they're rare and cute imho.

The square handle is a Germany/Eastern Europe style. Don't see them often made of solid bakelite, so I like it for that uniqueness.

The Far left is a nice comfy handle, not quite as nice as the far right though.
 
Lately I have been a sucker for butterscotch color. Haven't bought anything yet but I'm working with someone to make me a blank somewhere between yellow, amber and butterscotch for a razor handle I want. He is working on several blanks actually and I'm going to hopefully get 3 blanks. 2 for razor handles one for a brush. The other razor handle will be mostly red.
 
It's not the best lit picture, but the color on that middle brush is fantastic. It's heading towards that dark, almost reddish brown butterscotch that you see on the really old (pre 1960's) simpsons.

I'll have to keep my eyes open to see if I come across any modern brushes that replicate it well.
 
It's not the best lit picture, but the color on that middle brush is fantastic. It's heading towards that dark, almost reddish brown butterscotch that you see on the really old (pre 1960's) simpsons.

I'll have to keep my eyes open to see if I come across any modern brushes that replicate it well.

I really really wanted a yellow and a red Ender's Speed shaver. They are pretty hard to find and the few I've seen have been well out of my price range. The black handle ones are pretty common so I decided to get a few and make custom handles for them. A vintage yellow bakelite blank would be awesome but probably harder to find than the razor. At least they made plenty of beautiful brushes.
 
So 5 of the 6 brushes I made got lathered yesterday and dried today.

These knots DO have that "gel tip" Manchurian in it. It doesn't look like they're entirely that hair... and there even seems to be different amounts of it in each knot... but basically... the softer knots have more of it. They are clumped together and crunchy now that they've dried JUST like the gel tips do. And as I move down the line (I organized them with how much scrub they hand left to right), the hairs are less clumped and the tops less crunchy.

It's wild, No two knots appear to have the same ratio of those gel tip hairs to the standard ones... but one pattern is extremely evident:

Softer (when wet), and less backbone/scrub = more of the "gel tip" hairs. The one in the barrel brush looks like it's almost entirely the gel-tip manchurian... It's ALL clumped up and almost rock hard on the tips now (dry), and it was crazy soft when I used it yesterday.


It's funny, I asked them if they could make these knots with that hair and they told me no, it's in too short supply... but they CLEARLY used some of it in these knots. It's exactly how people describe that stuff... the tips dried crusty and hard, then I brush it against something a few times and the clumps break apart and it softens up considerably.... but every knot doesn't have the same amount of it.

This couldn't be better for me. Now I can make all these brushes with a knot I love... and every one will be subtly different.
 
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Yesterdays brush today:


Pulled out of my stand, and after brushing against my hand:


Does this look like the "gel tip" stuff to the guys with those knots?
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Latest creation:

RO Delorme (I think it's a rebadged Plisson) faux tortoise handle. Was 19mm originally and floppy as could be so out it went and I opened it up and put one of these beauties in there LOOOOOW. Gonna be my lowest yet @ 42mm.


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Really interesting knots. I’ve gotten a gel tip since and I’m not a big fan. Too soft. No character and don’t lather great imho. These knots seem to fix that. They lather great, have lots of scrub. What the gel hair does is the knots seem impossible to set too low. They bloom Nicely no matter how low I set them. I’ll try under 40mm and see if that goes even Further.

Another trait is that soaking seems to have a big impact on how scrubby they are. About a minute soak and the highest loft one still has some scrub. Soak a few minutes and even the lower loft ones soften up a lot.
 
Built two more late last night and washed them up just now.

Now I’ve got...

40mm
41mm
42mm
44mm (2)
45mm
46mm (3)
And 52mm (apshaveco knot)


This mixed knot fan is great at any loft so far.

Left two right are 9 from this batch (70/30 mixed 24mm Fan),

Then one from a previous batch, same knot

Then two of the same mix/diameter but in bulb shape

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I’ve got six vintage butterscotch handles drilled out to 24 mm, Ready to go when I feel like I need another brush, And then another seven vintage butterscotch brushes that I’m debating, because the knots are still good they’re just not what I like.
 

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Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
I’ve got six vintage butterscotch handles drilled out to 24 mm, Ready to go when I feel like I need another brush, And then another seven vintage butterscotch brushes that I’m debating, because the knots are still good they’re just not what I like.

Truly amazing. I have no idea where you get all those great handles. Secret source?

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
So been using these brushes on and off and Yeah 40-42mm is the floor imho. They're definitely about as stiff as I want them at that level.

So everything from ~40mm-51mm (and possibly higher) is fantastic. Which is nice, I can set knots at the height I think suits each handle best within a nice wide range and be confident the brush is gonna be good.
 
How does this knot compare to the Maggards 70/30? I have one set at 54mm and it is by far my favorite knot to shave with.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
How does this knot compare to the Maggards 70/30? I have one set at 54mm and it is by far my favorite knot to shave with.

I can't answer your question, but I also am interested in the answer.


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I have a 26 mm 70/30 knot, too. I like it. It seems to be breaking in, but pretty slowly. How long have you had yours and how long did the break in process take? Mine still has a bit more pokiness than I'd like it to have; however, not so much that I don't like the knot.

The photo is of my 70/30 prior to today's shave. My loft is in the neighborhood of 50 mm or maybe 52 mm; I've forgotten exactly.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
I have two maggard 70/30 24mm bulbs and one APshave 70/30 24mm fan.


Those three knots are basically identical except the shape.

Both are a bit more backbone/stiffer than these.

I suspect the only difference is these knots have slightly more treatment/gelling done. Density seems the same.

That said, I would expect when Maggard or APshave restock, they're probably getting the same knots I got (as I believe their source is also Oumo)... so whenever they sell out of their last batches and get a new shipment in, my guess is the knots will be the same. Oumo's min order for these knots is 25... (though they may sell singles through aliexpress? I went through alibaba)... and with a 25 order you don't really save much (~$20/ after fees and shipping vs $26/) so I'd just order from APshaveco (or maggard if they start carrying the fans). I love these knots, but they're no better or worse than the old batch one I've got from APshaveco... just a little different.

Beyond that, I will say that I much prefer the fan shape to the bulbs in general, but that's a personal preference thing. The fans have more of a wall of hairs and don't really need to be splayed much at all to lather. Bulbs I find need to be splayed a little more and consequently the lathering has more sides of hairs vs tips of hairs on the face. I prefer more tips. Both are great knots, but 9/10 times I'm grabbing the fan.
 
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