Zenith Manchurian.
Any time brush recommendation threads pop up we always see the big favorites thrown around...
Dukes and Chubbies from Simpson
STF from Muhle
Yaqi Tuxedos
Omega and Semogue boars
Any decent performing brushes out there, flying under the radar, that get less air time than they should? I'd love to hear 'em
Oumo...
Like Yaqi, they have a lot on Aliexpress (knots, handles, complete brushes). They're probably the supplier of a lot of the SHD badger knots out there. I know Wild West Brushworks uses Oumo badger knots. I believe they are also the producer of the Motherload synthetic.
Other seliers have been using Yaqi made knots and brushes produced for them. I'm pretty sure my Stirling tuxedo and AP Shave Co SynBad are Yaqi knots.
DS Cosmetic on Aliexpress is worth a look too.
You and me both. My SBAD would be so, so much worse were it not for my finding brushes larger than 22mm to be obnoxious and unwieldy.I like the look of the Oku brushes from California. Thankfully for my wallet, every brush I see that interests me, including the Oku range, is far too large.
I've wanted an AP Cashmere for a while.I'll throw a vote in here for my AP Shave Co. red and ivory handled, 26mm Cashmere knot brush.
It is, without doubt, the softest brush I've ever used. Beautifully gentle on the face, and it splays easily too. The knot is very dense, so backbone is plenty good enough even for the hardest of soaps.
If you like a brush with a bit of scrub, or like a brush with a lot of backbone, this might be one to avoid. But, it's fast become one of my favourites. Particularly when you take the price into account, it blows the competition out of the water for me.
I suspect, but may well be wrong, that a 22mm version of the cashmere might be a bit too floppyI've wanted an AP Cashmere for a while.
If only he offered 22mm variants like he does for SynBad.
+1 on the RazoRock synthetic. I think they are a great value. Mine lathers any soap easily.Personally I like to buy sales, Razorock Plissoft and Yaqi synthetics are good brushes and can be had for reasonable prices. I'm going to try my 1st new natural hair 2 band badger hair and a 2nd boar brush recently purchased(Yaqi sale). Breaking in a boar brush can be just a different experience. I did every thing wrong to break in a boar brush properly because of animal funk smell(Greenhorn learning). A good boar broke in is a nice change of lathering every once in a while from the supreme synthetic brushes that are out there. Semogue makes nice boar brushes IMO. Omega makes well built boar brushes also after torturing that brush knot from boiling to microwaving to using MrClean harsh cleaning detergent and is nicely broke in now but done wrong.
Have some great shaves!
+2 The luxurious feel of a $200-$300 brush for a third of the price.Maseto brushes don’t seem to get too much discussion.