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

When I first started I bought a kit that included a synthetic brush. After some reading and being told that silvertip badger was basically the end all of shaving brushes I forked out a decent amount of money for one. It's a very nice brush that I did prefer over my synthetic but overall didn't see it as being soo much better than my synthetic that I understood the distain I'd seen for them online.
 
I have a T2 waiting at home for me. I'm curious if I can "train" it to become a splayer and good face latherer. Most posts I've read point to "no" (you clearly being an exception, though) I may just sell it new, but curiosity is getting the better of me to see how it feels. I tried a Vikings Blade dark stallion, and that thing is stiff as a board. Can't imagine that ever splaying comfortably. Very soft bristles, so that one is good for painters, but it was very stiff. T2 has to be more pliable than that one, me thinks.
I have a T2 and it can be “trained” to splay. It took mine a week or two to get to that point but it eventually did. I think a lot of people’s expectations come from having brushes (whether natural or synthetic) that splay easily therefore expect the Trafalgars to be the same way. So because a Trafalgar series brush is generally stiffer than a lot of other synthetics they might not be willing to put in the time to get it to splay (compared to breaking in the bristles of a boar brush which most experienced users would expect to do)
 
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I'm able to get my T2 to splay now. Unlike my badgers which are all fan shaped knots, I believe the Trafalgar brushes are bulb shaped and wonder if bulb knots are a bit more resistant to splaying?
 
I'm able to get my T2 to splay now. Unlike my badgers which are all fan shaped knots, I believe the Trafalgar brushes are bulb shaped and wonder if bulb knots are a bit more resistant to splaying?
It’s possible. But my thoughts on it is that it has more to do with the type of fiber used and density. I have (among others) a perfecto pure badger, a Stirling synthetic and a previously mentioned T2 synthetic. They’re all bulb shaped. From the beginning the perfecto badger has been the easiest to splay, then the Stirling and finally the T2
 
I have a T2 and it can be “trained” to splay. It took mine a week or two to get to that point but it eventually did. I think a lot of people’s expectations come from having brushes (whether natural or synthetic) that splay easily therefore expect the Trafalgars to be the same way. So because a Trafalgar series brush is generally stiffer than a lot of other synthetics they might not be willing to put in the time to get it to splay (compared to breaking in the bristles of a boar brush which most experienced users would expect to do)
I have since acquired a T3 and that splays with no effort. Really nice. I’ll put some more time into my t2. Those Simpsons are great traditional looking brushes. But the PAA Amber aerolite and Peregrino have been really nice to use. Those are probably my top dogs right now, with a Yaqi Giotto not far behind.
 
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I have since acquired a T3 and that splays with no effort. Really nice. I’ll put some more time into my t2. Those Simpsons are great traditional looking brushes. But the PAA Amber aerolite and Peregrino have been really nice to use. Those are probably my top dogs right now, with a Yaqi Giotto not far behind.
There are so many good synthetics at the moment and they keep getting better. Check out the Muhle PAA and Yaqi brushes. Also the Razorock Ploir noir. Better still is the new G3D from Alphashaving and others.
 
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