- Thread starter
- #41
You're killing me, Rave!Too many good brushes. The competition is too tight.
My first APShaveco Brushes arrived
- Thread starter Raven Koenes
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Great reviews here Rave....
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- #43
Why thank you muzichead! Tomorrow my yet as untried Cashmere is up. I've been most curious about this brush as it's supposed to be the softest. They say the Motherload knot is, but I've also heard it is glorified makeup brush fiber turned into a shaving brush. This shouldn't make a difference to me but it does. I think this is because the fibers were borrowed for instead of developed for shaving brushes. At any rate, I have the desired amount of brushes for my rotations. I like to think I researched value and cost well with them.Great reviews here Rave....
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- #44
APShaveco Cashmere review:You're killing me, Rave!
Razor: Fatip Ulivo
Blade: GSB (9)
Brush: APShaveco Cashmere
Cream: Figaro Monsieur Gold
Aftershave: Osage Rub
This was my first use with my APShaveco Cashmere. It loaded soap easily as synthetics seem to do. The hairs are thin and super soft, yet there was an underlying slight prickliness like my Synbad. So my Synbad does have the same softness as the Cashmere and are very similar. My Cashmere is not as dense so you do not get that wall of pillow soft feeling. On the other hand the Cashmere is as soft and has pinpoint accuracy while painting. Both brushes have good splay and excellent product flow through. The slight prickliness is not exactly scritch, so I'll put it up to having scrub. It is the same underlying feeling I get from my Plissoft brush though not as pronounced in the Cashmere or Synbad. All four brushes I have from APShaveco are definitely keepers, and though the variations between each brush is slight, as far as softness, there is enough difference to keep my rotation interesting.
At this point my top two are the Silksmoke and the Tuxedo. I think anyone interested in synthetic shaving brushes would be doing themselves a favor by getting a Silksmoke. The Silksmoke is soft and splays well without the underlying Plissoft feel. It also has pinpoint accuracy while painting. The Tuxedo is not as soft but it does not have the underlying prickly feeling of a Plissoft either. It has a wall of Pillow soft feel as well. It is also dense with a lot of backbone. I don't know yet which I prefer between the Cashmere and Synbad. The wall of pillow cushion of the Synbad is very nice along with the ease of splay of a badger, and the pin point accuracy of the Cashmere is spot on. All four APShaveco brushes are worth getting imo. I just have a personal preference for the Silksmoke and Tuxedo for the reasons stated above. Tomorrow I will revisit my APShaveco Synbad as promised.
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Excellent brushes all of them , i have the Silksmoke and the Flat top 24mm uBrush and they are my top brushes for croaps and creams .... i wonder if i should pull the trigger for a Tuxedo uBrush...
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- #46
I think so. It all depends on how big a fan of splay you are. The Tuxedo does have splay to it, but if you are expecting the ease of splay of your Silksmoke you may be disappointed. I just really like the feel and performance of my Tuxedo.
- Thread starter
- #47
Oops, I posted the wrong Picture above. That is my Synbad and not my Cashmere...good morning.
Correct picture with review:
APShaveco Cashmere review:
Razor: Fatip Ulivo
Blade: GSB (9)
Brush: APShaveco Cashmere
Cream: Figaro Monsieur Gold
Aftershave: Osage Rub
This was my first use with my APShaveco Cashmere. It loaded soap easily as synthetics seem to do. The hairs are thin and super soft, yet there was an underlying slight prickliness like my Synbad. So my Synbad does have the same softness as the Cashmere and are very similar. My Cashmere is not as dense so you do not get that wall of pillow soft feeling. On the other hand the Cashmere is as soft and has pinpoint accuracy while painting. Both brushes have good splay and excellent product flow through. The slight prickliness is not exactly scritch, so I'll put it up to having scrub. It is the same underlying feeling I get from my Plissoft brush though not as pronounced in the Cashmere or Synbad. All four brushes I have from APShaveco are definitely keepers, and though the variations between each brush is slight, as far as softness, there is enough difference to keep my rotation interesting.
At this point my top two are the Silksmoke and the Tuxedo. I think anyone interested in synthetic shaving brushes would be doing themselves a favor by getting a Silksmoke. The Silksmoke is soft and splays well without the underlying Plissoft feel. It also has pinpoint accuracy while painting. The Tuxedo is not as soft but it does not have the underlying prickly feeling of a Plissoft either. It has a wall of Pillow soft feel as well. It is also dense with a lot of backbone. I don't know yet which I prefer between the Cashmere and Synbad. The wall of pillow cushion of the Synbad is very nice along with the ease of splay of a badger, and the pin point accuracy of the Cashmere is spot on. All four APShaveco brushes are worth getting imo. I just have a personal preference for the Silksmoke and Tuxedo for the reasons stated above. Tomorrow I will revisit my APShaveco Synbad as promised.
Hello Rave,
"Wall of Softness" is the name of my new band!!
I got the SynBad in the Blue Lagoon handle with the 24mm knot in May. Almost four weeks to the day, the 30mm SynBad Great Wall of Softness arrived. It is everything wonderful that the 24mm has, but none of the almost scritch. This concerned me, as I think that blue lagoon handle with its chatoyancy effect (word of the day for me! thanks @John Rose!) just captivates me. So I sent an email to Andrew regarding it. Here is a copy of what he wrote back.
So I spent a fun (seriously, I enjoyed it, must be the BOSC thing) 30 minutes or so going through the brush looking for inverted fibers. I found about 16 and removed them. The 24mm is greatly improved. I believe there are a couple more inverts in there, but the almost scritch is almost gone. I feel it maybe once in three pass lather session. The only bother it is to me now is that I know what the problem is and that I should fix it!
And, Rave, I didn't really need another dose of the enhancer, but your description of the Silk smoke has me wanting to check the out! I just picked up a Yaqi Mew Brown in the Purple haze handle. Same fibers as SynBad, per Andrew, but he packs his more densely (info from another thread, email exchange a fellow member posted). The Yaqi doesn't have as much loft as the synbad, so it feels more scrubby, losing that wall of softness effect, in my face's opinion.
I have also had a Frank Shaving Pur-Tech (yup, I went on a synth binge, while listening to Kraftwerk and other 80s synth bands!!). It was also way too scrubby for me, set really low and stubby-like. It has moved to greener pastures.
Thanks for the great reviews! Looking forward to what is next!
"Wall of Softness" is the name of my new band!!
I got the SynBad in the Blue Lagoon handle with the 24mm knot in May. Almost four weeks to the day, the 30mm SynBad Great Wall of Softness arrived. It is everything wonderful that the 24mm has, but none of the almost scritch. This concerned me, as I think that blue lagoon handle with its chatoyancy effect (word of the day for me! thanks @John Rose!) just captivates me. So I sent an email to Andrew regarding it. Here is a copy of what he wrote back.
Hey Eric,
Thanks for the kind words! All the knots (including the 30mm) are set at 12mm deep. I think its just how it looks on the website for some reason.
For the tad bit of pokieness, if you see any brown tipped hairs in the 24mm knot then you could potentially remove them as they’re upside down hairs within the knot if you don’t want that pokiness. For some reason theres seems to be a couple more in the 24mm batch than 30mm knot.
26mm is planned, but will probably be early 2019, just too busy at the moment to get everything planned.
Hope that helps!!
Andrew
Thanks for the kind words! All the knots (including the 30mm) are set at 12mm deep. I think its just how it looks on the website for some reason.
For the tad bit of pokieness, if you see any brown tipped hairs in the 24mm knot then you could potentially remove them as they’re upside down hairs within the knot if you don’t want that pokiness. For some reason theres seems to be a couple more in the 24mm batch than 30mm knot.
26mm is planned, but will probably be early 2019, just too busy at the moment to get everything planned.
Hope that helps!!
Andrew
So I spent a fun (seriously, I enjoyed it, must be the BOSC thing) 30 minutes or so going through the brush looking for inverted fibers. I found about 16 and removed them. The 24mm is greatly improved. I believe there are a couple more inverts in there, but the almost scritch is almost gone. I feel it maybe once in three pass lather session. The only bother it is to me now is that I know what the problem is and that I should fix it!
And, Rave, I didn't really need another dose of the enhancer, but your description of the Silk smoke has me wanting to check the out! I just picked up a Yaqi Mew Brown in the Purple haze handle. Same fibers as SynBad, per Andrew, but he packs his more densely (info from another thread, email exchange a fellow member posted). The Yaqi doesn't have as much loft as the synbad, so it feels more scrubby, losing that wall of softness effect, in my face's opinion.
I have also had a Frank Shaving Pur-Tech (yup, I went on a synth binge, while listening to Kraftwerk and other 80s synth bands!!). It was also way too scrubby for me, set really low and stubby-like. It has moved to greener pastures.
Thanks for the great reviews! Looking forward to what is next!
- Thread starter
- #49
Ahhhh! The downside, or upside down side, to synthetics. It should be an interesting task hunting them down on my Synbad. Did you clip them or did you pull them? The Cashmere on the other hand would be a logistical nightmare as the color is a uniform white-yellowish-tan. It is something I can live with, but on the other hand the full affect of how the brushes were intended to feel is not there.
The Silksmoke really is a very good brush. It was recommended to me by @mata_66. I have zero regrets buying it.
I may have to pull up my old Kraftwerk today on my Ipod. Yes, I have an old Ipod. I have over five hundred albums on it. I like to keep my music separate from my Smartphone. Of course none of this compares to the analog sound of my albums.
I plucked them out. Reminds me of the old Carol Burnett show, where she is this homely woman with one dark solid eyebrow. Traveling salesman asks if she ever had just two eyebrows, and she says....Yes, but I plucked the top one!
Kraftwerk. I had a two year infatuation in high school, when I wasn't listening to Rush. "Meet many people. And David Bowie." from Trans Europe Express.
Now I want to hear Autobahn! I had the non-ipod mp3 player. And it went through the wash cycle/dry cycles, for that clean dry sound. Lost everything!
Kraftwerk. I had a two year infatuation in high school, when I wasn't listening to Rush. "Meet many people. And David Bowie." from Trans Europe Express.
Now I want to hear Autobahn! I had the non-ipod mp3 player. And it went through the wash cycle/dry cycles, for that clean dry sound. Lost everything!
I'm very glad you appreciated the APShaveco brushes! Mr. Palombo does a very nice job with his brushes.
While I'm still not 100% fond of the handles, the knots are surely an upgrade over Yaqi brushes in terms of density, QC and placement.
Yes, the innovation force behind synthetic fibers is the make-up industry. Tuxedo fibers have been around for years before someone decided to try to make them into a shaving brush. The same is for Cashmere, the Silksmoke, Synbad/mew brown or whatever they call them, they have all been researched for the make-up industry by 3M and Dupont. Wet shaving is a niche-market compared to the millions of make-up brushes sold every year.
If you take a look at Yaqi marketplace, they have sold "only" 567 pieces of one of their most iconic models, the "Sagrada Familia".
As far as synthetic brushes completely replacing your badger brushes, well...
What I think is, for my preferences, a good synth performs better than any given natural brush, taking in account I have "banned" boar brushes long ago (and I had my quote of Omegas and Semogues). What? An Italian shaver without his trusty Omega 48? Yes Sir.
I have read many opinions about the fact synths doesn't hold the lather warm like a Badger does. If that is the only weak point they can found it is not an issue for me.
But...
Badger has that Mojo that synths miss. I loved your definition of Spirit Animal. Yes they hogs lather, they takes ages to dry, more often than not they are a little short of backbone. But in my weird, twisted mentality they have a "soul".
That's why, for the moment, synths haven't completely replaced my badger brushes (until the day i can put my hands on something like this
where the Mojo is provided plenty by the awesome handle
)
While I'm still not 100% fond of the handles, the knots are surely an upgrade over Yaqi brushes in terms of density, QC and placement.
Yes, the innovation force behind synthetic fibers is the make-up industry. Tuxedo fibers have been around for years before someone decided to try to make them into a shaving brush. The same is for Cashmere, the Silksmoke, Synbad/mew brown or whatever they call them, they have all been researched for the make-up industry by 3M and Dupont. Wet shaving is a niche-market compared to the millions of make-up brushes sold every year.
If you take a look at Yaqi marketplace, they have sold "only" 567 pieces of one of their most iconic models, the "Sagrada Familia".
As far as synthetic brushes completely replacing your badger brushes, well...
What I think is, for my preferences, a good synth performs better than any given natural brush, taking in account I have "banned" boar brushes long ago (and I had my quote of Omegas and Semogues). What? An Italian shaver without his trusty Omega 48? Yes Sir.
I have read many opinions about the fact synths doesn't hold the lather warm like a Badger does. If that is the only weak point they can found it is not an issue for me.
But...
Badger has that Mojo that synths miss. I loved your definition of Spirit Animal. Yes they hogs lather, they takes ages to dry, more often than not they are a little short of backbone. But in my weird, twisted mentality they have a "soul".
That's why, for the moment, synths haven't completely replaced my badger brushes (until the day i can put my hands on something like this
where the Mojo is provided plenty by the awesome handle
)
Great update again, Rave! So many good brushes to choose from. 
- Thread starter
- #53
I was able to pluck 26 upside down hairs from my Synbad. It is fine now. Finding the hairs on the Cashmere knot is a bit more of a logistical nightmare for me. Now that I've found out what the problem is with the prickliness the knot is unacceptable for my use lol. I've emailed Andrew at APShaveco about how I might fix it or find an alternative to have an upside down fiber free Cashmere. I'm awaiting a reply.
- Thread starter
- #55
You're welcome Jer78. The more I use them the more I like them. My SynBad, since I've trimmed the errant upside down fibers, is an absolutely fantastic brush. The basic differences in them are covered here. I would say that the differences are, for the most part, slight. Each APShaveco brush I own could easily be my only go to brush. I like them all unless I try to figure out which one I like best. Then a headache sets in. I've come to the conclusion that the one I'm currently using is the best. It's simpler that way. Andrew has a really solid product going imo.
Old thread bump, but I got the faux marble 28mm flattop. Awesome. Very soft. I love this shave.
I have the same one but with Butterscotch swirl handle...
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- #58
Wow! Sweet! Thanks for sharing Gene! We know it really happened because you shared the photo!Old thread bump, but I got the faux marble 28mm flattop. Awesome. Very soft. I love this shave.
