I have owned both the tuxedo and cashmere from APShaveCo and only the cashmere remains as one of my go-to brushes. I've also had tuxedo's from a couple other brush makers off Etsy and all those were steamed out of their original handles and replaced with other knots. I found absolutely no difference between the APShaveCo tuxedo and the Vig Shaving tuxedo vs the no name tuxedo that was in one of the brushes. They all needed more pressure or should I say persuasion to splay fully. They were all stiff and skritchy!! I also have a Whipped Dog grey/white tuxedo, (silksmoke), that is a little softer but the backbone is still evident and takes more effort to splay. I am still working on breaking that one in so it will take a little time.
My go-to's are the APShvaveCo cashmere in a Wild West Brushworks handle and a Turn-N-Shave angel hair in a DC Shaving handle that I set in each handle myself because I didn't like the tuxedo's that were in them originally. I have since given up on the tuxedo's all together and at this point I don't think you could give me a brush with a tuxedo knot in it. The ability to splay the knot is night and day. The cashmere and angel hair knots take little to no effort to splay and the tips are extremely soft. I liken them very much to my Whipped Dog uber-soft synthetic I have had for over a year now. Extremely soft tips and splays without any pressure at all. I have heard some people in the past talk about the cashmere being a floppy knot but have had no such experience with floppiness at all. I set mine to the same loft that my tuxedo's were set by the sellers I bought them from. They splay and paint very well.
As to the tuxedo's, I have my own theory that if the knots were set with say 10-15mm more loft they would act completely different than they do presently. Also to add to the mix would be the diameter of the hole in the handle. For a 24mm knot, I would set it in a handle that has a hole in the 27-28mm range to give it more room to not be so constricted as I truly believe that plays more into backbone than the actual loft itself.
If I had to do it all over again I would simply pass over the tuxedo's and head straight for the cashmere's and the like to save myself time and money!!
My go-to's are the APShvaveCo cashmere in a Wild West Brushworks handle and a Turn-N-Shave angel hair in a DC Shaving handle that I set in each handle myself because I didn't like the tuxedo's that were in them originally. I have since given up on the tuxedo's all together and at this point I don't think you could give me a brush with a tuxedo knot in it. The ability to splay the knot is night and day. The cashmere and angel hair knots take little to no effort to splay and the tips are extremely soft. I liken them very much to my Whipped Dog uber-soft synthetic I have had for over a year now. Extremely soft tips and splays without any pressure at all. I have heard some people in the past talk about the cashmere being a floppy knot but have had no such experience with floppiness at all. I set mine to the same loft that my tuxedo's were set by the sellers I bought them from. They splay and paint very well.
As to the tuxedo's, I have my own theory that if the knots were set with say 10-15mm more loft they would act completely different than they do presently. Also to add to the mix would be the diameter of the hole in the handle. For a 24mm knot, I would set it in a handle that has a hole in the 27-28mm range to give it more room to not be so constricted as I truly believe that plays more into backbone than the actual loft itself.
If I had to do it all over again I would simply pass over the tuxedo's and head straight for the cashmere's and the like to save myself time and money!!
