What's new

Synthetic Shaving Brush Pass Around

When I went looking deeper at APshaveco they looked like they were most likely reselling brushes available from Yaqi on alibaba.
Thanks for putting some info in this thread. Its good to see it in the thread it was meant for!! As to the above brush, yes it is the APShaveCo SynBad in the Ruby Ripple handle. I had a brush I put together with that knot in it but recently sold it as I just preferred others I had more.

Al from APShaveCo does source some of his knots from Yaqi but his are all made to different specs than the original Yaqi knot starting with his all being much more dense than the Yaqi. Milton from TurnNShave has some knots made by Yaqi as well and to his specs which are much different from Yaqi or APShaveCo. I have 3 from Milton that I set in custom handles that are now 3 of 5 I have in my rotation... I also use a Whipped Dog synth and a custom travel brush I made with an Omega handle and/ TGN synthetic knot.
 
I've decided to pull out of the pass around. I've obtained two more synthetics since signing up and feel covered in the synthetic area. Thanks for the opportunity.
 
1. SilentTuba - Nutley, NJ
2. dctravis - Carpentersville, IL
3. Daikon - Fort Myers, FL
4. MyOldKentuckyHome - Mechanicsville, VA
5. Tim Meneely - Pittsburgh, PA
6. suhrim21 - Bakersfield, CA
7. sharktown - Allentown, NJ
8. Psusocr - Scranton, PA
9. joshua223 - Suwanee, GA
10. spolct - Aubrey, TX
11. Clay S - Grapevine, TX
12.
13.
 
I apologize for the lack of posts...been kind of a hectic few weeks, punctuated by a pretty serious situation at work today, followed by car trouble.

All that to say, I’ve only gotten to try a handful of brushes, but I could definitely see myself going synthetic in the future.

I know it’ll be a few days late, and I apologize for that, but I will have the box shipped out this weekend.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi all,

I sent a message to dctravis several days ago, but have not heard anything. I’m going to send him another message, and if I don’t hear from him in a day or two, I’ll contact the next person on the list.

Sorry for the hold up!
 
Just an FYI, MyOldKentuckyHome has gone MIA on a razor passaround box. Try to contact him but if he doesn't respond go ahead and move along. Actually if he does respond ask him if he's planning on sending the box of razors on...
 
Another update,

Dctravis did message me back, and said life had gotten pretty hectic, and to skip him. I sent out a message to Daikon, and haven’t heard anything back yet.

I’m really sorry to everyone patiently waiting...I’m trying to send the box along, I promise!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well....no response from Daikon. Someone mentioned that OldKentuckyHome never passed along another box, should I skip him and go to the next on the list?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Sorry for the delay, everyone. Box shipped today to Tim Meneely

proxy.php



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've had the box since Friday, and am intrigued.

The sheer number of brushes is overwhelming, but that's awesome: Considering my anti-consumer streak (I realize that runs counter to many on this board :) ) I never would have had the opportunity to handle so many brushes otherwise. One of my sons is also a traditional shaver, and we spent a fair time on Saturday afternoon sorting through and ranking these things. Thanks to all the organizers and supporters!

My big surprise goes like this: The first (and only) shaving brush I ever bought was an Italian Barber 24 mm Bruce synthetic, about two years ago, for something like US$7. I've been happy with it, but I always assumed there were "much better" brushes out there - I just was puzzled about how much better they could be.

Now, after handling twenty or so alternatives... the Bruce still seems like a pretty good brush. Of course it's quite plain and there's a wide variety of looks available, but I shave at 5:30 am and looks are generally not critical.

Having said that:
  • The Stirling Kong is impressive. It seems as if it would eat soap, but I love the feel of both handle and bristles.
  • The Maggard's black and white is smaller (22 mm) and I thought it might save me soap, so I tried it once and... hmm. After loading soap, I like to use the point of my chin to create a circular recess in my brush for loading water (think gravy on mashed potatoes), and the Maggard's didn't want to do that; the bristles tended to clump on one side or the other. Possibly that's a consequence of the smaller size; maybe my dream of saving soap isn't going to work out.
  • The Omega's are really nice. Really nice. Are they enough different from my Bruce to motivate me? TBD.
  • The Satin Tip "The Purest" looks and feels great, and I like the rubberized finish, but online reviews indicate they're apt to fall apart. Has that happened to anyone?
  • The Whipped Dog Butterscotch - I love everything about this brush. What wonderful heft and feel! But... see the above comments about soap consumption; compared to my 24 mm Bruce I suspect this beast would double it.
Anyway, I'm experimenting and enjoying myself. I think I see at least one Whipped Dog synthetic in my future, maybe a 22 mm with the knot set deep to give it maximum backbone? Or maybe a 24 mm set double-deep? Something like that.

Thanks,
Tim
 
Top Bottom