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Muhle STF dethroned

Situation: I've thoroughly been embracing my SBAD and recently came into ownership of a 24mm Peregrino with a Roswell Grey hybrid knot from Phoenix and am absolutely blown away by this thing. Just wow. I never would have though, in a hundred years, that anything would usurp my SynBad and STF as my favorite brushes, yet here we are. I can't believe this thing isn't being talked about more? It can't just be me?

Topic l: To anybody else that has one, what do you think? How do the other Phoenix brushes compare to the Peregrino? Are any other Phoenix brushes anywhere near as good as this Perengrino? I'd especially appreciate comparisons to the Atomic Rocket, Green Ray, Solar Flare and Amber Aerolite, as they're different knots entirely.

Topic ll: Would buying the StarCraft and Phantom Aerolite be redundant, given I already have the Peregrino, save for them having different handles? Are they all the same knot just in different color schemes in the case of the Phantom?
 

linty1

My wallet cries.
I will -watch- this thread with great interest, I was looking at picking up a Muhle stf, and when ppl pointed me towards the paa brushes, I picked the atomic rocket mainly because I liked the Every ready-ish brush handle (I lucked out, its also a great brush) and didn't really look too much into the others at paa...
 
I don't have any of the PAA's, but if there are a comparison to the Mühle STFs I probably won't like them. I prefer the original Plisson L'Occitaine Cade and the Yaqi Timber Wolf. So, I like my synthetics more plush than having backbone (I am a face lather guy).
So do I. I went through the 'high backbone' phase that I believe most of us go through before much experimentation showed me that splaying really is the bread and butter of lather generation and there is a sweet spot between easy splay and backboney that really just performs, and that the "more backbone the better" thing was all in my head.
 
I was never really very happy with my STF. Got it because so many said it was the best synthetic they ever had. For me it was too springy, especially at first. It just didn't like to splay. In fairness after probably 20 or so uses it did lose some of that springiness and was a little more willing to splay but still not near one of my favorite synthetics. It's still a little too stiff and scratchy for me. It does make nice lather like almost all my synthetics.

I have noticed with all of them that they do get better after a few weeks of use so I don't buy into the conventional wisdom that they don't break in. After that initial break-in they don't seem to change much more though.

I may have to check out one of these brushes if they splay well and feel fairly soft on the face.
 
I don't have any of the PAA's, but if there are a comparison to the Mühle STFs I probably won't like them. I prefer the original Plisson L'Occitaine Cade and the Yaqi Timber Wolf. So, I like my synthetics more plush than having backbone (I am a face lather guy).

Dear sir, if your Yaqi Timberwolf is a 24mm, you might want to try a Razorock BIG Bruce (26mm plissoft). It will be in between the Plisson and the Timberwolf. I have both it and the Timberwolf, so i am confident in that.
 
@SterFry I am not familiar with the knot, but looking at it, the fiber to me looks the same as the various plissoft,Timberwolf, tuxedo, cashmere, etc, knots. Just different color and maybe density to give it different backbone. Which is common with this fiber. If so, i am not surprised you like it.
 
I do not have the PAA Peregrino but, I kept hearing how nice it was so I bought the Phantom Aerolite (same knot in different color and 26mm). The Phantom Aerolite is great!
I also have the Amber Aerolite, Atomic Rocket, Solar Flare, and Green Ray.
The Solar Flare is very soft and splays very easily, it doesn’t have the backbone, it is like a cashmere knot, really enjoyable for face lathering and very different from the Phantom/Peregrino.
The Atomic Rocket is also different, it is like a Pilsoft/Plisson knot. Soft and great latherer.
I enjoy my PAA brushes, retro inspired, great handles, excellent performance, make great lather in bowl, scuttle, or on face and reasonably priced.
 
I do not have the PAA Peregrino but, I kept hearing how nice it was so I bought the Phantom Aerolite (same knot in different color and 26mm). The Phantom Aerolite is great!
I also have the Amber Aerolite, Atomic Rocket, Solar Flare, and Green Ray.
The Solar Flare is very soft and splays very easily, it doesn’t have the backbone, it is like a cashmere knot, really enjoyable for face lathering and very different from the Phantom/Peregrino.
The Atomic Rocket is also different, it is like a Pilsoft/Plisson knot. Soft and great latherer.
I enjoy my PAA brushes, retro inspired, great handles, excellent performance, make great lather in bowl, scuttle, or on face and reasonably priced.

How does the Green Ray compare to the Aerolite and Solar Flare? Does the Green Ray have comparable "floppiness" to the Solar Flare?

Like @Cracker above, my gold standard is my beloved floppy L'Occitane Cade brush, and I am considering picking-up PAA brush.

I've tried some Yaqis (and older, early generation synthetic garbage), but while the Yaqis are definitely soft, they're so dense and/or short-lofted that I find them much too firm for comfortable face lathering of creams.

Thanks!
 
How does the Green Ray compare to the Aerolite and Solar Flare? Does the Green Ray have comparable "floppiness" to the Solar Flare?

Like @Cracker above, my gold standard is my beloved floppy L'Occitane Cade brush, and I am considering picking-up PAA brush.

I've tried some Yaqis (and older, early generation synthetic garbage), but while the Yaqis are definitely soft, they're so dense and/or short-lofted that I find them much too firm for comfortable face lathering of creams.

Thanks!
The Green Ray is very soft with a little more backbone than the Solar Flare. Still easily splays.
 
I do not have the PAA Peregrino but, I kept hearing how nice it was so I bought the Phantom Aerolite (same knot in different color and 26mm). The Phantom Aerolite is great!
I also have the Amber Aerolite, Atomic Rocket, Solar Flare, and Green Ray.
The Solar Flare is very soft and splays very easily, it doesn’t have the backbone, it is like a cashmere knot, really enjoyable for face lathering and very different from the Phantom/Peregrino.
The Atomic Rocket is also different, it is like a Pilsoft/Plisson knot. Soft and great latherer.
I enjoy my PAA brushes, retro inspired, great handles, excellent performance, make great lather in bowl, scuttle, or on face and reasonably priced.
Precisely what I was looking for. Thank you
 
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Dear sir, if your Yaqi Timberwolf is a 24mm, you might want to try a Razorock BIG Bruce (26mm plissoft). It will be in between the Plisson and the Timberwolf. I have both it and the Timberwolf, so i am confident in that.

No, it's the 26mm. I think a 24mm wouldn't satisfy me with this knot in comparison. With 26mm it's between the Plisson and the 24mm. I would even bet that the Timber Wolf actually IS a Plissoft with diffferently dyed fibres.

What I might be interested in is a Cashmere or the PAA Albino knot. But the PAA only has 24mm. So I am hasitating (and it's sold out here in Germany anyway).
 
No, it's the 26mm. I think a 24mm wouldn't satisfy me with this knot in comparison. With 26mm it's between the Plisson and the 24mm. I would even bet that the Timber Wolf actually IS a Plissoft with diffferently dyed fibres.

What I might be interested in is a Cashmere or the PAA Albino knot. But the PAA only has 24mm. So I am hasitating (and it's sold out here in Germany anyway).
AP shave Co has 24-30mm Cashmeres with customizable lofts that are not expensive
 
I think the Muhle synthetic is liked by those that prefer natural hair brushes.
People that prefer "synthetics" tend to like the likes of RR, Yaki and similar.
I have too many brushes, but if I could only keep one: Yaqi Sagrada Fam or RR N400 (orange or silver)
 
AP shave Co has 24-30mm Cashmeres with customizable lofts that are not expensive

Their sure are great. But I don't order stuff from the US and Canada (and Turkey and Israel for that matter) anymore. It always means huge and far too much problems with German customs, esp. if the declaration says it cost more than 22 EUR. From China, esp. if it's under 20 EUR, it goes through costoms (green sticker) 99% without probems. If not, you just don't collect the item at customs (save the 2h drive) and get a full refund.
 
Topic l: To anybody else that has one, what do you think? How do the other Phoenix brushes compare to the Peregrino? Are any other Phoenix brushes anywhere near as good as this Perengrino? I'd especially appreciate comparisons to the Atomic Rocket, Green Ray, Solar Flare and Amber Aerolite, as they're different knots entirely.

Topic ll: Would buying the StarCraft and Phantom Aerolite be redundant, given I already have the Peregrino, save for them having different handles? Are they all the same knot just in different color schemes in the case of the Phantom?

The Roswell Grey (and Spectral Synth) are the best knots PAA offers, to my taste. The Peregrino and Starcraft use the same knot. The Phantom Aerolite has a larger 26mm knot instead of 24mm. The Spectral Synth is a similar knot to the Roswell Grey, just with different color.

Note that you can also buy Roswell Grey knots in 24mm or 26mm to reknot other brushes you may have.

They seem similar to knots from some other vendors, just different names for marketing purposes. I don't think they offer anything equivalent to the Muhle STF or Omega EVO knots.

Here is a list of the PAA knots, showing similar knots from other makers.

Roswell Grey
Silksmoke
Spectral Synth
Silksmoke (different color)
Nexus
Cashmere
Tribble
Faux Horse
Stygian
2nd gen Tuxedo
Suave
2nd gen Plissoft
 
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