I'm Thinking of Buying One and Only One Synthetic | Which One Should I Buy?

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

@Chan Eil Whiskers Give or take a year later, how is that evo treating you? Still your one, only and forever synth? Has the brush evolved any? Have you tried others? I'm mighty tempted by the evo, and also the perregrino one, they get mentioned often. Thanks ahead of time Jim

In synthetics I have only the Evo. Mostly use it as a travel brush. Occasionally use it when not traveling.

Rave @Raven Koenes says his Evo is the best brush in the world. He's tried some very good brushes including the Zenith Manchurian but long ago decided to only use synthetics. Once he got an Evo it's been hard to find him with anything else.

If anything I like the Evo better than I did early on. It is a terrific brush (and I'm not saying terrific for a synthetic). Good backbone. Good splay. Very soft but also scrubby. Loads and lathers easily. Rinses easily. All the good stuff. It doesn't seem springy either. No downsides.

It's not a Manchurian of course, but it certainly has decent scrub (or better than decent) which is to me 100% required.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

For the first time synthetic buyer, it’s hard to go wrong with the RazoRock 400. It’s a copy of the iconic Rubberset 400 but has a Plissoft knot. It’s so soft and gentle it is like lathering with a makeup brush. But it will whip up a batch of lather in no time. Plus when it comes to releasing the soap onto your face I haven’t found anything else that lets go of it so easily. My super Badger wants to hold onto the lather. Since it releases the soap so easily, cleanup is a breeze. I liked my first one so much, I had to have a second one.

 

[linty1]

For the first time synthetic buyer, it’s hard to go wrong with the RazoRock 400. It’s a copy of the iconic Rubberset 400 but has a Plissoft knot. It’s so soft and gentle it is like lathering with a makeup brush. But it will whip up a batch of lather in no time. Plus when it comes to releasing the soap onto your face I haven’t found anything else that lets go of it so easily. My super Badger wants to hold onto the lather. Since it releases the soap so easily, cleanup is a breeze. I liked my first one so much, I had to have a second one.

View attachment 1277090

The more I look at that Plissoft the more it looks like the knot in my rocket... paa calls it a "sauve" knot but it looks similar. Now of course they can dye the fibres to look like whatever they want but how you describe it, it sounds at least very similar.

 

[Raven Koenes]

In synthetics I have only the Evo. Mostly use it as a travel brush. Occasionally use it when not traveling.

Rave @Raven Koenes says his Evo is the best brush in the world. He's tried some very good brushes including the Zenith Manchurian but long ago decided to only use synthetics. Once he got an Evo it's been hard to find him with anything else.

If anything I like the Evo better than I did early on. It is a terrific brush (and I'm not saying terrific for a synthetic). Good backbone. Good splay. Very soft but also scrubby. Loads and lathers easily. Rinses easily. All the good stuff. It doesn't seem springy either. No downsides.

It's not a Manchurian of course, but it certainly has decent scrub (or better than decent) which is to me 100% required.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I haven't used any other brush since I got the Omega Evo. I have no desire too. With more brushes than I can count off of the top of my head that's saying a lot. Especially with my rabbit hole disorders. I haven't ever used just one brush before now, and I have all the the usual syntetic knots from plissoft to angels hair, to silksmoke, to synbad, to Omega S Knots to Tuxedo and the rest.

 

[Raven Koenes]

The more I look at that Plissoft the more it looks like the knot in my rocket... paa calls it a "sauve" knot but it looks similar. Now of course they can dye the fibres to look like whatever they want but how you describe it, it sounds at least very similar.

It's the same. Synthetic knots are all sourced from China except for Omega knots, as well as Muhle and Simpson, I believe. If you get synthetic knots from Maggards, Italian Barber, PAA, APShaveco, Yaqi etc. they are the same knots from the same source. Each individual Omega Evo knot fibers braded to retain water like natural hair bristles. The brush has a natural feel.

 

[linty1]

It's the same. Synthetic knots are all sourced from China except for Omega knots, as well as Muhle and Simpson, I believe. If you get synthetic knots from Maggards, Italian Barber, PAA, APShaveco, Yaqi etc. they are the same knots from the same source. Each individual Omega Evo knot fibers braded to retain water like natural hair bristles. The brush has a natural feel.

Thanks for the info, and that makes sense. Now I'm kinda curious, I think the plissoft knot was one if the earlier knots to exist, and since then there have been many new ones, and I've read knots have improved muchly since. Has the plissoft gone through the same improvements/iterations?

You two have me -very- curious about the evo. I do have enough brushes though so I can afford to hem and haw over it for awhile.

@Raven Koenes and @Chan Eil Whiskers Where did you get your evos? Straight from Omega?

 

[Raven Koenes]

Thanks for the info, and that makes sense. Now I'm kinda curious, I think the plissoft knot was one if the earlier knots to exist, and since then there have been many new ones, and I've read knots have improved muchly since. Has the plissoft gone through the same improvements/iterations?

You two have me -very- curious about the evo. I do have enough brushes though so I can afford to hem and haw over it for awhile.

I don't think the Plissoft knot has evolved. What I think happened is that variations occurred with what I call Plissoft descendants. That's where any evolution has taken place. I like my Maggard $9.99 usd Plissoft brush as much as any of its descendants. The exceptions to these synthetic knots are silversynth knots like the Omega Evo, Muhle STFV2, and the Simpson T3 which are in a class all their own. A side note: I believe the Omega S-brush knots were developed for Omega by Dupont. I'm curious about the Evo knot? The Evo totally out strips the s-brush, in everyway possible, and any of the Plissoft/descendant line.

The trouble is you think you have time.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Thanks for the info, and that makes sense. Now I'm kinda curious, I think the plissoft knot was one if the earlier knots to exist, and since then there have been many new ones, and I've read knots have improved muchly since. Has the plissoft gone through the same improvements/iterations?

You two have me -very- curious about the evo. I do have enough brushes though so I can afford to hem and haw over it for awhile.

@Raven Koenes and @Chan Eil Whiskers Where did you get your evos? Straight from Omega?

Mine came from West Coast Shaving. Lots of places have 'em I think.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Frank Shaving G4

 

[macintoshBR]

This has been an informative thread!

my experience with synthetic brushes is limited to the old L’Occitane by Plisson. A lather machine, but a brush without a soul (and a cheap handle)

The Omega Evo seems to be a nice synthetic brush, but I’d wish they offered different knot sizes and handle styles. From what I’ve seen, right now only 28mm knots with either ugly or very ugly (IMHO) handles are available

I will refrain from buying any for now. The last thing I want is a line up of different synthetic brushes from experimenting. I also don’t want to buy a brush that will be outdated in a year when new technology is available. I’m also worried (due to lack of available information) about the impact of synthetic fiber production, and the risk of micro plastics going down the sink or into my body.

I will stick to boars and badgers for now, but again, this thread was great!

 

[JCarr]

All of my brushes are synthetics. My favorite is the Semogue Pharos. It's around $22 so it won't break the bank and it has some stiffness to it and doesn't flop and splay to easily. It's a synthetic with some backbone.

 

[never-stop-learning]

It's the same. Synthetic knots are all sourced from China except for Omega knots, as well as Muhle and Simpson, I believe. If you get synthetic knots from Maggards, Italian Barber, PAA, APShaveco, Yaqi etc. they are the same knots from the same source. Each individual Omega Evo knot fibers braded to retain water like natural hair bristles. The brush has a natural feel.

How about the Zenith synthetic? Feels different than any of the Chinese knots.

 

[anoop]

It's the same. Synthetic knots are all sourced from China except for Omega knots, as well as Muhle and Simpson, I believe. If you get synthetic knots from Maggards, Italian Barber, PAA, APShaveco, Yaqi etc. they are the same knots from the same source. Each individual Omega Evo knot fibers braded to retain water like natural hair bristles. The brush has a natural feel.

What about Plisson's 3 synthetic knots -- white, grey and blond?

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I might one day think about getting a Zenith synthetic as I hear good things about them, and I generally have very much liked the Zenith brushes I've tried, but I really only need one synthetic.

My Omega Evo continues to impress me every time I use it. I'd swear it's a pretty darn good silvertip badger brush if I didn't know better. It loads properly. It lathers nicely. The splay is right. The scrub is right. It is very very soft without compromising backbone or splay. It is not springy. It holds water very well.

It also rinses extremely well like most synthetics (or maybe all synthetics) and dries quickly.

In my photo the brush is brand new. It still looks exactly the same.​

I would change one thing about the brush if I could do it over. I'd spend $10 more and get the same handle in green. Not that I don't like the handle I got.

If Omega made the same brush in a larger knot size I'd consider buying it. This brush is nominally large but it seems to me to be smaller than its nominal size. I think of it as being much like some of my 24 mm knots (not synthetics) which is to say medium sized, not too small, but not what I prefer.

I'm not knocking the brush in any way. I'm very happy this is the synthetic I purchased. I like everything about it including the feel and appearance of the handle. It's an outstanding brush (and I don't mean outstanding for a synthetic).

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Raven Koenes]

What about Plisson's 3 synthetic knots -- white, grey and blond?

My information is old. The Plissoft knots are based off of Plisson's first synthetics. I don't know if they've upgraded since then, anyone?

 

[Andris83]

The last thing I want is a line up of different synthetic brushes from experimenting. I also don’t want to buy a brush that will be outdated in a year when new technology is available. I’m also worried (due to lack of available information) about the impact of synthetic fiber production, and the risk of micro plastics going down the sink or into my body.

I'm all for organic products (seem to be almost alone with this here), but how do you think your skin would absorb plastic from the brush?

 

[musicman1951]

I've only tried about 8, but the EVO is the best so far. Great backbone and doesn't throw lather like most of them.

 

[ShaverAZ]

I really enjoy this Tuxedo Yaqi brush

View attachment 1068207

Excellent backbone. Not much of a scrub but fairly soft. Excellent performer.

I've got several Yaqi synthetics -one is just like yiur pictured one, but with orange handle. I also hve a Sagreda Familia Badger. It's a toss-up between the badger & another DS cosmetics badger. They work great, but I still find myself reaching for one of the synthetics most days - they're That Good.

 

[SterFry]

Anybody who likes the Evo should check out the G5A. Fibers are sourced from Germany. My best brush and available in multiple sizes

 

[Whiskey-Man]

There are a bunch of awesome synthetics. I suggets you look at PAA brushes. They are awesome