I Recently bought a small Yaqi 2 Band Badger the 'Ever Helpful'. My reaction.

[Quasimodo]

Yaqi say that their Ever Helpful 2 Band Badger has a 22mm knot and a loft of 47mm. The one I received actually has a 24mm knot and a loft of 43mm. No doubt it is a good looking handle and very ergonomic but the knot is a different matter. Now if you're looking for a compact 2 band badger knot with a ton of backbone in a small brush then boy is this the brush for you ! I call it the Tennis Ball and while it's not literally that firm you get the idea.

Below is a photo of it I took next to its bigger brother the Yaqi Obsidian 2 Band Badger which Yaqi says has a 24mm knot with a 52mm loft but again mine was different with a 26mm knot and a 53mm loft ( the Obsidian is a very nice brush but just a little too big for me which is why I bought the 'Ever Helpful' ). And I put them against an Omega Boar 10049 for comparison.

 

[Ron R]

If your looking for a Yaqi 2band badger in 22 mm the Sagrada Familia is a nice brush, one of my favorites.
I have to agree with the Yaqi 22mm 2band badger "Ever Helpful" it is designed for those folks who like to scrub but still have the pillow soft tips & still a reasonable lather painter. The knot loft is short and is a High density badger hair.
I have a couple of the Yaqi 24mm 2 band badgers and they are nice brush to work the face and are good at softness, scrub and painting IMO.
Yaqi Sagrada Familia 2band badger is a nice brush. Handle is smaller so those folks with large hands should take this in consideration also.

Have some great shaves!

 

[Steve_in_CT]

I have two Yaqi 2 band badger brushes. The Ever Helpful is indeed a scrubby little brush, but it has soft tips so it is (for me) a very pleasurable scrub. It reminds me a bit of my 2013 Semogue Mistura. The Moka 2 band is as big as the Ever Helpful is little. It has good backbone, but I wouldn't call it scrubby at all. Like the Ever Helpful it has soft tips, but I find the mass of badger can be a bit overwhelming at times. They're both great brushes in their own way and both get used frequently. Here they are side by side:

 

[NorthernSoul]

I think the Yaqi Two-band badgers in the nominal 24mm knot size are good for what you pay. The knot is a bit oversize, though. Definitely larger than my SOC Two-band and Mistura brushes. Almost too big for me, but I can adjust.

 

[Ron R]

My two Yaqi silvertip brushes that I bought this year Looked normal when then they are packaged and when I cleaned them to get ready for future shaving enjoyment they sure bloomed. I was smiling and was wondering how they would perform for scrubbing and painting lather and to my surprize they do get slightly smaller when wet and lathering under the nose was no problem at all and I do not end up lathering my mouth like a lot of folks do, I just use the edge of the brush with no problem.
I really enjoy using these 2 Yaqi Silvertips and they are not lather hogs, meaning they give up the lather as needed I found but I do bowl lather mostly.
The face feel is a luxury soft pillow feel massage when scrubbing and for painting they are excellent IMO.
I have no problem mixing any hard soap, croap or cream with these brushes when bowl lathering and a very enjoyable face feel massage experience.
I also have some other Yaqi silvertips that did not bloom as big like the 24mm Aqua HM silvertip, 24mm mysterious space silvertip and the 24mm artic sky silvertip all excellent lathering brushes also but no where near as large a bloom.
I bought my brushes when they had sales and where good deals I thought.
I think Yaqi can make knots bloom larger by how the knot is but together if that is what the customer prefers or enjoys.

(L)24mm Yaqi black Marble silvertip new and after cleaning ..(R) 24mm Bali silvertip new and after cleaning, bloomed

Have some great shaves!

 

[Quasimodo]

If your looking for a Yaqi 2band badger in 22 mm the Sagrada Familia is a nice brush, one of my favorites.
I have to agree with the Yaqi 22mm 2band badger "Ever Helpful" it is designed for those folks who like to scrub but still have the pillow soft tips & still a reasonable lather painter. The knot loft is short and is a High density badger hair.
I have a couple of the Yaqi 24mm 2 band badgers and they are nice brush to work the face and are good at softness, scrub and painting IMO.
Yaqi Sagrada Familia 2band badger is a nice brush. Handle is smaller so those folks with large hands should take this in consideration also.

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Have some great shaves!

Ah that looks more like it ! Thanks and ordered ! Along with another brush to keep it company on the journey. Thanks for bringing that one to my attention. I missed seeing it because Wetshavingco had the Sagrada Familia Pure Badger knot on display and you had to click a drop down box to select the 2 Band version. Doh !

 

[Hentrox]

I think the Yaqi Two-band badgers in the nominal 24mm knot size are good for what you pay. The knot is a bit oversize, though. Definitely larger than my SOC Two-band and Mistura brushes. Almost too big for me, but I can adjust.

Any advice for someone considering a Semogue SOC 2-Band badger vs Yaqi 24mm 2-band badger (at 1/3 of the price..)?

 

[Multum in parvo]

Any advice for someone considering a Semogue SOC 2-Band badger vs Yaqi 24mm 2-band badger (at 1/3 of the price..)?

If you don’t yet have one specimen of both companies I would start with the Yaqi and only look further if you don’t like it.

The Obsidian is a very nice, dense and generous brush. The SOC has excellent flow through with a super ergonomic handle.

 

[Hentrox]

If you don’t yet have one specimen of both companies I would start with the Yaqi and only look further if you don’t like it.

The Obsidian is a very nice, dense and generous brush. The SOC has excellent flow through with a super ergonomic handle.

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The (your) Yaqi 2-band looks it has more of a bulb shape than the Semogue SOC. Does this have disadvantages for splaying/face lathering?

 

[Multum in parvo]

The (your) Yaqi 2-band looks it has more of a bulb shape than the Semogue SOC. Does this have disadvantages for splaying/face lathering?

No, it feels like a big pillow the SOC is more precise.

 

[Hentrox]

No, it feels like a big pillow the SOC is more precise.

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In the past I've had trouble getting my moustache area properly lathered, whilst simultaneously not getting lather up my nostrils. I suspect it may be more difficult to achieve this with a more 'bulb like' knot.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Any advice for someone considering a Semogue SOC 2-Band badger vs Yaqi 24mm 2-band badger (at 1/3 of the price..)?

The Yaqi 24mm Two-band is good for the money, but the Semogue SOC Finest is just much nicer to use, IMHO. You don't need that many brushes, so in my case buying something I seldom use turned out to be false economy. I like having the Yaqi around but use the SOC a lot more often.

I did get the Semogue SOC at a good discount on a sale.

 

[Multum in parvo]

In the past I've had trouble getting my moustache area properly lathered, whilst simultaneously not getting lather up my nostrils. I suspect it may be more difficult to achieve this with a more 'bulb like' knot.

Sorry I can’t help you there as I sport a moustache…