The Stirling balms are less a balm (like Nivea) than a face moisturizing cream. In that respect they are IMHO great for the colder days when your skin is prone to dry out and needs a thicker barrier. Scentwise the strength differs as much as with the splashes, some are heavy on scent some a very light. Beisdes, you can still use the balm on the face and the splash e.g. on the chest like an EdC for a stronger scent if the splash has more scent than the balm.
Stirling Syndicate
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I have both splashes and balms, and ended up settling on using their splash first, then their unscented balm over top. That way, I didn’t need to buy two of every scent I owned. Some days, I even mix some unscemted balm into the splash in my palm to make a thinner, scented, balm.
I love the Stirling Balms. Have used Nivea and a couple of others. have Stirling Spice, Coconut Lime and Sandpiper. My "Spice" container is starting to feel very light and my Shaving Buddy tells me I'm over 105 uses. The ingredients are all good including Witch Hazel, Aloe, and Shea Butter. I'd certainly recommend a trial. Just use one drop and work it in. The scents are not overpowering and are very pleasant.
My Stirling “Spice” finally quit after 111 uses. I would expect a few more applications as I probably used too much on the first useS of this product.
Stirring Lime has a nicely strong lime scent, and is a favorite.
Does anyone have one of these yet?
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I hadn't heard of them. The regular Stirling "finest" (which is a two band) are great for the price (although they were a lot lower priced a couple of years ago when I bought mine).
I hope to see some reviews, too, but thanks for bringing these brushes to my attention.
Are these made by Yaqi? Is there a comparable Yaqi brush available retail. I've always heard Stirling brushes are made by Yaqi and have no reason to doubt that, but don't know for sure.
Happy shaves,
Jim
Don't think they are made by yaqi since yaqi doesn't make high density badger knots. Probably from the same supplier that Maggard sources their SHD knots from, but that's pure speculation on my part.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
It's hard to know what Yaqi makes or who makes what Yaqi sells. I used to sometimes dig deeply into the wholesale side of the Chinese businesses and found all sorts of very surprising things doing so. It was interesting but not very useful since I didn't want to buy in the quantities required. There are amazing deals offered including custom everything if you ordered the minimum.
Problem is the minimum is big.
Happy shaves,
Jim
Stirling High Density (Or as they call it, DPG) only came out last week or so. It should be getting some reviews soon as some people will be raving about it. Given Stirling's reputation, I only expect good things to come out of these brushes.
few years back on reddit, Rod noted that yaqi made his brushes. The original sample pics were also identical to those on alibaba. Poking around on alibaba, the SHD brushes might be from a different manufactuer but other than the city of origin, it's hard to tell many of the listings apart. Then again, it would make sense to continue using the same supplier.
what does the DPG stand for?
i'm also curious to hear how these SHD knots differ from the previous yaqi 2 bands and HMW. Hard to tell from photos and video.
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Not sure... Dense Plushy Geltips? haha
As for the differences between these and the Yaqi, I think they will be pretty different. Yaqi badgers tend to be unbleached so they have more scrub and natural feel to it. But these SHD brushes are bleached, gel-tipped, and are ultra-soft on the face. At least from what I can deduce from, these new brushes will feel amazing but Yaqi also stands their place for budget and great performing option.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
How can you tell they're bleached and gel-tipped? I'm not saying you can't but only curious. You have one already? The Stirling website does not say the knot is different from their regular finest other than in its density and I don't see anything in their photos to help me.
The only gel-tipped brush I have is the current APShave brush. I am not, so far, much of a fan of the brush. I wouldn't be likely to buy another gel-tip of any brand. But, that's just me.
Perhaps the AP knots are the same as the knots Stirling is using? Not saying I have any knowledge of that.
I have a couple of Yaqi two band brushes and several Stirling finest brushes (which are two band). In my view of them, they are the same sort of knot. Perform the same and feel the same to me as a face latherer.
I was thinking about maybe buying one of these new Stirling brushes but not if they're a gel-tip.
Happy shaves,
Jim
jim, what specifically is it you dislike about the AP knot? For me, 'gel tipped" is a marketing term that doesn't tell me anything about a knot other than the hair clumps together. Not sure if it helps, but at the end of the video below you can see what the new stirling knot looks like when wet. The tips on the 2 band are longer than than the 2 band fan which might change face feel, but still pretty similar looking quality wise.
On the video he says he love how some of the hairs hook giving it a gel tip feel. With that statement I would think it is not gel tip. But I know nothing about gel tip knots.
Let's say I happened to figure out the source of these knots. As for the APshaveco gel-tip knots, these are probably the most gelled tips out there and I believe Stirling SHDs are less gelled than APshaveco's. It should still be soft but how much the tips are gelled are more of a personal taste/preference.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Thanks for the great and helpful video. Like another poster I'm not quite sure if it's a gel-tipped brush or not. It's not a very clear description. On the other hand, it's not like I'm itching to buy another brush so I'll wait for more information.
The APShave brush? Mine's still very new. I believe I like it better than I did at first so maybe I'm getting it dialed in or maybe it's breaking in or something.
It is extremely soft, but I've found it relatively hard to load and relatively hard to face lather with. It also does not readily release lather. It's not like I hate it, but I would have been better off buying another of the fabulous Zenith Manchurian (or maybe one of their silvertips which I've not tried).
I've not adequately tested it with a number of soaps, but I think a brush should suit me with any soap (as long as other brushes work with those soaps).
The three brushes in the photo are of a somewhat similar size, but I prefer, so far, both of the other two to the gel-tip. One is Manchurian and cost about $20 more. The other, silvertip, and cost about $20 less.
I want to be clear here. I'm not saying it's a bad brush. I'm sure others might absolutely love it. It's my first and only gel-tip. Unless it's very atypical for a gel-tip it will be my last gel-tip. I'm really hoping it will grow on me. I do love the handle.
Mine is the 28 mm brush. I went against probably good advice and didn't buy the 24 mm.
Hope that helps.
Happy shaves,
Jim
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Stirling carries some fine products. I'll just leave it at that.
