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"DIY" Synthetic Brush Showdown - Finding YOUR Knot

Great thread. There are so many new synthetic knots out there it is hard to keep track of. I have the amack lights, sunrise and whatever the black one is called all in 24mm but I have not had a chance to try them yet. As of now the whipped dog is my favorite. Excited to try the lights now.

Let me know what you think of the "Game Changer" knot (the black one) as this is the only one from him I didn't order. I have a Sunrise as well, hopefully my handles come today so I can set it and compare against the Lights knot.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Great post and excellent info...I think I'll be picking up my first synthetic soon :thumbup:
 
Cool post. I completely agree with what you say about splaying. I face lather, and when I press down on my WD synthetic and the bristles open, the lather seems to instantly appear.
 
Dang Jeremy, all this talk of synthetics got me excited and I order this:
$P1100921.jpeg$P1100925.jpeg
A custom Doug Korn D7 with Ubersoft 26X53 knot
 
Jeremy - Received the Whipped Dog brush last night. Sturdy handle, nice brush for the $. Palm lathered it for its maiden lather and I was impressed. Will be trying it out on the weekend.
 
Jeremy - Received the Whipped Dog brush last night. Sturdy handle, nice brush for the $. Palm lathered it for its maiden lather and I was impressed. Will be trying it out on the weekend.

Good to hear Bill. I finally got my other 2 handles yesterday and I set a Sunrise knot at the standard height in one, and another Fauxmere knot in the other set down to about a 53mm loft. I'll be giving them both a trial run this evening.

Let me know your thoughts on the D7 brush once you get it.
 
Jeremy - Used the WD 24mm synthetic tonight. It generated a great lather. More backbone than Plisson, less than my Muhle STF XL. Great cost/price ratio.

Used you tip of splaying it into the soap while loading. Worked very well. Highly recommended. I had bowl lathered it once to get it going. Not sure if synths have a break in ?

On deck is the RazoRock Plisson....
 
Guys with Sunrise and/or Whipped Dog knots, please keep the reports coming. I'm itching to find a good travel brush. I can't give up my 2-bands at home, but I don't want to travel with them. If I could find something "close" to the 2-band experience in synth, I'd be happy.

I've tried Kent, multiple Muhles, and they were all too "concentrated". Not enough splay, and since I try to face lather with a stick, if I "forced" them to splay, they would dump most of their water. Plisson always sounded too floppy, but maybe I should give it a try.
 
Last weekend I pulled an Ubersoft 2 knot from a Wolf Whiskers handle and set a Whipped Dog 24mm. I face lather and like good splay without floppiness so I set the loft at about 57. I have a syn brush I got from WD a few months ago and it was set at 55mm, it was my favorite synthetic so I knew I wanted a WD knot in my Wolf Whiskers handle. At first I liked the Ubersoft 2 the Wolf whiskers came with...until I tried a WD....then the Ubersoft 2 had to go. So I ordered a knot from Whipped Dog and presto, my new favorite synthetic brush. The slightly higher loft did make a difference in splay. It isn't dramatically different, but enough that I do notice it.
 
Jeremy - Used the WD 24mm synthetic tonight. It generated a great lather. More backbone than Plisson, less than my Muhle STF XL. Great cost/price ratio.

Used you tip of splaying it into the soap while loading. Worked very well. Highly recommended. I had bowl lathered it once to get it going. Not sure if synths have a break in ?

On deck is the RazoRock Plisson....

Good to hear Bill. I've found great success in blooming the soap for a couple minutes, then dump the water or add it to your face and start loading up with a completely dry brush. As you see a dry paste forming on top of the puck, add a few drops of water and keep working it in till it starts to get pasty again. Keep repeating until you start to get a nicely hydrated creamy looking lather built up, then transfer it to your face and finish building the lather there. Being able to start with a dry brush and add water slowly is one of the biggest advantages of synthetics.

Guys with Sunrise and/or Whipped Dog knots, please keep the reports coming. I'm itching to find a good travel brush. I can't give up my 2-bands at home, but I don't want to travel with them. If I could find something "close" to the 2-band experience in synth, I'd be happy.

I've tried Kent, multiple Muhles, and they were all too "concentrated". Not enough splay, and since I try to face lather with a stick, if I "forced" them to splay, they would dump most of their water. Plisson always sounded too floppy, but maybe I should give it a try.

The Sunrise is a good alternative to the Plisson. It doesn't have the most backbone in the world, but it has enough. If you are looking for something that splays really easy and still feels good against your face, I think the Sunrise is a good fit. Also, read my comment above about how I've had the most success building lather. Since synthetic fibers don't absorb water like natural hair brushes, I think it's important to get most of the water built into the lather slowly during the loading process. The only way to do this without getting a fluffy/airy lather is to add it in a few drops at a time. The end result is well worth it though, and once you get the hang of it, it won't take you any longer than normal.
 
The Sunrise is a good alternative to the Plisson. It doesn't have the most backbone in the world, but it has enough. If you are looking for something that splays really easy and still feels good against your face, I think the Sunrise is a good fit. Also, read my comment above about how I've had the most success building lather. Since synthetic fibers don't absorb water like natural hair brushes, I think it's important to get most of the water built into the lather slowly during the loading process. The only way to do this without getting a fluffy/airy lather is to add it in a few drops at a time. The end result is well worth it though, and once you get the hang of it, it won't take you any longer than normal.

Thank you for the detailed reply. The "Lights" beat the Whipped Dog in your opinion. Would the "Sunrise" also beat the WD?

I don't want a "floppy" brush, but all the synths I've tried so far lacked any reasonable splay.
 
Thank you for the detailed reply. The "Lights" beat the Whipped Dog in your opinion. Would the "Sunrise" also beat the WD?

I don't want a "floppy" brush, but all the synths I've tried so far lacked any reasonable splay.

I just used the Sunrise for a shave so I could give you some better feedback. In my opinion, I like the Sunrise more than the WD, but its hard to compare the 2 because they have very different characteristics. The WD definitely has stronger backbone and more scrub to it, but at the expense of being more springy and not wanting to splay as easily. Based on your previous experience of synthetics being dense and not wanting to splay easily, I think the Sunrise is a good option for you. It is probably not going to have the same level of backbone and support against your face that a 2-band has, but it has significantly more than the Plisson and Fauxmere knots. It is slightly more floppy feeling during paint brush stokes than the Lights knot, but not to the extent that I find it lacking in ability or annoying. At $10 shipped for the Sunrise Knot I think it's definitely worth checking out. I'm gonna keep using it and see if it can dethrone the Lights as my top pick.
 
Thanks again for the detailed reply.

As some of you may, or may not, know, Shave Revolution released a synth brush today and they sell the knots separately. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the 24mm complete brush, and I'll post my thoughts after using it a few rounds. I'm still interested in a Sunrise, but I don't want to fool with gluing it myself and all that right now. I liked the handle on this brush, and the dimensions seemed good, so I figured why not.
 
Thanks again for the detailed reply.

As some of you may, or may not, know, Shave Revolution released a synth brush today and they sell the knots separately. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the 24mm complete brush, and I'll post my thoughts after using it a few rounds. I'm still interested in a Sunrise, but I don't want to fool with gluing it myself and all that right now. I liked the handle on this brush, and the dimensions seemed good, so I figured why not.

Thanks, I did see that and Knockout Shave also has some new knots they are selling in the near future as well. Of course I know I will probably end up testing oUT both, but I'll wait on your thoughts about the Shave Revolution one first.
 
I also grabbed the Shave Revolution 24mm synthetic. A Plisson knot set medium-low in an M7-style handle looked appealing.
 


The contenders left to right: Chiseled Face 24mm "Fauxmere", EnvyShave 24mm "Ubersoft 2 4th Gen" (Etsy), Chiseled Face 28mm "Fauxmere", AMACK4shaving 24mm "Lights" (Etsy), Whipped Dog 24mm Synthetic. All are set in Whipped Dog handles at the standard 10mm depth.


Now for the bad news. After using this knot for the first time I immediately went back to AMACK4shaving's Etsy page and ordered 2 more, thinking I would set one and give it as a gift to my father and keep the other knot on hand in case I ever take the leap and order a Wolf Whiskers handle or something. Unfortunately, they are now sold out, and the vendor is unsure if he will be able to get any more because of changes the distributor is making. If you think this is a knot you would be interested in trying out, I highly encourage you to send an email to AMACK4shaving and let him know. He told me the "Sunrise" knots are similar, but if they are anything like the 24mm Fauxmere knots (which I believe they are the same) then these knots are definitely different. He does still have some 22mm "Lights" Knots available, I wouldn't hesitate to give one of those a try if it comes down to it but I don't know how closely they resemble the 24mm version.

So I have some handles in the mail. I love The Golden Nib #2 handles. For $20 each I feel that is pretty reasonable for a quality handle with a shape I love. I will mount the game changer, lights and sunrise knots and update the thread. From all the synthetics I have tried the whipped dog is my favorite. Since it ranked 2nd I am really excited to try the lights. Did you find the lights softer than the whipped dog? I think the actual plisson is the softest of all the brushes with the finest fibers and the whipped dog is a little more course. I am wondering if the lights has a finer fiber like a plisson.

Also have you contacted him again about availability? I see the etsy doesnt have the lights in 24mm. Thanks
 
So I have some handles in the mail. I love The Golden Nib #2 handles. For $20 each I feel that is pretty reasonable for a quality handle with a shape I love. I will mount the game changer, lights and sunrise knots and update the thread. From all the synthetics I have tried the whipped dog is my favorite. Since it ranked 2nd I am really excited to try the lights. Did you find the lights softer than the whipped dog? I think the actual plisson is the softest of all the brushes with the finest fibers and the whipped dog is a little more course. I am wondering if the lights has a finer fiber like a plisson.

Also have you contacted him again about availability? I see the etsy doesnt have the lights in 24mm. Thanks

This is just a prelimary first impression of the 24mm Lights vs 24mm Sunrise vs 24mm Chiseled Face Fauxmere set at 13.25mm depth (hole was drilled to 15mm and I added a single quarter for spacing).

All three knots have incredibly soft tips. After doing a blind test with my wife rubbing each dry brush against my face, the Lights and Sunrise knots are noticeably softer and more luxurious feeling than the Fauxmere fibers, and the Lights is just slightly softer than the Sunrise. The only way I could tell a difference between the Lights and Sunrise was when they were both rubbed simultaneously, when doing one after the other I couldn't tell a difference (just to give you an idea of how close they feel, it's really a non-issue).


After a few test face lathers of each, in my opinion the Fauxmere knot is still lacking sufficient backbone for my preference, although it is slightly better than when it was set at the standard 10mm depth. Even at the extra depth the knot still splays very easily, but I think it's the lack of density in the knot that makes it still feel a little floppy down at the base. I think setting this knot any deeper will inhibit its ability to splay during swirls or fan out during paint brush strokes, and you will lose out on the main benefits of the Fauxmere knot. For anyone who likes the Plisson and wants something similar but with a little more useable backbone, I can suggest considering the Fauxmere knot set at this depth but I feel the Sunrise is a better option for most.

The Sunrise knot definitely has a slightly different feel than the Lights knot, although it is fairly close I can tell you these are not the same knots just in different colors. It is somewhere in between the feel of the Fauxmere and the feel of the Lights, which will probably be a great combination for most synthetic brush users. Although I still prefer the denser feeling of the Lights, this Sunrise knot is definitely a great alternative to the Lights if they do not get any back in stock. As of right now, this is my 2nd favorite brush of all the ones I tried.

I'm going to continue playing around for the next couple of days and finalize my thoughts, get a few shaves in with the 2 new brushes, and add some pictures and updates to the original post in this thread. I just wanted to get some intial thoughts added in case anyone is in a hurry to put together their own brush in the mean time.
 
Jeremy - Used the WD 24mm synthetic tonight. It generated a great lather. More backbone than Plisson, less than my Muhle STF XL. Great cost/price ratio.

Used you tip of splaying it into the soap while loading. Worked very well. Highly recommended. I had bowl lathered it once to get it going. Not sure if synths have a break in ?

On deck is the RazoRock Plisson....

Used the RR Plissoft tonight and it was fantastic. More backbone than Whipped dog, equal to the Muhle STF, but easier to splay. Have to say the RR is my fav synthetic to date, just above Muhle STF XL.

The Whipped dog and Plisson will go to co-workers. The Plissoft and Muhle STF still in the den!
 
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