Let's just keep this among ourselves but I might, might mind you, have been wrong about synthetic brushes

[CCS]

Family is here for the weekend but I was going batty not having been able to shave so I excused myself for a few minutes and was looking the the brush that would take the least amount of time to prep. It was either my Trafalgar T2 or this unknown Chinese, wood handle, very soft synth brush that I have no idea where it came from. It had been at our other house for some years and when my wife brought it here along with the Omega and a VdH brush (both of which I remembered), I was completely blank. Gotta remember, I've been using mostly good badger brushes for decades now.

Anyway, to keep it short, I grabbed that cheapie brush and a tube of Proraso Red and squirted a dollop of the cream into my Captain's Choice copper shaving bowl and rinsed the brush for 15-20 second in cold water. In, literally, less than a minute, I had a perfect lather and, unlike the Trafalgar, was able to splay this brush so I could lather the way I like and finish with some painting strokes. Gobs of perfect lather with zero effort (a good amount of credit is due to Proraso). Terrific shave ('61 Tech and 4th and done Perma-Sharp).

What I'm beginning to understand about the love so many are developing for synth brushes is just how quickly they are ready, how quickly they make a good lather, and how they need no breaking in (to speak of). Could I have been wrong? ME? It's possible my friends, just possible...

 

[NorthernSoul]

I think you can enjoy synth brushes more if you think of them as being in their own category, not as direct replacements for badger or boar brushes. They have their own particular strengths and weaknesses. I like synths especially for travel. I won't be giving up my boar and badger brushes anytime soon, though.

 

[CCS]

I think you can enjoy synth brushes more if you think of them as being in their own category, not as direct replacements for badger or boar brushes. They have their own particular strengths and weaknesses. I like synths especially for travel. I won't be giving up my boar and badger brushes anytime soon, though.

I agree and said as much in another thread recently. The discussion was centered around not comparing synths to boar or badger but, as you say, letting them be in their own category. At this point, I fully agree even with my very limited experience with the two I have. I recall what I said was, manufacturers should not compare them to boar or badger (and stop dyeing them to look like badger) but sell them on their own merits, like being the perfect travel brush and ready to use almost instantly, no soaking required. Heck, I may buy another once I start paying attention to what members here like. Of course, many like the Trafalgar line and while I've warmed up to mine a little, it isn't the one.

 

[Virtus3]

One of us! One of us!

Glad you had a good experience with one.

 

[timetofly]

My $20 Plissoft synthetic from RazoRock is an outstanding brush! It lathers so well!! Anything from a croap, to a hard as rock triple milled soap. Splay??, you ask. No weakling in this area. Used it in this evening's shave.

 

[CANES]

Go buy the Dollar Tree shaving brush. You'll go back to your old way of thinking quick enough.

 

[dmshaver]

Synthetics are easy & quite enjoyable. Congratulations on discovering them!

 

[CCS]

My $20 Plissoft synthetic from RazoRock is an outstanding brush! It lathers so well!! Anything from a croap, to a hard as rock triple milled soap. Splay??, you ask. No weakling in this area. Used it in this evening's shave.View attachment 1517301

That's the one I keep reading about here.

 

[Tomo]

I keep an Edwin Jagger STF in the shower for body shaving. It works well for that purpose but I never enjoyed it for face shaving.

 

[LMcC]

I have a couple PAA synths and they are excellent. I especially enjoy their Roswell Grey knot that’s in the Starcraft and Perigrino, as well, I think. The Stirling Tuxedo is a bargain!

 

[never-stop-learning]

Family is here for the weekend but I was going batty not having been able to shave so I excused myself for a few minutes and was looking the the brush that would take the least amount of time to prep. It was either my Trafalgar T2 or this unknown Chinese, wood handle, very soft synth brush that I have no idea where it came from. It had been at our other house for some years and when my wife brought it here along with the Omega and a VdH brush (both of which I remembered), I was completely blank. Gotta remember, I've been using mostly good badger brushes for decades now.

Anyway, to keep it short, I grabbed that cheapie brush and a tube of Proraso Red and squirted a dollop of the cream into my Captain's Choice copper shaving bowl and rinsed the brush for 15-20 second in cold water. In, literally, less than a minute, I had a perfect lather and, unlike the Trafalgar, was able to splay this brush so I could lather the way I like and finish with some painting strokes. Gobs of perfect lather with zero effort (a good amount of credit is due to Proraso). Terrific shave ('61 Tech and 4th and done Perma-Sharp).

What I'm beginning to understand about the love so many are developing for synth brushes is just how quickly they are ready, how quickly they make a good lather, and how they need no breaking in (to speak of). Could I have been wrong? ME? It's possible my friends, just possible...

I really like my Synthetic brushes. They have a different set of strengths and I consider them on equal footing with my Badger and Boar brushes.

 

[CCS]

I keep an Edwin Jagger STF in the shower for body shaving. It works well for that purpose but I never enjoyed it for face shaving.

TMI

 

[Tomo]

TMI

Might be worth a sub-forum.

 

[silverlifter]

Might be worth a sub-forum.

Straight to the top of the ignore list!

 

[LRod]

Family is here for the weekend but I was going batty not having been able to shave so I excused myself for a few minutes and was looking the the brush that would take the least amount of time to prep. It was either my Trafalgar T2 or this unknown Chinese, wood handle, very soft synth brush that I have no idea where it came from. It had been at our other house for some years and when my wife brought it here along with the Omega and a VdH brush (both of which I remembered), I was completely blank. Gotta remember, I've been using mostly good badger brushes for decades now.

Anyway, to keep it short, I grabbed that cheapie brush and a tube of Proraso Red and squirted a dollop of the cream into my Captain's Choice copper shaving bowl and rinsed the brush for 15-20 second in cold water. In, literally, less than a minute, I had a perfect lather and, unlike the Trafalgar, was able to splay this brush so I could lather the way I like and finish with some painting strokes. Gobs of perfect lather with zero effort (a good amount of credit is due to Proraso). Terrific shave ('61 Tech and 4th and done Perma-Sharp).

What I'm beginning to understand about the love so many are developing for synth brushes is just how quickly they are ready, how quickly they make a good lather, and how they need no breaking in (to speak of). Could I have been wrong? ME? It's possible my friends, just possible...

I think I had mentioned on another thread that I too have a Trafalgar T2. And even though it's a "Simpsons" and it's synthetic, it's only gotten a couple uses from me. I didn't feel any greatness to it as compared to my Razorock Plissoft brushes. And I paid double for the Trafalgar vs. my Plissofts! Those Plissofts for me are the kings of synthetic brushes!
I'm glad you've discovered that synthetics are great. Apparently, they've come a long way!

 

[CCS]

I think the Trafalgar T2 was all of $22. I imagine the knot is Chinese but the handle and brush is made in England. I prefer to buy American and European products whenever I can. I believe, but am not sure, brushes like the Plissoft and all the Yaqi products are pure Chinese (PRC) and, if so, that gives me pause. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

 

[Dobric]

Unknown brush, showing up when you need it.
Or or
Tell us, is your beard now growing faster or slower, or something is different...

 

[Medivh]

I'm a razor and blade guy and I don't really care that much about anything else like brushes, soaps/creams, aftershaves etc. Synthetic brushes are extremely easy to work with right out of the box and I don't have to spend some time waiting for them to become better like with badger and boar ( and maybe horse too) brushes. I suspect that those who enjoy taking their extra time in making a great lather would enjoy natural brushes a lot more, but I have no such interests and I spend as little as I can when I make my lather. For me, synthetic brushes are superior to natural brushes and there's no need to list all the benefits and pros of having one, but that's just my take on this and like with everything else in life and not just with shaving - everyone should use whatever he thinks is better for him or in short YMMV.

 

[StratMan]

I love all brushes they all have their strengths and most importantly to me provide variety..

Started with a bunch of different yaqi knots, no way do they give the same feel of natural hair but they are so easy to use and always produce an excellent lather..

Just recenty got a 24mm Lansky HD knot put in a handle and love it, has the benefits of a synthetic but with more of a natural feel to it.

Got a 26mm AP shave G5C knot that will be in another custom handle shortly, apparently one of the best syth knots available.

If you loved a synthetic I highly recommend these knots

 

[Time Bandit]

Family is here for the weekend but I was going batty not having been able to shave so I excused myself for a few minutes and was looking the the brush that would take the least amount of time to prep. It was either my Trafalgar T2 or this unknown Chinese, wood handle, very soft synth brush that I have no idea where it came from. It had been at our other house for some years and when my wife brought it here along with the Omega and a VdH brush (both of which I remembered), I was completely blank. Gotta remember, I've been using mostly good badger brushes for decades now.

Anyway, to keep it short, I grabbed that cheapie brush and a tube of Proraso Red and squirted a dollop of the cream into my Captain's Choice copper shaving bowl and rinsed the brush for 15-20 second in cold water. In, literally, less than a minute, I had a perfect lather and, unlike the Trafalgar, was able to splay this brush so I could lather the way I like and finish with some painting strokes. Gobs of perfect lather with zero effort (a good amount of credit is due to Proraso). Terrific shave ('61 Tech and 4th and done Perma-Sharp).

What I'm beginning to understand about the love so many are developing for synth brushes is just how quickly they are ready, how quickly they make a good lather, and how they need no breaking in (to speak of). Could I have been wrong? ME? It's possible my friends, just possible...

I've seen you posts for a while and in that time I've definitely noticed a trend. You've been pretty anti-synthetic up until now. I have to say that I'm very glad this time has come. You're at least opening your mind up to the idea that a synthetic fiber brush might actually do the job of whipping up lather, well.

The truth is that just like badger brushes, synthetic fibers are not all the same. Synthetic fibers have really come a long way in recent years but there are differences to look for. You can find some with more or less backbone and more or less ability to splay.

No offense to anyone that owns or likes the Trafalgar brushes but from all the reading I've done, it's just not a good representative for synthetic fiber brushes. I'm sorry. It's just not.

The "best" synthetic knots currently are the Muhle STF (the knot @Rudy Vey most recommends and uses), the G5C (being the newest) and G5A knots from AP Shave Co. Their other knots also have some pretty dedicated fans like the 2BED, SynBad, SilkSmoke and Cashmere.

Some brands also seen to stand up pretty well like the Omega Evo brushes (v2 is rolling out so inventory can be random and mixed with v1), Plissoft and some specific artisan soap makers eg. P.A.A. and Stirling. Even the Chinese brands Yaqi and Boti make some brushes with nice handles and really soft fiber knots. Don't rule them out.

I have brushes of all types including horse hair (which is sustainably harvested unlink all other natural fibers) (Vie-Long being the recommended brand) and enjoy them all for their own unique qualities.

In my opinion, the biggest advantage to synthetic brushes is that they cost so much less that badger ones do. They also don't need to soak as a prep step like natural fibers do. They don't smell when new and are fast drying. That last feature makes them great for use when traveling. Oh, and most importantly, they work well at whipping up leather.

Badger will always be badger. It's been the main hair used for shaving brushes for so long, for a reason. But, as I said, synthetics have come a long way (and don't cost an animal's life). Just keep that open-mindedness and explore a bit more and I'm sure you'll find a great synthetic brush worthy of a place in your shaving den.