First Synthetic Advice Wanted

[MurderousCrow]

I bought a Razorock 400 Plissoft - their Rubberset copy - back in late 2019, and have used it for over 99% of my shaves since. Shedding is minimal - I'd hesitate to say zero but have genuinely not noticed any. And it produces a rich lather very quickly and reliably.

I'm very, very happy with it.

 

[Lane101]

The RazoRock Big Bruce 26 mm or 24 mm knot for about $18.00 on Amazon is a great brush. My favorite and I have many.

View attachment 1399954

An excellent choice. My go to the past 2+ years has been the Razorock Monster brush that has the exact same knot in a different handle. Wonderful performance.

 

[Starsky]

I sure support PAA brushes. I have 4 different models and they are all excellent.

 

[Dov Shaves]

I've owned a wide variety of brushes with animal and synthetic knots. Most of them are gone now and 96% of the time I use synthetics. My favorite knot is the 26mm tuxedo, and all of my synthetics brushes have them. My 26mm two-band badger Shavemac, an incredible badger brush, and my Semogue Owners Club boar bush hang around for show or I use them occasionaly on weekends when I have time.

 

[TheRoamingGastroGnome]

I've had an EJ badger since I began wet shaving a decade ago and wanted something new, boy how things change in 10 years! Picked up a RazoRock Plissoft Beehive XL and have pretty much used it exclusively since it arrived last summer. Love it. It is definitely BIG. One thing I really like is not having to pre-soak. Also it feels nice and makes an excellent lather fairly easily.

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

I bought a new Simpsons Duke 3 synthetic for a 3 week trip to the Caribbean over Christmas and the New Year. It is the best synthetic I have tried so far and a lot nicer than the Mühle one I bought 4 or 5 years ago. However it still does not lather quite as well or is as pleasant on the face as my genuine badger brushes. Synthetics still have a little way to go to match natural fibre but have improved a lot from the horrible face torturers of 10 years ago.

 

[Alberez]

Lately I've been getting the urge to try a synthetic. Currently I own just 2 brushes, both Simpson's Best Badger, a Duke 3 and a Commodore 2. I mostly face lather with hard soaps (MdC, Stirling, Mikes Natural, Speick stick). Among the models I'm considering are the Yaqui Moka Express, Yaqi 24mm Sagrada Familia and the RazoRock Hive 24. All are under $20, and with zero experience I don't have a clue which would serve me better, or if there's another synthetic I should be looking at instead of the above 3. Price matters, but if there's one that is absolutely hands down superior, but is more costly, then by all means tell me about it.

I don't have experience with the YAQIs, but I can attest to the RazoRock, which is absolutely amazing. I don't know how this guys managed to made it, but the sheer smoothnes and water retention capacity are awesome for a synthetic brush. I have to clarify though, the one I own is the Plissoft, not the Hive. And since I'm Vegan, for me this is the perfect brush. If you pair it with a TOBS Eton College shaving cream, it would be an unbelievable experience... guaranteed!!

 

[Ivo4u2]

I have several different synthetics, tuxedo, boss, plissoft, several brands and spread over multiple years, and i really like the Yaqi for the money especially the faux horse.

 

[bakerc7]

I have several synthetic's from Maggard razors. Their "plain" synthetic's, both complete brushes and knots that I put in other handles. I really like them! I bought the first as a travel brush. Because it was supposed to dry quicker. Then I used it. That when the dam broke! Now I have 11 synthetic brushes!

 

[Dapper Gent]

I have 2 synthetics, both Parkers. MISY and a BCSY. The BCSY is slightly more firm, however both are soft tipped and lather very well without any shedding. (I also use hard soaps) I love both of these and no longer use my genuine brushes. IMO they are better, and if you're getting the urge I say go for it, you won't be sorry if you pick the right brush. You say price matters and that is understandable, however, I strongly recommend against going for the cheapest. As with anything else, you're going to get what you pay for. These two are in the $30.00 range. Parker has others that are in the low to mid 20's, and so do other brands. Shop around, there are a lot of good synthetics out there, and you're getting a lot of good suggestions.

 

[Peterv1]

The Simpson Trafalgar T3 would be a nice option as well dence soft bristles with and a fair amount of backbone

 

[JCarr]

I recommend two synthetics.

Semogue Pharos synthetic
AP Shave Co. with a G5A knot

You can pick a handle with the AP Shave Co. Brush. They have expensive handles and not so expensive handles. The G5A is their best knot in my opinion. The G5B isn't bad either. My advice would be to go with the less expensive handle and the good knot.

The Semogue Pharos synthetic is like an imitation horse hair, but with more backbone. It comes in three colors and runs around $20.

And...good luck with your choice and happy shaves!

 

[Gypsee]

When I come in here, I normally just keep my head down, cause fooling around with you fellows will have me penniless - but I just cannot bypass the advice here... PAA here I come!

 

[Nidan]

I'm still on the fence, probably going with Razorock or PAA, just can't decide

 

[gdawg55]

I'm still on the fence, probably going with Razorock or PAA, just can't decide

I have the PAA Amber Aerolite, Solar Flare, and Peregrino and prefer the first 2 as they have a little more backbone which I like. Stirling makes a couple of 24mm synthetics that are very good performers, the Simpson Trafalgar T2 is nice also. The RazoRock Hive is a looker and performs nicely as well. Lots of great options out there. I don't have any Yaqi brushes so can't comment on those, but folks seem to like them.