got my 2012 soc le today. thoughts...

[mastershake]

have to say i love the knot but not super thrilled at the handle quality. for a supposed turned handle i expected better. i can see where it looks like the maybe clamped it to hold it or something at the bottom there are 4 small dents pretty even around the bottom sides like a claw or chuck or something held it. and there is another flat spot on the handle towards the top where its not round. the bottom had light scuffs which came out with a bit of glaze which i think are just from it rubbing on the clear tube. but to my eye it looks like the handle is either clear coated or painted. there is some dust on it under the clear or paint (i used to paint cars i know what that looks like) and some very small pin head size bubbles in whatever the coating is.

handle aside i like the knot. it does not feel quite as dense as the amici imo but its close. though it feels a bit softer than the amici not much but a little bit softer to the skin. no funk almost at all.

i also thought from pictures the handle was a blueish color not black and grey. most pictures i saw it was a really dark blue with some grey in it. mine has no blue to be found.

overall as with the amici i love the knot i think the amici may be a bit better overall. but not crazy about the handle at this price point at all. as much as i dont like the lines on the amici handle i would rather have those than the dimples / spots on the le 2012. maybe im ocd a bit much but i expected a better finished handle at this price point. also i honestly have to say i much prefer the amici to hold as well.

 

[Atalk]

Thanks for your review - I was wondering the other day if someone would post a comparison between the Amici and the 2012 SOC LE due to the same/similar knot.

 

[mastershake]

hopefully i can get this replaced i can not believe these marks should be there they are VERY noticable and i know this is not a 300$ brush but it still should not look like this. i even had my wife look at it and she said the same thing she instantly saw all the marks on the handle. i could understand one small issue or something but to have 5 dents and scratches you can feel easily with your fingernail i dont think they should be there.

they rock. i sent them pics and they are sending out a replacement. i will not be able to test both together till i get the new one.

 

[TheLegalRazor]

After reading your post I looked at mine carefully and did not see any of the same problems. Maybe you received a bad handle. I'll look forward to your comments on the mixed knot.

 

[mastershake]

yeah i sent pics and they are sending out replacement they said those spots should not be there at all. got it from fendrihan and so far they have been great.

 

[Shave_Rat]

I really like the knot in my SOC 2012, especially after the badger hairs broke in a bit. It's pretty much my favorite soap brush.

 

[es99]

After reading your post I looked at mine carefully and did not see any of the same problems. Maybe you received a bad handle. I'll look forward to your comments on the mixed knot.

Totally agree. I have two SOC SEs (one backup) and the handles on both are smooth, shiny, and blemish-free. I personally love the handle: heavy, dense and ergonomic to my hand.

Congrats on the buy!! Can't speak to the amici, but the SOC SE only gets better with time.

 

[mastershake]

well it was shipped back today and they even sent me a gift certificate to cover what i paid for shipping!! i should have its replacement in about 2 weeks glad to hear others are fine so i can hope that the replacement will be great and it was just a one time thing. thanks for the feedback

 

[es99]

Do let us know what you think, eventually as it breaks in.

 

[JonJeffman]

Seems odd they'd clear-coat or paint the handle - it shouldn't need it for waterproofing as it's a plastic/resin handle, and that just adds an extra step & cost. Maybe they do it to seal in the logo sticker?

Man I think I want you to paint my car! No blemish would slip by!

 

[warhawk]

Hi Mastershake: Glad that you got a replacement. I love my SOC 2012 SE!

WARHAWK

 

[mastershake]

Seems odd they'd clear-coat or paint the handle - it shouldn't need it for waterproofing as it's a plastic/resin handle, and that just adds an extra step & cost. Maybe they do it to seal in the logo sticker?

Man I think I want you to paint my car! No blemish would slip by!

kinda what i was thinking it was to seal the sticker. yeah when i paint a car its costly because its flawless. it was so hard when someone came in and just wanted a "cheap and quick" job to put something out there that was not flawless. i mostly painted high end stuff and people knew that which is why i usually at any time had probably somewhere around 10,00,000$ worth of vehicles on my lot. we did work for Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and those types of cars usually otherwise we were doing custom jobs. ill post some pics so you guys can see im not nuts.

 

[mastershake]

here are some pics i have more pics but seems like i could only add 5 but you should get the idea. look at the 4th pic thats one that shows the bubbles on the finish. and in looking at it that area looked to have a coating or something. maybe as said to seal the sticker on.

 

[Shave_Rat]

Wow, yeah... looks like a pretty banged up or poorly molded/turned handle made it through the Semo QC department. Glad that the vendor is being so awesome on rectifying the issue for you.

 

[es99]

Oh yea... That's def not right.

 

[global_dev]

I have 2 soc le handles and the caravella. None look like that. And I prefer the caravella over the soc anyday. Didn't love the soc on the boars either. Don't know why everyone loves them so much and disliked the caravela/amici...

 

[mastershake]

i LOVE LOVE my amici. honestly if they were readily available i would have bought a back up amici vs a soc le version. im one that loves the amici handle in hand its actually to me very comfortable to hold. and my brother in law really wants a amici as well (hint hint if anyone sells one lmk for him) the soc handle is nice to hold but not as nice as the amici. i wish i could buy another myself. but if i found one it would go to him first and then ill dream of another for me lol.

 

[Atalk]

Eek! Out of curiosity, did the knot appear unused? I am surprised that a brand, new brush would have that condition.

 

[es99]

To those who prefer the amici/caravella, is it the handle or the knot? And if the handle, what specifically?

 

[mastershake]

Eek! Out of curiosity, did the knot appear unused? I am surprised that a brand, new brush would have that condition.

nope looked brand new knot wise. i was a bit surprised as well.