Are Oumo Manchurian knot brushes as good as Simpson manchurian brushes?

[Mr. Shavington]

I recently got an Oumo brush with their ‘Silk’ knot (formerly called HMW 3-Band Silvertip) and ebonite handle. I am very impressed with it.

The handle polishing is excellent and the knot tips are the softest I have ever had on a badger brush by a long distance - they’re as soft as a synthetic knot. The knot is said to have gel tips but if that is the case the treatment is extremely light. After use there is no bunching or crustiness at all when the hair dries, and it feels completely natural with zero sliminess in use. The knot does not have a lot of backbone or scrub, so it would be the wrong knot choice if you want that, but if you like a soft feeling badger brush then this may be the best on the market. My knot is supposedly 26mm diameter but I think it is an exceedingly generous 26mm and I would guess it is at least 28mm if not more.

I have a Tyrant knotted brush on order, and also a Manchurian coming from Homelike Shaving (it definitely looks like their brushes have Oumo knots), so I will be interested to see how those compare.

Oumo is clearly doing a lot of R&D and evolving their offerings, and the owner seems to be a real shaving enthusiast. They presumably have access to the best Chinese badger hair suppliers and I have a feeling that Oumo may surpass all of the artisan brush makers at some point. Anyway, what I received is undoubtedly very high quality.

 

[oscar11]

Oumo Manchurian on left. Both these knots are sold as 26 mm. I think somebody's ruler isn't working to good. I have a silk HMW and a silk Manchurian and find them to be nice knots. It's pretty easy to get these knots feeling like fuzzy tennis balls but they don't have to. Most of my knots will be in multiple handles with different lofts and diameters until I'm satisfied. A couple of brushes that I find interesting are the Zenith Manchurian and Best. I have both.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I've tried a couple SHD and Manchurian knots from Oumo/Maggard/etc. They're very soft. Very very soft. Too soft in my opinion. You almost can't feel them at all when face lathering... it's like rubbing a very soft towel on your face, not a knot of hair. I have not tried a Simpson Manchurian that I can remember, but I've had other Simpson two band, and while it's nice soft hair... it hasn't been treated until all character is gone the way a lot of these "gel tip" knots have been.

Some people love that ultra-soft feel. I don't. I keep a couple vintages with old Golden European badger hair because it's NATURALLY that soft and I find them quite unique and fun to use on occasion... but as a daily brush, not for me.

I want to know there's a brush lathering when I'm lathering. I also find less-treated badger knots load and lather better. Because of that, the only knots I've gotten and kept from this current generation of Chinese knots (Oumo, APshave, Maggard, etc) are the mixed knots... where the boar makes up for what is lost from the badger hair treatments.

The less treated two band badger hairs (basically anything more than a few years old, and I would assume current brushes from most of the older manufacturers who make their own knots (Simpson, Semogue, Plisson, etc)... are a very different hair than the current "Manchurian" from the chinese knot makers that has been softened up at the tips to such an extreme degree. At least I hope so. I'd be very depressed if the two bands that are actually stiff all the way to the tips and really exemplify what made two band such a nice hair are gone because this current "gel tip" craze has made the Chinese hair producers treat all two band badger hair to such an extreme degree.

I fully expect (and hope) the next revolution in Chinese knots will be to offer a more "natural" knot that goes back to what two band was a decade ago, where it isn't as soft as three band... because it's not three band, but it offers much more backbone, better loading and lathering, and a pleasant scrub that lets you know this isn't some ultra-premium silvertip knot where the only concern was softness.

Sometimes I want big time softness but never anything like the extremely gelled knots.

You and I seem to have very similar preferences in brushes. I prefer the Simpson two band and the Semogue three band and similarly soft knots when softness is a primary desire, but generally like more scrubby knots such as the Simpson Manchurian, the Zenith Manchurians, Shavemac two bands, etc.

One Chinese brush I've found generally very satisfactory in both two band and three band has been Maseto.

I've ordered from Oumo one of their 5th anniversary hand tied knots - well, I think they understood what I wanted - which sounds like it might be a knot I like.

We'll see. Assuming I get what I meant to order. I was very clear, but I'm not at all sure of the communication process with and from Oumo.

Anyway, it's not like I need another brush.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[SliceOfLife]

Well, I won't be buying another brush anytime soon I hope, but yeah that sounds like a nice knot. I'd say I want very strong backbone, but otherwise it'd be my perfect knot (description). It will replicate vintage two band well though, as it wasn't really packed super dense based on the brushes I've found (Simpson Chubbies that just happened to be two band (rare) seem about the only example I've seen).

Overall I've been fairly happy with the Oumo's I bought... but they are chinese knots, not Simpson quality. Every so often there's a shed hair or two, a problem I only saw on simpsons with those dukes I bought on closeout that had some shedders among them.

 

[rally]

I've had my Oumo Manchuria 26mm for right around a year now, and I love it. My face feels brush burn with moderate or higher scrubby brushes, but the Manchuria along with my other Oumo brush, the Motherlode/Tuxedo synthetic, have been a godsend with how mild they are. I can face lather for 3-6 minutes without much irritation. The Manchuria has very little backbone so it might be worth setting it deeper.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Sometimes I want big time softness but never anything like the extremely gelled knots.

You and I seem to have very similar preferences in brushes. I prefer the Simpson two band and the Semogue three band and similarly soft knots when softness is a primary desire, but generally like more scrubby knots such as the Simpson Manchurian, the Zenith Manchurians, Shavemac two bands, etc.

One Chinese brush I've found generally very satisfactory in both two band and three band has been Maseto.

I've ordered from Oumo one of their 5th anniversary hand tied knots - well, I think they understood what I wanted - which sounds like it might be a knot I like.



View attachment 1451240


We'll see. Assuming I get what I meant to order. I was very clear, but I'm not at all sure of the communication process with and from Oumo.

Anyway, it's not like I need another brush.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I was reading about these knots, too, but then I scrolled down....."Strong scratching feeling" was really a turn-off for me.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I was reading about these knots, too, but then I scrolled down....."Strong scratching feeling" was really a turn-off for me.

I kinda sorta don't believe them. In other words, I hope it has lots of good scritch instead of a strong scratching feeling. Since I couldn't find any reviews of the knot...

From a certain point of view I could have described my RV DO1 two band and my Zenith Manchurian as having had a strong scratching feeling. Could have. Can't now. Now the Zenith Manchurian has loads of backbone and scrub and softness, but no scratch or scritch. The Shavemac DO1 still has what I'd call good scritch. Its good scritch is gradually leaving and being replaced by what I call delicious scrub.

I find it interesting how many badger knots change over time. Sometimes that means over a hundred or more shaves with the knot. Also interesting to me is the subjectivity of knot qualities and our impressions thereof.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Itsallgravy10]

I don't have a Mancurian, but i do have one of his Tyrant T1 knots and its one of, if not my favorite brush. I got the 30mm ex bulb and its become what I use the most and what I compare most new knots with when I am trying a new brush. Its not super gely but the tips are soft and it has great backbone. I have only lost 4 or 5 hairs and ive used it 40 or so times, and the setting work is great, every hair is even and not one is sticking out noticably above the rest.