Silvertext Synthetic on sale on Amazon ... $20 for “small” and $30 for “large”.
A good deal ? Worthy of consideration ? Any thoughts ?
A good deal ? Worthy of consideration ? Any thoughts ?
Kent Infinity Brush .....
- Thread starter Adam18
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For $30? Worth trying. Be interested to see how it compares to the Simpson T2.
- Thread starter
- #3
That's what I was thinking. I really enjoy my T2. This Kent, in large, appears to be slightly bigger than the T3. For much less than the price of two perfect bourbon Manhattans in our favorite restaurant (which we are not enjoying, due to COVID virus) it seems like a good purchase. Any other thoughts among my B&B friends ?
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- #5
I grabbed one - for SCIENCE, of course.
I love your enthusiasm ! We scientists need to stay together.
I grabbed one - for SCIENCE, of course.
Good man!! Look forward to your ‘report!’
Owen Bawn
Garden party cupcake scented
You 'scientists' be careful- a "double blind review" of shaving tools could lead to some serious bloodletting!
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
The price point on these new synthetics must be designed to encourage multiple purchases 
Finally a marketing strategy that makes sense
Finally a marketing strategy that makes sense
The COVID era comparison is half the price of a bottle of Rittenhouse and a bottle of Cocchi. Cheers!
I'm in at $20 for the small; experimentation is fun!
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- #12
Owen Bawn
Garden party cupcake scented
That's probably better than my $16 bottle of Old Overholt.
But your bottle of Old Overholt is damned good!
I see the Antica Carpano, too, clearly a top shelf bar.
- Thread starter
- #16
So, the small Kent Infinity showed up this afternoon. I'll give it a real tryout in the morning. I did lather up some MWF in a bowl for a quick test, and the lather felt just fine. I normally face lather, and will see what the face feel is like. The Kent bristle tips are very soft, softer than any of the badgers I have here. There's no scritch to the ends at all. The plastic handle is more yellowish than Simpson's ivoroid, and is narrower than the Commodore X2. The Kent does feel a bit small even in my small hands. The test lathering resulted in good lather, so it shows promise. The only other synthetic I have here is a Yaqi Sagrada Familia; I also have a Simpson T2 that's in NY for when I travel there. Overall, my experience with synthetics is less than with natural bristle brushes.
Here's a picture next to a Simpson Commodore X2 in Best; this was the closest in shape handle I had here for a size comparison.
Here's a picture next to a Simpson Commodore X2 in Best; this was the closest in shape handle I had here for a size comparison.
I have one of those small Kent Infinity Silvertex brushes.
It's a pretty good brush but I did find that due to it's small size getting it to splay on the face was a bit more challenging than with a larger brush such as my Yaqi Tuxedo, though the Yaqi is larger.
The tips, whilst not harsh, are not as soft as the Yaqi either.
It's a pretty good brush but I did find that due to it's small size getting it to splay on the face was a bit more challenging than with a larger brush such as my Yaqi Tuxedo, though the Yaqi is larger.
The tips, whilst not harsh, are not as soft as the Yaqi either.
Okay, here goes- Kent Infinity Silvertex small v. Vulfix 375 Silvertip badger, initial comparison:
For the comparison I used ARKO stick, because I have it, it is common, easily available, inexpensive, and a very dependable lathering soap. Plus, I have enough experience with ARKO to know its properties fully.
Bowl lathering: I essentially found little difference when these brushes were used to separately lather in a bowl. Each brush worked fine, made a good lather easily, and, if lather were to be applied with painting strokes, I'd call it about a tie. Surprisingly, the Silvertex bristles actually held some water after soaking for two minutes and a bit of warmth. Not as much warmth or water as the Silvertip, but some.
Face lathering: Here's the real test for me, as I face lather almost all the time. I spread ARKO on my face using the stick and then lathered the right side with the Kent and the left side with the Vulfix. I'm right handed, but normally shave and lather using both hands. Each brush brought up a good lather, but the Kent did not splay easily. Compared to the Vulfix it was, despite a similar loft, a tighter knot that was just fine when using light circular motions and painting, but kept shunting to one side when I tried to splay it normally. With some added effort, the Kent splayed, but not nearly as nicely. The Vulfix was much easier to splay. Part of this may be that I'm used to using badger and boar brushes, so it may be attributable to some user unfamiliarity than the brush itself. But, having used a Simpson T2 synthetic, I recall a similar feeling.
In terms of lather retention, both brushes worked up and held enough lather for my two-pass, plus clean-up shave. I did switch the brushes from one hand to other to lather for the second pass, and then back again for the clean-up.
Bottom line, at least for me in this initial trial for face lathering the Kent was serviceable and perfectly okay, but just not quite as nice. If one were to bowl lather and paint, it may well be a toss-up, and the Kent is ~$20, while Vulfix cost me ~$40. I'll give the Kent another go in a few days against a boar brush that costs less than $20 to see how that compares.
Let's hear anyone else's results!
For the comparison I used ARKO stick, because I have it, it is common, easily available, inexpensive, and a very dependable lathering soap. Plus, I have enough experience with ARKO to know its properties fully.
Bowl lathering: I essentially found little difference when these brushes were used to separately lather in a bowl. Each brush worked fine, made a good lather easily, and, if lather were to be applied with painting strokes, I'd call it about a tie. Surprisingly, the Silvertex bristles actually held some water after soaking for two minutes and a bit of warmth. Not as much warmth or water as the Silvertip, but some.
Face lathering: Here's the real test for me, as I face lather almost all the time. I spread ARKO on my face using the stick and then lathered the right side with the Kent and the left side with the Vulfix. I'm right handed, but normally shave and lather using both hands. Each brush brought up a good lather, but the Kent did not splay easily. Compared to the Vulfix it was, despite a similar loft, a tighter knot that was just fine when using light circular motions and painting, but kept shunting to one side when I tried to splay it normally. With some added effort, the Kent splayed, but not nearly as nicely. The Vulfix was much easier to splay. Part of this may be that I'm used to using badger and boar brushes, so it may be attributable to some user unfamiliarity than the brush itself. But, having used a Simpson T2 synthetic, I recall a similar feeling.
In terms of lather retention, both brushes worked up and held enough lather for my two-pass, plus clean-up shave. I did switch the brushes from one hand to other to lather for the second pass, and then back again for the clean-up.
Bottom line, at least for me in this initial trial for face lathering the Kent was serviceable and perfectly okay, but just not quite as nice. If one were to bowl lather and paint, it may well be a toss-up, and the Kent is ~$20, while Vulfix cost me ~$40. I'll give the Kent another go in a few days against a boar brush that costs less than $20 to see how that compares.
Let's hear anyone else's results!
The Kent Infinity Plus arrived last evening and is on tap for today's shave.
