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Not impressed with RazoRock Hive 24 brush

I received my new RazoRock Hive 24 Mokasoft HD synthetic brush today. It is a beautiful brush but I am not impressed with it's performance. I used a Nivea shave stick to face lather. I loaded my face fairly heavy and used ample water. I found it a little more difficult to make lather. It seemed as if the bristles were too soft. Not enough scrub to them. I'll try it again next shave. Maybe I'll have better luck.
I'm glad I did not pay a lot for it. But it does have a nice handle.

RR Hive.JPG
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I have a similar knot in my Moka express 24 mm synthetic and have no problem, but I bowl lather with any type of soap and it produces good lather. Never faced lathered with the Moka express all I do is cut a sliver off and press it in the lather bowl.
Brush collage April 18th 2021.jpg

Have some great shaves.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
Too bad. Maybe and hopefully it’s just a learning cure. I saw that baby on sale and did everything I could to resist. That handle looks insane. Hopefully it turns around. If it’s the same knot as the moka it should be pretty nice.
 
I have a similar knot in my Moka express 24 mm synthetic and have no problem, but I bowl lather with any type of soap and it produces good lather. Never faced lathered with the Moka express all I do is cut a sliver off and press it in the lather bowl.
View attachment 1333224
Have some great shaves.

They do look like the same knot. Have you ever used a shave stick with it?
 
I recently completed a series of side by side comparisons with my Mokasoft versus my other synthetic brushes, and the Mokasoft was my favorite. In my tests I face lathered using RazoRock Son of Zeus. I'm not a big fan of using a shave stick with a synthetic brush, so maybe try lathering from a puck or putting cream directly on the brush. Of course if you really enjoy shave sticks and the Mokasoft doesn't work the way you want with shave sticks, then it's not the brush for you.

If I had a shave stick, I would give it a try, but mine got lost when we moved this summer.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
I can’t recall using my Moca with a shave stick. I haven’t used it in awhile anyway but if I have time I’ll give it a whirl tomorrow. Generally synthetics are pretty versatile so maybe your issue was just a first use snag.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
They do look like the same knot. Have you ever used a shave stick with it?
No I have not yet, but I will down the road. Damp brush(squeeze out excess water) when starting and just a little water as needed to tips only and just work it and it should just start generating lather quickly for you IMO.
 
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As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't have a shave stick, so this morning I used a puck of Haslinger aloe soap as if it were a shave stick. I dampened it, rubbed in on my face, ran my Mokasoft under warm water, shook it a few times and began lathering. It produced thick and creamy lather for my two pass shave with enough left for at least one more pass.

Earlier I said I don't like to use synthetic brushes with shave sticks, but I may have to reconsider.
 
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As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't have a shave stick, so this morning I used a puck of Haslinger aloe soap as if it were a shave stick. I dampened it, rubbed in on my face, ran my Mokasoft under warm water, shook it a few times and began lathering. It produced thick and creamy lather for my two pass shave with enough left for at least one more pass.

Earlier I said I don't like to use synthetic brushes with shave sticks, but I may have to reconsider.

It seems I only have a problem getting the lather started. That was my first time with that brush. I had plenty of nice lather for the second pass.
Synthetic brushes really shine when it comes to using a shave stick.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
It seems I only have a problem getting the lather started. I had plenty of nice lather for the second pass.
Synthetic brushes really shine when it comes to using a shave stick.
DE SOTD, September 24th 2021- @shave/brush I used my similar brush today with Speick stick, All I did was face smear on some Speick and wet the brush and squeezed out the excess water to have just a damp brush. Then started scrubbing with the brush and just barely dip the tips of the brush in water and man did the lather explode. I hand enough lather for 3 passes easily. Try just starting with a damp brush and working up with a little water as needed . Hope this helps!

Razor: TARMAX adjustable DE by Tom White, @twhite, Mfg 2021, excellent results, smooth shave even on high settings. Maybe the way blade seats flat and just perfect design gives the stellar shave?
I won this interesting razor on a fund raiser Raffle (1of 4 made, proto type), Lucky Ron won a grail razor possibly. It does have small quirks but that are manageable.
Blade: Gillette Astra SP (3), Sharp & smooth with great longevity. My standard blade for testing other blades and shaving razors.
Soap: Speick shave stick, amazing spicy scent and excellent lather qualities, very nice soap and better than Tabac scent wise IMO.
Brush: Yaqi 24mm Moka Express, excellent lather generator, heavenly cloud like soft tips, gentle scrubber + great lather painter.
Pre shave: Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser + a dollop of Aloe Vera gel on the cleaned beard area.
Prep: Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups.
Post shave: Ach Brito Lavada with witch hazel + a dollop of CeraVe moisturizer balm(excellent + scentless).
Results: CCS,DFS,BBS + no irritation + no weepers= :a17: Excellent shave with the TARMAX DE adj by Tom with a Astra SP.
Brush collage  Sep 24th 2021 .jpg

Have some great shaves!
 
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It seems I only have a problem getting the lather started. That was my first time with that brush. I had plenty of nice lather for the second pass.
Synthetic brushes really shine when it comes to using a shave stick.
Yes, I think my opinion about synthetic brushes and shave sticks was formed during the early days of super springy synthetics. If you used those brushes with a shave stick you were likely to spray lather all over the place. That is no longer true with the new synthetic brushes.
 
It seems I only have a problem getting the lather started. That was my first time with that brush. I had plenty of nice lather for the second pass.
Synthetic brushes really shine when it comes to using a shave stick.
It's OK if you felt like you didn't get the desired results with the shave stick as that can be adjusted with usage.

I'm interested in getting the information regarding the backbone and splay of the brush, as it usually doesn't drastically change in synthetic brushes.

I've read that it changes to some degree in denser and bigger knots but I think this brush is middle of the road in density and size.

Did you get enough of the scrub / massage / face feel with the brush while face lathering?

Whicj synthetic brush do you consider as ideal brush with backbone and healthy (not unpleasant) scrub?

I'm asking because I too face lather and looking for something with more backbone and scrub than my RazoRock Noir 400 brush in synthetic.
 
It's OK if you felt like you didn't get the desired results with the shave stick as that can be adjusted with usage.

I'm interested in getting the information regarding the backbone and splay of the brush, as it usually doesn't drastically change in synthetic brushes.

I've read that it changes to some degree in denser and bigger knots but I think this brush is middle of the road in density and size.

Did you get enough of the scrub / massage / face feel with the brush while face lathering?

Whicj synthetic brush do you consider as ideal brush with backbone and healthy (not unpleasant) scrub?

I'm asking because I too face lather and looking for something with more backbone and scrub than my RazoRock Noir 400 brush in synthetic.

I found this brush lacked enough scrub and I don't look for a lot of scrub in my brushes. This is the first brush I ever felt this way about lack of scrub.
I like RazoRock brushes. One brush I use a lot is the RR Big Bruce but lately I've been using my Muhle 23mm knot. Nice change.
 
Sorry you didn't like your Hive on its first outing. Maybe you'll warm up to it. I just got one and used it today for the first time and loved it. I bowl lather so that may be the difference. No issues with making lots of great lather. It is dense, soft, and has enough backbone for what I do. Love the handle and overall looks of the brush. This is my first RR brush.
 
I received my new RazoRock Hive 24 Mokasoft HD synthetic brush today. It is a beautiful brush but I am not impressed with it's performance. I used a Nivea shave stick to face lather. I loaded my face fairly heavy and used ample water. I found it a little more difficult to make lather. It seemed as if the bristles were too soft. Not enough scrub to them. I'll try it again next shave. Maybe I'll have better luck.
I'm glad I did not pay a lot for it. But it does have a nice handle.

View attachment 1333203
Try using the Arko stick which is lighter, because, the Nivea soap stick can be heavier with too many ingredients.
 
Try using the Arko stick which is lighter, because, the Nivea soap stick can be heavier with too many ingredients.

The problem is the brush not the soap. I know what you are saying but I should be able so use any soap with the brush.
Thanks for the tip.
 
As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't have a shave stick, so this morning I used a puck of Haslinger aloe soap as if it were a shave stick. I dampened it, rubbed in on my face, ran my Mokasoft under warm water, shook it a few times and began lathering. It produced thick and creamy lather for my two pass shave with enough left for at least one more pass.

Earlier I said I don't like to use synthetic brushes with shave sticks, but I may have to reconsider.

Progress!! :thumbup1: :thumbup1:
 
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