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Badger and Synthetic Mix??

Very interesting and informative, but how does one distinguish between a hand-tied knot and a generic Chinese plug after the knot has been mounted in a handle?
By the way, Plisson has a licence from the French government to trap and harvest wild badgers in France, as they are considered a pest there, so at least some of their brushes are of European badger and the company publicly affirms it, proud of it even. I cannot confirm as to the other European majors, such as Thäter, who were, until recently at least, known to be sourcing some of their badger in Europe.

+1! Most badger today is from China. However, Plisson’s line includes European White and Grey as well as Russian badger brushes (and they are priced accordingly).
 
New source for Badger and synthetic mix knots! This one is from my recommended Artisan brushmaker of choice so I can get behind his works.

26mm "Fan Fiction" Knot


He calls it the Fan Fiction 26mm knot. It's a mix between badger and synthetic while keeping the nice fan shape. Looks just like a finest badger but the synthetic is mixed in the bristles. I'll be soon having one on the way.

Also, he just started making custom brushes so check out his latest video on youtube if you're interested. He also has bunch of brushes on Etsy.
 
New source for Badger and synthetic mix knots! This one is from my recommended Artisan brushmaker of choice so I can get behind his works.

26mm "Fan Fiction" Knot


He calls it the Fan Fiction 26mm knot. It's a mix between badger and synthetic while keeping the nice fan shape. Looks just like a finest badger but the synthetic is mixed in the bristles. I'll be soon having one on the way.

Also, he just started making custom brushes so check out his latest video on youtube if you're interested. He also has bunch of brushes on Etsy.
While I'm not interested in mixed knots, I do have his brush with Duro knot and it is my favorite brush which has more backbone and thus very springy than any other brush I have or used but with very soft tips
 
New source for Badger and synthetic mix knots! This one is from my recommended Artisan brushmaker of choice so I can get behind his works.

26mm "Fan Fiction" Knot


He calls it the Fan Fiction 26mm knot. It's a mix between badger and synthetic while keeping the nice fan shape. Looks just like a finest badger but the synthetic is mixed in the bristles. I'll be soon having one on the way.

Also, he just started making custom brushes so check out his latest video on youtube if you're interested. He also has bunch of brushes on Etsy.

I'm a fan of his channel way before he was making brushes. Cool guy. Please report how you find this new type of knot.
 
While I'm not interested in mixed knots, I do have his brush with Duro knot and it is my favorite brush which has more backbone and thus very springy than any other brush I have or used but with very soft tips
I do enjoy the Duro knot as well. It's one of my favorite synthetics and as you said, it gives a good backbone with the soft tips. Too bad the duro knots are out of stock from the source (PAA). Hopefully Charles can get a hold of the original supplier.

I'm a fan of his channel way before he was making brushes. Cool guy. Please report how you find this new type of knot.
I only found it out through Charles's video. I'm not sure where he gets the mixed knots from but I trust his work ethics so I'm down to get one. I am excited to review it once I get a hold of my potential custom brush.
 
Got my first Badger & Synthetic mix, Fan Fiction 26mm brush today! From Craving Shaving, "A Shade of Jade" brush. I'm planning to use this in couple weeks as I have other things to try out but I'll post my experience here once I do.

IMG_20190916_182606655~2.jpg
 
The badger/synthetic blend might be a way to get a premium badger feel and performance without paying a premium badger price.
 
That looks like a regular untreated 2-band. o_O
It does but upon closer look, I can see the squigly synthetic hairs planted among the 2-band badgers. My camera doesn't capture that detail but I think I'll know better once I actually lather with that brush.

The badger/synthetic blend might be a way to get a premium badger feel and performance without paying a premium badger price.
Definitely. I think this knot goes for $25 on Craving Shaving etsy site. Better value than other knots but we'll see how it performs.
 
That looks like a regular untreated 2-band. o_O
Upon a closer look, it is really hard to tell between my untreated 2-band and the new Fan Fiction knot. However, there are subtle differences that tells me the two are different. Let me show you the pictures first.

First is my Yaqi Fan 2-band Badger

IMG_20190917_225259370_2.jpg

Second is my New Fan Fiction 26mm knot from Craving Shaving

IMG_20190917_225315187_2.jpg

It just looks like one has been used and the other hasn't. However, looking at the Fan Fiction knot closely, there are some glossy synthetic bristles that has a uniform wavy pattern to them. I'm thinking that those are synthetic while the natural thinner hairs are the 2-band badgers.

Here's a top view look at the Fan Fiction Knot.

Fan Fiction top view.jpg

The tips of the synthetics are shaped slightly different compared to a full badger 2-band.

Another way to tell was the splay of the knot. The Fan Fiction knot splays out like a synthetic. It's got a good backbone and the springiness of a synthetic brush. However, when I feel the top of the brush, it feels soft like a badger brush. I think the Pro to this knot is that it maintains a good synthetic-like backbone while keeping a badger-like feel on your face. I still have not used it but just tried splaying on my hands. I'll be able to give more details once I get a shave in. MTF.
 

Graydog

Biblical Innards
What I don't understand is that the knot has been around for a while and nobody has ever
did a review on how it lathers and feels on the face ,well I have not seen any reviews.
I have read about how it looks and how it should feel but no real review.
 
Thanks for the additional info. I was expecting more obvious visual cues, like with bodgers.
Once I lather and break in the brush, the look might change. I'm guessing the badger hairs will splay and bloom naturally while the synthetic hairs stand straight and rigid.
 
What I don't understand is that the knot has been around for a while and nobody has ever
did a review on how it lathers and feels on the face ,well I have not seen any reviews.
I have read about how it looks and how it should feel but no real review.
I only know a couple artisans that use this knot but yes, there aren't really reviews on this. That's one of the reasons I got the knot because there aren't a lot of information out there about it. Have you tried this knot or something similar to it?
 
I have not used it , that is why I am asking for info about how it preformed.

I used it for the first time today. It felt like an extra springy badger brush. I wasn't sure where to set the loft, so I opted for a little higher than I'd normally set a medium density two band fan (due to the synthetic fibers). I can't remember the exact loft.

It was OK. I definitely prefer a 100% badger brush more, which is probably no surprise. I might actually prefer a 100% synthetic brush more too. I might just need to get used to it.

It takes longer to dry than a synthetic brush, obviously. But it definitely dries faster than an all-badger brush. It might be good for travel...shave in the evening or at night, let it sit out, dry by morning.

I'll try it again sometime and post more thoughts. For now, it seems ok...just not my thing.
 
I used it for the first time today. It felt like an extra springy badger brush. I wasn't sure where to set the loft, so I opted for a little higher than I'd normally set a medium density two band fan (due to the synthetic fibers). I can't remember the exact loft.

It was OK. I definitely prefer a 100% badger brush more, which is probably no surprise. I might actually prefer a 100% synthetic brush more too. I might just need to get used to it.

It takes longer to dry than a synthetic brush, obviously. But it definitely dries faster than an all-badger brush. It might be good for travel...shave in the evening or at night, let it sit out, dry by morning.

I'll try it again sometime and post more thoughts. For now, it seems ok...just not my thing.
Hmmm. Thanks for the input. It definitely feels like a springy badger to me as well, just from splaying the brush. Do you have a picture of the brush? Just curious.
 

Graydog

Biblical Innards
I used it for the first time today. It felt like an extra springy badger brush. I wasn't sure where to set the loft, so I opted for a little higher than I'd normally set a medium density two band fan (due to the synthetic fibers). I can't remember the exact loft.

It was OK. I definitely prefer a 100% badger brush more, which is probably no surprise. I might actually prefer a 100% synthetic brush more too. I might just need to get used to it.

It takes longer to dry than a synthetic brush, obviously. But it definitely dries faster than an all-badger brush. It might be good for travel...shave in the evening or at night, let it sit out, dry by morning.

I'll try it again sometime and post more thoughts. For now, it seems ok...just not my thing.

Thanks for sharing.
 
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