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I'm starting to appreciate the idea of synthetic brushes which is unexpected

I understand and share your reluctance, but it's not so easy to avoid something that didn't at least partly originate in China. How many brush makers reveal where their knots come from, synthetic or otherwise?
If we zoom out a little and look around our houses, the amount of stuff manufactured in China is staggering. I've just stopped thinking about it; there's no escape.
 
Thus, we are doomed in the end as our pocketbooks rule our ethics.
 
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I'm starting to think badger just isn't as good as synthetic, which is really a surprise because in my experience the modern approximation of something is usually worse than the real thing. I wish I hadn't spent $100 to learn this lesson, but I guess I'm glad I didn't spend more.
Experimentation is the only way to know for sure in my opinion and unfortunately that can get expensive rather quickly.

I don't really think of synthetic being better than natural hair so much as just entirely different. The rest, I think, are matters of personal preference, and my preference just happens to lean strongly toward synthetic.
 
Experimentation is the only way to know for sure in my opinion and unfortunately that can get expensive rather quickly.

I don't really think of synthetic being better than natural hair so much as just entirely different. The rest, I think, are matters of personal preference and my preference leans strongly towards synthetic.[/I][/I]
Sure, and a lot of this is subjective of course, but I think it's ok to make a judgement based on desired outcome and experience. We're not talking about badger vs synthetic to clean our teeth or paint the wall. And just like those tasks might be better left to other tools, maybe badger hair should be left to other tasks. Or that's starting to become my position on this particular debate after recently returning to badger after leaving it in favor of synthetic over 5 years ago.
 
I don't really think of synthetic being better than natural hair so much as just entirely different.
I think synthetic brushes have improved so much that there's no longer a compelling reason to use badger. Maybe my Simpson badger brush performs ever so slightly better than my best synthetic, but the difference is so small it doesn't matter. Then consider that synthetic brushes are cheaper, dry quicker and don't need to be soaked before use.
 
I think synthetic brushes have improved so much that there's no longer a compelling reason to use badger. Maybe my Simpson badger brush performs ever so slightly better than my best synthetic, but the difference is so small it doesn't matter. Then consider that synthetic brushes are cheaper, dry quicker and don't need to be soaked before use.
I think that's the nub of it, especially for guys just starting out.
 
I think synthetics are better, but not always cheaper. Muhle STF, made in Germany, tied in Germany, is more expensive than a lot of badger knots, including STF (except their own). But usually it is a lot cheaper. It will stay that way until people adopt synthetics and badger is no longer desirable, then the prices will rise accordingly.
 
@timetofly ,

Egg foo yong is a terrible brush. It only has flow-through if you eat it and you can’t do that if it’s been in soap.

@CCS ,

I’m starting to appreciate poor, dead animal brushes more. My AP ShaveCo Cashmere will be my top latherer for the foreseeable future, but my Simpson Wee Scot has been very enjoyable. Moreso now that I comb it
Oh sorry, I read that as products..not brushes.:001_smile
 
@Wogus I think I figured it out. @Ron R was right, but we were speaking a different language.

You know how synthetics are said to be more efficient than badger? Well, we need to believe the same about badger, but in reverse: it’s less efficient than synthetic. So if that’s true, we just need to load the brush like crazy.

So that’s what I did. I grabbed my Yaqi two-band and loaded what I believed to be WAY too much soap and it worked. I had to add a little water like @Ron R said, but more importantly I loaded enough soap to give two passes without a problem.

I think a part of my success also is that this particular brush has a high enough loft to create the tiniest bit of flop, so it’s less dense overall and the soap flows well. It’s my favorite of the 3 badgers I recently picked up.

I’ll try this a few more times and see where it takes me.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I like my SV 2.0 Manchurian badgers a "lot"... and I like my Zenith Manchurian with the 506 copper handle almost as much.

I have several synth brushes that work for me and a few I wasn't that fond of.... They left the house this morning for another person to try.

I think it's safe to say... Badgers, mixed bristle brushes, boars and synths are not created equal. And we each have subjective tastes in face feel. The obligatory "YMMV" mantra certainly applies to shaving brushes.
 

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
Thus, we are doomed in the end as our pocketbooks rule our ethics.

Yep, sad to say, but too many slobs/insert an invective here need a big teevee, hence ChinaMart rules .. recalling a line from a show I can't recall, but it went like "we used to build stuff here, now we just put our hands in the next guy's pocket"
 
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Yep, sad to say, but too many slobs/insert an invective here need a big teevee, hence ChinaMart rules .. recalling a line from a show I can't recall, but it went like "we used to build stuff here, now we just put our hands in the next guy's pocket"
Where are you getting your TVs?
 
I just picked up 3 badger brushes from Aliexpress for around $100 to see what I’ve been missing since I started using synthetic many years ago and I’m starting to become afraid that I wasted $100.

They’re nice brushes, but they’re really stingy with lather on passes 2+. Am I doing something wrong, or are synthetics just that much better than badger in this regard?
no its not you or the brushes, badgers have a tendency to hog. Particularly the denser ones. You might have to wring it out and paint it on your face. Synthetics are by far and away more efficient in terms of product usage, water usage and lather flow through.
 
Shavemac for sure is, but I think the idea here is that they likely source some or all of their raw materials from China, just like everyone else.
Maybe, but I know that Shavemac turns their brushes when you order them. The fibers are made in Germany. Perhaps the glue? I don't know where the glue is made. The truth is that we live in a global market. Parts of things are made in many nations. China is getting more expensive and soon businesses will be looking to other small nations to make their products, like Vietnam, Thailand, Azerbaijan, and etc. that have the ability to make things cheaper. China will work themselves out of the picture.
 
La Madison du Barbier synthetic brush. Not too cheap and not too expensive. Not too stiff and not too floppy. Not too soft and not too scrubby.

Goldilocks would say, “it’s just right.” :)


Get one while you’re still able. The manufacturer has discontinued them.
 
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