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RazoRock Hive 24 Mokasoft HD Synthetic

Someone mentioned this brush in another post, and then I received an email from Italian Barber letting me know it was on sale for $15. Since I really liked the looks of this brush and have always done well with RazoRock products (brushes, soaps, razors, etc.) I had to give it a try. It arrived this morning, and I'm really excited about this brush. It looks just as good in my bathroom as it did on IB's website, it feels great in my hand and my first test lather was just great. I'll try my first shave with it tomorrow morning. Here's what mine looks like:

hive brush.jpg
 
Looks great!!!

I almost pulled the trigger on one of these when I saw it was on sale for $15, but have been trying to avoid those impulse purchases lately, so deleted it out of my cart at the last minute. Still questioning whether or not that was the right decision, though.
 
Looks like the Yaqi Beahive with the Mokka's color scheme and Mew Brown knot. Should be a best seller at that price.
The 24mm Beehive HD Mokasoft looks the same as the AP Shave Co. Synbad high density knot, which is nowhere near the same high density as the 24mm Yaqi Moka Express.
 
I absolutely love my SynBad. The Yaqi Moka Express is more dense than the SynBad?
The 24mm Beehive HD Mokasoft looks the same as the AP Shave Co. Synbad high density knot, which is nowhere near the same high density as the 24mm Yaqi Moka Express.
 
The 24mm Beehive HD Mokasoft looks the same as the AP Shave Co. Synbad high density knot, which is nowhere near the same high density as the 24mm Yaqi Moka Express.
I'm not so sure about that, but I also don't think that density is the most important factor in the performance of shaving brush. I had owned, but later sold, my 24mm Yaqi Moka Express with the Mew Brown knot. I don't remember what it was that I disliked about the knot, but I do remember that I loved that handle and regret selling it when I could have re-knotted it. Is the RazoRock Mokasoft less dense than the Yaqi? Maybe, but overall I prefer the RazoRock Mokasoft knot over the Yaqi Mew Brown knot. I also prefer the Yaqi Rainbow Brown and Yaqi Mink to the Yaqi Mew Brown knot. It's too soon to say where I would rank the Mokasoft knot compared to other synthetics I have used, but after one shave I believe that it will be a keeper.
 
Looks great!!!

I almost pulled the trigger on one of these when I saw it was on sale for $15, but have been trying to avoid those impulse purchases lately, so deleted it out of my cart at the last minute. Still questioning whether or not that was the right decision, though.
I know what you mean about those impulse purchases, but I had just received some discouraging medical news (not life threatening, thankfully), and it was a cheap way to improve my mood.
 
I know what you mean about those impulse purchases, but I had just received some discouraging medical news (not life threatening, thankfully), and it was a cheap way to improve my mood.

Sorry to hear about the medical news.

I understand all too well about getting something to boost your spirits. Last September I was in a bad accident and bought myself a Kent BK4 brush during my recovery so that I had something to look forward to once I could start shaving with a blade again (my face had a lot skin damage, so I had to switch to an electric razor for a couple months).
 
This is fast becoming one of my favorite synthetic brushes, and maybe the favorite. Today, I did a side by side comparison with my Yaqi Mink, and the RazoRock Mokasoft was my clear choice. The Mink is a fine brush, and I have nothing bad to say about it, but the Mokasoft is denser and provides just as much backbone with less "spring". I may well continue this comparison process with my other synthetics: Yaqi Rainbow Brown, PAA Roswell Grey (in a Sagrada Familia handle), and TurnNShave Full Moon (in a Duke 2 handle). All of these are very inexpensive brushes; the only "premium" synthetic brush I have owned is a Simpsons Chubby 2, and I sold that brush as I found it nearly impossible to splay. I've also owned and sold several other synthetics; Yaqi Moka Mew Brown, Sagrada Familia Tuxedo, AP Shave Tuxedo, Simpsons Trafalgar 2, Stirling Kong come to mind, but there were a few others as well. I believe that at this point in time it is easy to find an inexpensive synthetic brush to match your preferences in terms of backbone, softness, ease of splay, size and appearance. Figuring out which one will be your favorite, however, may be more a process of trial and error than anything else.
 

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This is fast becoming one of my favorite synthetic brushes, and maybe the favorite. Today, I did a side by side comparison with my Yaqi Mink, and the RazoRock Mokasoft was my clear choice. The Mink is a fine brush, and I have nothing bad to say about it, but the Mokasoft is denser and provides just as much backbone with less "spring". I may well continue this comparison process with my other synthetics: Yaqi Rainbow Brown, PAA Roswell Grey (in a Sagrada Familia handle), and TurnNShave Full Moon (in a Duke 2 handle). All of these are very inexpensive brushes; the only "premium" synthetic brush I have owned is a Simpsons Chubby 2, and I sold that brush as I found it nearly impossible to splay. I've also owned and sold several other synthetics; Yaqi Moka Mew Brown, Sagrada Familia Tuxedo, AP Shave Tuxedo, Simpsons Trafalgar 2, Stirling Kong come to mind, but there were a few others as well. I believe that at this point in time it is easy to find an inexpensive synthetic brush to match your preferences in terms of backbone, softness, ease of splay, size and appearance. Figuring out which one will be your favorite, however, may be more a process of trial and error than anything else.

I have two shaves so far with mine:
20210916_155001~2.jpg
image.jpg

So far, so good. I really like it. Silly good for the money. :thumbup:
 
Today I did a side by side with the RR Mokasoft and my TurnNShave Full Moon. The Full Moon is in a Duke 2 handle, and it took me a couple of tries to get the loft just right. Using these two for the same shave led me to believe that if you like one, you will like the other. They perform quite similarly. The biggest difference for me was the handles; I'm finding the RR 24mm "Hive" handle to be extremely comfortable. It's big enough to hold onto (harder to do with arthritic fingers), and the ridges add extra grip. The Duke 2 with its original knot was my only brush for some years, but now I prefer larger handles. Where I noticed some difference in the performance in the knots, the edge (for me) goes to the Mokasoft. It splays a bit more easily while providing slightly more backbone than the Full Moon. For these comparison tests, I'm face lathering with RazoRock Son of Zeus soap, and both brushes (and yesterday's Mink as well) whip up more than enough lather for my two pass shave in no time at all. I frequently bowl lather as well, but I find that brushes that work well for face lathering do just fine with bowl lathering, but the inverse is not always true.
 
I just ordered one of these RR Mokasoft. I have plenty of synthetic brushes but this has such a nice handle and a shorter loft than the rest of my brushes. My favorite brushes that I use now are the RazoRock Big Bruce and a Muhle STF 23mm knot x 55mm loft.

I'm looking forward to trying this one.
 
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