What's new

The New Smart-Helix Shaving Brush

Gentlemen
I have been "testing" the new "convertible" brush from Smart-Helix for over a month now. As you may know Victor (the owner) and I have been in contact for quite a while with me helping as much as I can through donations, raising funds etc. S-H had to re-locate because of the ongoing war so razor production basically halted for a number of obvious reasons mainly in the manufacturing process.
The energy sector is undergoing severe strains during this conflict and power outages are an almost daily occurrence. Throughout this Victor and S-H have continued to explore new ideas and avenues related to wet shaving.

The result is their new shaving brush. I received it March 5 with Victor asking me to do an extended review of the brush and its performance, comfort, balance and quality as an everyday brush. I did not pay anything for the brush and am not receiving any other compensation other than a very nice mention by S-H.

It's an interesting take on traditional brushes in that it utilizes different materials, design elements and several forms of physical adaptability for different situations.

It arrived in a nice wooden box, very reminiscent of the Apollo razor boxes. Upon opening the box, I managed to break the clip holding the brush in place. See the video to find out how to remove the brush properly. Once I had the brush removed I immediately began "playing" with all the parts. I noticed the material of the brush was not "usual" by my experience with quite a few different brushes. It's made out of a neutral biomedical polymer...Ok then. Anyhow, it's very easy to grip, not slippery etc and there were a number of components in the box as well.

The knot is a two band Manchurian badger of exceptional density and zero shedding. It has good backbone and you can adjust the loft with the supplied inserts that are supplied. It's a 26 mm knot and the loft is set at 52-53mm without the inserts. My knot is a bulb shape which I prefer, and a fan shape is also available.

The knot does require some breaking in, but didn't seem to have the "badger funk" which some knots can come with. The main handle is available in RH and LH as well because it is designed to be held differently than other brushes. I find the hand position to be very comfortable. You can configure the brush in a number of ways. You can use it with a short handle and with a travel sleeve that doubles as the handle as well. Pretty adaptable hence the "convertible" aspect.

So I began by using the main handle. I soaked the brush for 15 minutes to begin with and used one of my hard mug soaps. The brush built a very nice lather and soaping up was without any drama or concern. The brush as I said does have good backbone and if you prefer slightly floppier, then do use the inserts. The ergonomic handle really does do what you expect...there's no issues with grip or fatigue. I have some shoulder issues and the handle didn't require any sort of hard or "death grip" to create the lather. Because of the texture, it's easy to grip and hold even when wet or soapy.

The next shaves were with a variety of soaps, both hard and soft, along with mug/bowl lathering plus loading from the soap container and face lathering.The brush was great with the mug and container lathering... with tube soaps in a lather bowl the brush does need some break in. It's getting better with continued usage.

I then started to try the different ways you can configure the brush. I did the short version and it's ok but not something I'd do on a regular basis. Using the sleeve as the handle was easy as well, it's larger in diameter than other handles but it also serves as the travel sleeve. The design on the sleeve helps with grip and for airflow to aid in drying should you have to pack up when it's damp. With either handle the brush is very light.
You do not have to glue the knot in unless you want to. When wet the brush really shouldn't be pulled out as that is quite difficult so just wait until it's dry. If you have different knots this is an easy handle to use to determine loft for knots that you may want to insert in other handles.

The stand is super easy to use, the handle just fits onto the tab which goes into the groove on the knot ferrule. It's a very attractive brush (to me) and is decorated in the traditional style of the ancient Slavs. All in all a very nice package with a very innovative design and useful configurations.

If you'd like further info and pictures please feel free to see the brush at smart-helix.com or their FB page. There's also a video link which further goes into how to configure the brush on the website as well.
Cheers!

So this is the presentation box, very similar to the Apollo boxes.
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What's inside
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The handle with the travel sleeve on it. The brown band is for shipping and can be discarded
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This is all the stuff and how it breaks down. The knot ferrule, the knot, travel sleeve, sleeve end cap, main handle and stand with the loft inserts. For the inserts you trim off the little tabs on the outside of each insert.
tempImageAkQ0x3.png


The components with the knot in the ferrule.
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This is how you hold the brush. Very intuitive. Comes for right or left handers. The handle screws onto the ferrule
tempImageg6ph57.png


The handle hanging on its stand
tempImagezjRzWM.png


The brush with the travel sleeve as the handle. The knot ferrule just clips in and the end cap is at the other end also just clips on.
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The short handle. The ferrule with the end cap screwed on
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The knot inside the sleeve with end cap at the top, ready for travel
tempImage9OCVep.png
 
Yesterdays shave with Canada soap, my Ca Yuen lather bowl, ShaveIt "Shadow" razor and the S-H "Perun" brush.
Scraped some of the soap into the bowl and whipped up a nice lather that lasted for 3 easy passes and some buffing. Very comfortable and easy to use. I will also be posting pics using the travel and short handles as well.
Cheers!

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Today I used the S-H brush with the travel handle. Good grip and it's going to be my travel brush as well. As you can see it breaks down nicely and doesn't take up a lot of room. The design on the handle gives good venting etc to help drying etc.
I used "Executive Man" soap and scraped some into my Tanaka shave bowl. Soaked the brush for a bit and then got to work. The brush works very well whether you prefer mug lathering, bowl lathering or loading from the soap container and face lathering.
I tend to prefer bowl lathering but will try all methods except hand lathering because I have bowls for that.
Cheers

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Todays shave had me using the brush in the short or stubby handle configuration. I'm not a big fan of it this way but maybe some are. Anyway it lathered up just fine. There was lots more lather than the pic shows. I kept swirling and built more than enough. I used Stirlings Gin and Tonic.
6th shave on a Wizamet and my BlackLand BrassBird. Very nice shave, good lather for 3 passes and I was done.
Have a great day!
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I've always wondered why none of the brush makers ever created a shaving brush handle that is capable of changing knots that aren't specially made from the manufacturer to fit without the need to glue them to the handle. Having the option to replace knots on a whim that you've bought from anywhere on your favorite handle as well as adjusting it the way you want will eliminated the need of having lots of brushes laying around. But I guess that's not a very profitable option, hence why none is doing it.
 
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I've always wondered why none of the brush makers ever created a shaving brush handle that is capable of changing knots that aren't specially made from the manufacturer to fit without the need to glue them to the handle. Having the option to replace knots on a whim that you've bought from anywhere on your favorite handle as well as adjusting it the way you want will eliminated the need of having lots of brushes laying around. But I guess that's not a very profitable option, hence why none is doing it.
Have you looked at the Timeless handle?
 
I've always wondered why none of the brush makers ever created a shaving brush handle that is capable of changing knots that aren't specially made from the manufacturer to fit without the need to glue them to the handle. Having the option to replace knots on a whim that you've bought from anywhere on your favorite handle as well as adjusting it the way you want will eliminated the need of having lots of brushes laying around. But I guess that's not a very profitable option, hence why none is doing it.
The MÜHLE company has brushes with replaceable heads.

 
Gentlemen
I have been "testing" the new "convertible" brush from Smart-Helix for over a month now. As you may know Victor (the owner) and I have been in contact for quite a while with me helping as much as I can through donations, raising funds etc. S-H had to re-locate because of the ongoing war so razor production basically halted for a number of obvious reasons mainly in the manufacturing process.
The energy sector is undergoing severe strains during this conflict and power outages are an almost daily occurrence. Throughout this Victor and S-H have continued to explore new ideas and avenues related to wet shaving.

The result is their new shaving brush. I received it March 5 with Victor asking me to do an extended review of the brush and its performance, comfort, balance and quality as an everyday brush. I did not pay anything for the brush and am not receiving any other compensation other than a very nice mention by S-H.

It's an interesting take on traditional brushes in that it utilizes different materials, design elements and several forms of physical adaptability for different situations.

It arrived in a nice wooden box, very reminiscent of the Apollo razor boxes. Upon opening the box, I managed to break the clip holding the brush in place. See the video to find out how to remove the brush properly. Once I had the brush removed I immediately began "playing" with all the parts. I noticed the material of the brush was not "usual" by my experience with quite a few different brushes. It's made out of a neutral biomedical polymer...Ok then. Anyhow, it's very easy to grip, not slippery etc and there were a number of components in the box as well.

The knot is a two band Manchurian badger of exceptional density and zero shedding. It has good backbone and you can adjust the loft with the supplied inserts that are supplied. It's a 26 mm knot and the loft is set at 52-53mm without the inserts. My knot is a bulb shape which I prefer, and a fan shape is also available.

The knot does require some breaking in, but didn't seem to have the "badger funk" which some knots can come with. The main handle is available in RH and LH as well because it is designed to be held differently than other brushes. I find the hand position to be very comfortable. You can configure the brush in a number of ways. You can use it with a short handle and with a travel sleeve that doubles as the handle as well. Pretty adaptable hence the "convertible" aspect.

So I began by using the main handle. I soaked the brush for 15 minutes to begin with and used one of my hard mug soaps. The brush built a very nice lather and soaping up was without any drama or concern. The brush as I said does have good backbone and if you prefer slightly floppier, then do use the inserts. The ergonomic handle really does do what you expect...there's no issues with grip or fatigue. I have some shoulder issues and the handle didn't require any sort of hard or "death grip" to create the lather. Because of the texture, it's easy to grip and hold even when wet or soapy.

The next shaves were with a variety of soaps, both hard and soft, along with mug/bowl lathering plus loading from the soap container and face lathering.The brush was great with the mug and container lathering... with tube soaps in a lather bowl the brush does need some break in. It's getting better with continued usage.

I then started to try the different ways you can configure the brush. I did the short version and it's ok but not something I'd do on a regular basis. Using the sleeve as the handle was easy as well, it's larger in diameter than other handles but it also serves as the travel sleeve. The design on the sleeve helps with grip and for airflow to aid in drying should you have to pack up when it's damp. With either handle the brush is very light.
You do not have to glue the knot in unless you want to. When wet the brush really shouldn't be pulled out as that is quite difficult so just wait until it's dry. If you have different knots this is an easy handle to use to determine loft for knots that you may want to insert in other handles.

The stand is super easy to use, the handle just fits onto the tab which goes into the groove on the knot ferrule. It's a very attractive brush (to me) and is decorated in the traditional style of the ancient Slavs. All in all a very nice package with a very innovative design and useful configurations.

If you'd like further info and pictures please feel free to see the brush at smart-helix.com or their FB page. There's also a video link which further goes into how to configure the brush on the website as well.
Cheers!

So this is the presentation box, very similar to the Apollo boxes.
View attachment 1830592

What's inside
View attachment 1830593

The handle with the travel sleeve on it. The brown band is for shipping and can be discarded
View attachment 1830594

This is all the stuff and how it breaks down. The knot ferrule, the knot, travel sleeve, sleeve end cap, main handle and stand with the loft inserts. For the inserts you trim off the little tabs on the outside of each insert.
View attachment 1830595

The components with the knot in the ferrule.
View attachment 1830597

This is how you hold the brush. Very intuitive. Comes for right or left handers. The handle screws onto the ferrule
View attachment 1830598

The handle hanging on its stand
View attachment 1830600

The brush with the travel sleeve as the handle. The knot ferrule just clips in and the end cap is at the other end also just clips on.
View attachment 1830601

The short handle. The ferrule with the end cap screwed on
View attachment 1830606

The knot inside the sleeve with end cap at the top, ready for travel
View attachment 1830607
That thing's amazing!
Don, any idea when Helix will be operational, or are they?
I know it's really tough for them right now but wondering if they have any timeline despite the current situation.
I put myself on the waitlist for an Apollo precisely the month before the war started and it all came to a screeching halt.
I'm hoping that the madness will eventually settle in order for those people to have peace and a normal life.
 
I didn't even knew that they had shaving brushes, let alone having all those features as well as being affordable. I'm definitely going to buy one of these in the near future. Thank you.

I had never heard of the Timeless adjustable brush handles either until I stumbled across them while browsing the Timeless website a few months ago.

It seemed like a really innovative idea for those who like sampling a variety of knots. I almost bought one even though I use the same brush 95% of the time.

To get back on track, the Smart-Helix brush caught my attention and I was intrigued enough to go to their website. Unfortunately, the price was a bit beyond what I was expecting. Still, a very clever idea.
 
I had never heard of the Timeless adjustable brush handles either until I stumbled across them while browsing the Timeless website a few months ago.

It seemed like a really innovative idea for those who like sampling a variety of knots. I almost bought one even though I use the same brush 95% of the time.

To get back on track, the Smart-Helix brush caught my attention and I was intrigued enough to go to their website. Unfortunately, the price was a bit beyond what I was expecting. Still, a very clever idea.
I've been trying to develop an objective, repeatable way to test, evaluate, and compare knots. The Timeless turns out to be the solution (well the part for holding everything but the knot constant). And a major cost and effort saver.
20240511_143332.jpg
 
That thing's amazing!
Don, any idea when Helix will be operational, or are they?
I know it's really tough for them right now but wondering if they have any timeline despite the current situation.
I put myself on the waitlist for an Apollo precisely the month before the war started and it all came to a screeching halt.
I'm hoping that the madness will eventually settle in order for those people to have peace and a normal life.
Unfortunately Larry, I haven't any idea when or if that's going to happen. It's very frustrating for Victor and the company to not know when anything will resume.
 
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