Great! I’m really interested to hear your report.
APSHAVE CO. Cashmere.
- Thread starter ttalkington
- Start date
I would doubt that it is particularly floppy. The Cashmere is less springy than the Tuxedo, but it is still pretty dang springy.
Hmmm... my Cashmere from APShaveCo has even less backbone than my L’Occitane Plisson but at 24mm it’s just right.
My Yqaqi Tuxedo is considerably springier.
YMMV and possibly different batches of fibres too!
So I used the 24mm Cashmere with a Speick stick this evening.
The Cashmere splays great and has an awesome flow through.
It still feels to me like it has less backbone than the L’Occitane Plisson but in terms of splay, flow and efficiency it’s superb.
And it’s so so efficient at whipping up lather.
What a brush!
The Cashmere splays great and has an awesome flow through.
It still feels to me like it has less backbone than the L’Occitane Plisson but in terms of splay, flow and efficiency it’s superb.
And it’s so so efficient at whipping up lather.
What a brush!
I also used my apshaveco cashmere this morning and it is a wonderful knot. I love the way it splays. It builds some great lather. I wish it was bigger, that is why I bought the 28mm yaqi cashmere.
Smurf
I recently had the opportunity to set my APShaveCo Cashmere in a handle this week and now have a few shaves with it. First impressions is I am really liking this brush. Right from the first lather it would seem that unlike my other synthetics, this one was ready to perform right out of the gate. Biggest difference I can see compared to my Whipped Dog Ubersoft or the TurnNShave Angel Hair, it is extremely easy and quick to load. Unlike the Angel Hair, it splayed easily on the first lather where the Angel Hair took 3-4 lathers. I will use it for the next 5 days or so to get a better feel of the brush but I think between the 3 I have now it will take a few minutes longer each morning to figure out which brush I will use for that days shave!!
Great info, and I agree the cashmere is a great knot. I just wish it held more lather.
Smurf
I remember when I got the L’Occitane Plisson brush, the “Brush Of The Gods” and at the time it was the softest and most incredible brush I knew.
Well tonight I used it again and compared to the Cashmere and Tuxedo fibres it now feels like a bit of wire wool on a stick!
Well tonight I used it again and compared to the Cashmere and Tuxedo fibres it now feels like a bit of wire wool on a stick!
So I had to have one right? I got the 28mm Yaqi Cashmere:
It’s a bold bright thing and very different to the ethereal APShaveCo 24mm.
This Yaqi 28mm Cashmere is extremely dense so my concerns about possible floppiness were totally unfounded - this brush has a lot of springy backbone.
Perhaps because of this it doesn’t initially feel as whispy soft as the 24mm but it’s still quite lovely and very efficient indeed.
In contrast to the older generations of synthetics this brush doesn’t retain too much water either so you really can dial the lather in like you would with natural brushes.
I’m hoping that like my 26mm Yaqi Tuxedo this brush will break in (I know it’s a synthetic but these knots do mellow with use) and become even more pliable and develop an even better flow through.
This brush is just one big pleasure!
It’s a bold bright thing and very different to the ethereal APShaveCo 24mm.
This Yaqi 28mm Cashmere is extremely dense so my concerns about possible floppiness were totally unfounded - this brush has a lot of springy backbone.
Perhaps because of this it doesn’t initially feel as whispy soft as the 24mm but it’s still quite lovely and very efficient indeed.
In contrast to the older generations of synthetics this brush doesn’t retain too much water either so you really can dial the lather in like you would with natural brushes.
I’m hoping that like my 26mm Yaqi Tuxedo this brush will break in (I know it’s a synthetic but these knots do mellow with use) and become even more pliable and develop an even better flow through.
This brush is just one big pleasure!
I got the same brush on Thursday and I have used it once. I liked it but like you said I hope it opens up some. My impression is that the glue bump is a little too big. I think it will go into the rotation. It is soft but not as soft as the apshaveco to me probably due to the bigger glue bump.
Smurf
Second use of the Yaqi 28mm Cashmere tonight with Cella:
It’s definitely relaxing a bit and splaying better but it still doesn’t feel as soft as my Yaqi Tuxedos and it’s nothing like the APShaveCo 24mm Cashmere at all.
It is the most incredible generator of lather though - definitely the most efficient brush out of all my incredibly efficient synthetics.
And it’s seducing me with its looks too - initially I thought it looked quite gaudy and even ugly but with every second it’s starting to appear more and more attractive!
This is a remarkably dense knot which explains a lot about its behaviour.
If it can just relax a little bit more it will be excellent.
It’s definitely relaxing a bit and splaying better but it still doesn’t feel as soft as my Yaqi Tuxedos and it’s nothing like the APShaveCo 24mm Cashmere at all.
It is the most incredible generator of lather though - definitely the most efficient brush out of all my incredibly efficient synthetics.
And it’s seducing me with its looks too - initially I thought it looked quite gaudy and even ugly but with every second it’s starting to appear more and more attractive!
This is a remarkably dense knot which explains a lot about its behaviour.
If it can just relax a little bit more it will be excellent.
After my third shave with the Yaqi 28mm Cashmere and some Proraso Red I’d definitely say stick with it.
This brush seems to be properly breaking in - with each use it’s relaxed more, increased splay and feels softer.
I can’t really think how this can happen with a synthetic knot but it definitely is.
With this third use it is becoming really reaally nice and starting to feel as good as my bigger Tuxedo knots.
It still doesn’t feel much like the ethereal gossamer of the APShaveCo 24mm Cashmere but it’s becoming a lovely thing in its own right:
I agree completely I have used mine 3 times also and it is a very good brush. I do still like the apshaveco better, they are just different. The apshaveco is wonderful! Smurf
Fourth shave and the Yaqi 28mm is still getting better.
And there is no doubt that this is the most efficient brush for generating lather that I have yet encountered even more so than the Plissofts and Tuxedos:
Looking at the Yaqi and APShaveCo side by side it really does look like it’s the same Cashmere fibres in both brushes.
But the much denser and bigger knot in the Yaqi brush makes it behave in a radically different way.
The APShaveCo Cashmere is just incredible straight out of the box as everyone agrees.
I’m still confused as to how the Yaqi is managing to break in and improve with each successive use but it’s definitely turning into an absolutely magnificent brush!
As an update it turns out that the 28mm Yaqi Cashmere, the Tuxedos and the Timber Wolf are all the same fibres coloured differently and with different densities knots and lofts.
The Yaqi Black Fibre is the only one that is a different material so it will be interesting to make a comparison with that.
The Yaqi Black Fibre is the only one that is a different material so it will be interesting to make a comparison with that.
After a bit of time with my original APShaveCo 24mm Cashmere with the Blue Lagoon handle I’m realising what an excellent brush this is.
Incredibly soft and easily efficient enough to generate enough lather for three passes and more.
The handle does seem small compared to my other brushes but it adds to the gossamer like quality of this brush.
There really is something ethereal about it!
Incredibly soft and easily efficient enough to generate enough lather for three passes and more.
The handle does seem small compared to my other brushes but it adds to the gossamer like quality of this brush.
There really is something ethereal about it!
Excellent thread! Great discussion for someone considering these options.
Both are homemade brushes but I prefer the Cashmere (24mm).
Tuxedo is 24mm too. I also have a 28mm tuxedo.
Tuxedo is 24mm too. I also have a 28mm tuxedo.
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I’ve just discovered an unexpected advantage of the tiny handle on the Blue Lagoon Cashmere - it’s perfect for lathering in small diameter mugs!
My daughter said she’d like my Gillette shaving mug when I die (ha ha this tells you a lot about our family!)
Ever since then I’ve got worried about chipping the mug with the brush handle when I lather.
But the tiny Blue Lagoon handle lets me wrap my fingers all the way around it and there’s still enough room to swirl away with importunity.
The relatively high loft on the brush helps too of course
My daughter said she’d like my Gillette shaving mug when I die (ha ha this tells you a lot about our family!)
Ever since then I’ve got worried about chipping the mug with the brush handle when I lather.
But the tiny Blue Lagoon handle lets me wrap my fingers all the way around it and there’s still enough room to swirl away with importunity.
The relatively high loft on the brush helps too of course
I've had some time now with my APShaveCo Cashmere and Turn-N-Shave Angel Hair and they both have been excellent setups for me so far but I recently felt intrigued to add this little guy to the mix now... Larry @ Whipped Dog has added a couple new colored tuxedo's to his line and I just had to have the Grey/White combo to go with my recently finished G1 Fat Boy by Chris and Cap...
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