Synthetic Shaving Brush Pass Around

[mightyeskimo]

Yeah that's mine in my profile pic... For now.

Got this in the mail today. Sadly I've been too busy working on the house to get a shave in today. I've got to work early in the morning so I'm going to just have to wait until I get off work to try one out.
They are organized by knot size and loft from smallest to largest. Any info on the pink one at the left? It's not labeled.

That's cool! I've tried to begin shaving with a straight razor a few times over the past couple of years and I've never been able to make a habit out of it.

 

[Animag771]

That's cool! I've tried to begin shaving with a straight razor a few times over the past couple of years and I've never been able to make a habit out of it.

I swapped over from a cartridge, never tried DE. Funny enough I switched to a straight in order to make it a habit. I hated shaving, it felt like a chore. So I wanted to try something that would challenge me... Something that takes effort, diligence and patience. I love learning new skills, so by turning shaving into a learning process it's really become a fun activity that I thoroughly enjoy.

 

[Grundi]

That's cool! I've tried to begin shaving with a straight razor a few times over the past couple of years and I've never been able to make a habit out of it.

I'm right there with you @mightyeskimo. I've tried but kept going back to my DE's. But I'm very impressed with guys who have been able to do well with straights.

I swapped over from a cartridge, never tried DE. Funny enough I switched to a straight in order to make it a habit. I hated shaving, it felt like a chore. So I wanted to try something that would challenge me... Something that takes effort, diligence and patience. I love learning new skills, so by turning shaving into a learning process it's really become a fun activity that I thoroughly enjoy.

Excellent job, @Animag771!! There's just something nostalgic and awesome about shaving with a straight. When I was exploring different wet shaving options, I thought long and hard about going with a straight. I check out so many technique and sharpening videos, picked out stones, and all, but ultimately went with a DE.

 

[Animag771]

I'm right there with you @mightyeskimo. I've tried but kept going back to my DE's. But I'm very impressed with guys who have been able to do well with straights.


Excellent job, @Animag771!! There's just something nostalgic and awesome about shaving with a straight. When I was exploring different wet shaving options, I thought long and hard about going with a straight. I check out so many technique and sharpening videos, picked out stones, and all, but ultimately went with a DE.

Thanks, it's been a lot of fun. I haven't gotten myself into the world of honing, just yet. If the films I ordered ever get here I will though.

Shaved with the Maggard Timberwolf earlier today and I can for sure say that it isn't for me. It's the softest brush I've felt, but that's actually part of why I don't like it. It's just so soft that once I got a little lather on my face I could vareba tell if the brush was touching my face. I've come to find out that I prefer something that had a bit of exfoliating scrubbiness (?) to it.

Likes:
Loved the siliconized handle and the size of the the handle was very similar to my EJ, so it felt familiar.
Soft tips, not prickly.
Splayed wonderfully.

Dislikes:
Seemed to be a bit floppy, not enough backbone to scrub lather on. Another paint on kind of brush.
Had a trouble lathering with this one, using the same method, though I'm sure with more use I'd figure it out.

This could be good or bad, haven't decided yet... It's practically weightless. It's lighter than my EJ even though it's also a bigger brush and I thought my EJ was pretty light. I think I'd prefer something just slightly heavier than the EJ though. Not heavy, but you know your actually holding something.

 

[Animag771]

I shaved with the Maggard Black & White today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. To me, this one was a nicely balanced brush. Being able to try these brushes has shown me that, as with everything shaving related YMMV. The perfect brush for one person could be lackluster to another person. For example @bobmsp seemed to prefer the Timberwolf over the Black & White and said that it's hard to distinguish between the two knots. For me though, they seemed very different and I much prefered the Black & White to the Timberwolf.

Likes:
Has some heft, but not too heavy
Holds plenty of soap
Splays nicely
Has enough backbone to scrub the soap on
Soft tips, I'll note that the others were slightly softer
The length of the handle kept the lather off my hands

Dislikes:
The shape of the handle is a bit awkward
That's pretty much the only thing I didn't like...

 

[Animag771]

I missed a day shaving, so today I'll be shaving, both morning and night in an attempt to catch back up. I've come up with my own little chart for rating these brushes, because I have a terrible memory and by the time I've gone through all of them I probably won't remember which were my favorites. I've been rating them on a scale of -5 to 5 in 6 categories... Weight, backbone, lather, splay, scritch and scrub. The points go into the negative if I dislike a certain trait and into the positive if I like that trait. How many points in either direction depends on how much I like or dislike it. Of course all of these are just my own personal opinion, but it gives me something to go by.

Yesterday I used The Purist Satin Tip. It reminded me a lot of my EJ, I almost felt like I was using the same brush I've been accustomed to. It did however have slightly softer tips and did a bit better job of building lather as well as releasing that lather, however it didn't splay quite as well.

Likes:
The weight was very nice, but still a bit lighter than I'd like.
I really liked the amount of backbone, not floppy, but not too stiff.
Of the brushes I've tried, this one has been able to scrubbing the lather on the best. It's like a massage for your face.

Dislikes:
Some of the other brushes allowed me to develop a lather with less effort, but this one still did a decent job.
A bit scritchy, but still not as much as my badger.
I would like a little more splay.

Overall this was a really balanced brush. So far the Black and White is still winning though, but just barely above this one, mostly due to the scritchiness.

 

[mightyeskimo]

Excellent reviews!

 

[Animag771]

Excellent reviews!

Thanks! I think the toughest part about reviewing these is that everyone has their own preferences. I don't want to down on a brush that someone else probably loves, but at the same time I want to be honest about my own opinions of them. This is a very YMMV subject.

Idk why my pictures are coming out so small... Maybe I need to stop using lense blur.

 

[Animag771]

No more lense blur... Much better picture.


Today was the day for the L'Occitan Plisson. This brush threw me for a loop. It did not perform at all like I had expected, but in a good way. I thought this brush was going to be a floppy brush that I was going to have to paint lather on and have zero chance at getting a good scrub... I was wrong.

It provided me with a fluffy, slick lather in aatter of seconds. I was worried about the scrubbiness (or lack of) since it splayed so easily and seemed to have little backbone, while I was bowl lathering. When it came time to actually put brush to face though it scrubbed decently. I think it was due to how well it splayed out, while being firm enough to not just bend the bristles over as I swirled it around in my face. The more I type, the less I feel like I'm making any sort of sense... It was weird, ok? I think it takes some creative thinking to figure out how this brush managed to scrub at all without having stiffer, denser hairs.


Likes:
Super quick and very nice lather
No scritch
Good weight, could be a bit heavier.
Decent scrubability (yep, that's a word now)
Splays wonderfully

Dislikes:
I'd still like more backbone.

 

[Keto]

That's a pretty good way you've got as far as rating them. It's pretty interesting to see what others think about the brushes, we do all like different things, that's fantastic. It does really let the person get an idea all the different aspects.

 

[Animag771]

For shave #2 of the day (gotta try them all) I used the Muhle Silvertip VI. This one had some pretty coarse tips on it. Maybe my face was just more sensitive to it because I'd already shaved this morning, but it felt like a lot of scritch going on. Sadly this one has scored the lowest so far on my little chart. I wonder if this one is similar to a board brush, having never used one. Didn't get to splay it out much while working my lather in, because those prickly tips made me want to ease up on the pressure.

Likes:
Plenty of backbone
Good scrub.
Good weight

Dislikes:
Prickly tips
Trouble building lather

 

[Clay S]

Excellent reviews @Animag771 !

 

[Animag771]

Excellent reviews @Animag771 !

Thanks, I'm trying here Even if nobody else reads them or agrees, at least it's something I will be able to refer back to, because I know for a fact I won't remember.

 

[Animag771]

Last night it was time to use the Vie Long Silvertip Extra Soft... That's a mouthful. This was my first time using a 23mm knot, although I really couldn't tell much difference from the 22mm ones. Although the Maggard Black & White is still winning on the chart, followed by the L'Occitan Plisson, this one has nudged it's way into third place so far. The funny part is they are rather different brushes, but as a whole they score very similarly, though for different reasons. For example the Plisson doesn't have a whole lot of backbone, but it makes up for it with super soft tips, it can whip up a lather like no other and splays beautifully, but since the Black and White is so well balanced in all categories (though not the best in any) it scores 1 point higher. I have an analytical mind and it's having way too much fun with this.

Ok, I've got to focus! I'm getting sidetracked... About the brush. I really like the weight of this brush and I'm starting to realize that my ideal weight is somewhere in the 50-60 gram range, which could mean bad news for the larger brushes once I get there. It did well at building a lather and it realsed it well also... I'm starting to think those go hand in hand. I loved that it has a good amount of backbone too it, but my biggest complaint is that it didn't splay well. It has actually scored the worst in the splay category so far. It's not that it can't splay, it's that you really have to force it to. At first I thought that maybe it just comes with having a good amount of backbone, but other brushes with similar backbone have been able to splay better. My brain hurts, trying to figure this out.


Likes:
Great weight.
Best backbone so far
Good at building and releasing lather
Good scrub
Fairly soft tips.

Dislikes:
Had trouble splaying

 

[bobmsp]

The funny part is they are rather different brushes, but as a whole they score very similarly, though for different reasons.

I found the same thing with my top brushes - all different styles. I don't know if that means I'm schizophrenic or versatile....

 

[Animag771]

I found the same thing with my top brushes - all different styles. I don't know if that means I'm schizophrenic or versatile....

Lol maybe a little of both?

 

[Grundi]

Thanks, I'm trying here Even if nobody else reads them or agrees, at least it's something I will be able to refer back to, because I know for a fact I won't remember.

I'm reading them...but I'm guilty of just sitting here and not posting!! You're doing good with your reviews!!

 

[Animag771]

Well it's good to know that I'm not just talking in the wind. Not that I'd stop anyway.

I missed two days of shaving, I've just bee busy. Yesterday I shaved with the Omega Hi-Brush before heading to work. I've been looking forward to using this one for two reasons. It's the first 24mm to use and also it weighs in at 55g which I'd assumed would be right in the sweet spot for weight, for me. I'm happy to say, my assumption was right. The weight of this brush was great. I also enjoyed the larger 24mm knot, but it could take a little getting used to since I've been using a 21mm from the beginning. I found the shape of the handle very comfortable and I liked the height of hit, but for some reason this one seemed to drip the most lather onto my hand... Could have just been my lather though. The one complaint (only if I'm really nit-picking) is the splay on this was seemed (for me) to behave kind of weird. I could get it to splay and scrub my face, but it was like the center of the brush was stiffer than the rest of it, so as I swirled it around it wanted to spring back to it's original shape. Overall, what a great brush. This one has managed to tie for second place with the L'Occitan Plisson.

Likes:
Great weight
Comfortable handle
Soft tips (seems to be a trend with the synthetics)
Decent backbone
Great at building and releasing lather

Dislikes:
Not much scrub
Difficult to get it to splay

 

[Animag771]

Yesterday I used the Razorock Plissoft. I sure picked the wrong day to use this one... It's the second heaviest brush in the box and I had just had a rather labor intensive day at work. Bowl lathering with the Plissoft was rough as my arms were already pretty tired, but the shave must go on! Aside from that it was very nice and scored pretty high in all other categories. If this one had a lighter handle, it would have been at the top of the pack.

Likes:
Decent backbone
Good at building and releasing lather
Easy enough to splay
Very soft tips
Great scrub

Dislikes:
Heavy

Edit: So far my favorite handle shape, other than the band that protrudes around the middle.

 

[REV579]

Very good reviews on your part. Like has been mentioned above, everyone has a different experience with the brushes. Further, we all tend to articulate our experiences a bit differently. When we find an alignment with a system of reviews, it helps us know what we might also be interested in trying.

Keep'em coming.