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Trying to understand premium synthetic knots

Muhle and Shavemac fibers are made in Germany and tied by those companies. The G5A and G5C fibers are made in Germany but tied in China according to Andrew of AP Shave Co.
 
According to the internet 24% of nylon is produced in China and 76% isn’t. The odds are in your favour.

Really? I was left with the impression that the majority of the synthetic bristles come from China and maybe India, Pakistan and other Asian countries. It just feels like too much of a hussle for someone from the west to make them instead of buying the bristles or the knots directly and just make the handles. Even if true, I still find it hard to believe.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
I actually liked the Blackland and Mühle brushes a lot, and I was surprised because I haven’t been using them much. I have a Wald A1 synthetic, which is much pricier ($250 plus tax) but does outperform all of these in density, softness and ease of splay. But if I only had the Blackland or Mühle I wouldn’t feel like I was missing anything and I would be really satisfied.

Pic, in order of my preference, L-R….
I will look into a Wald. The Muhle is my favorite Synth by FAR. Nothing esle compares and I've been through Razorock, Simpson - Trafalgar and Chubby, OneBlade, Supply, PAA, Omega S, Plisson (actual brand), Shavemac.

You description of the Wald is what I want in a synth.
 
I just thought because I had reviewed it in more detail elsewhere, and it’s not a comparable price. But you’re right, part of the reason I did this was to see what else I liked best and how close or far it is from the Wald.

So, I’d say compared to the Blackland and Mühle that I liked the best, the Wald feels much more luxurious - that’s probably the biggest difference due to the really densely packed, ultra-fine fibres. The tips are a lot softer than the Mühle and Blackland, and with the high density it almost feels like one really fat fibre rather than you sensing all the individual fibres - hard to describe really but you do feel the density, in a luxurious way. Like people describe certain badger brushes as a wall of badger - it’s a bit like that, a wall of super-soft fibre. The Wald also has more backbone than even the G5C and yet it splays much easier than any of these - quite effortlessly, really. It also scrubs very well and with a nice feeling when you want it to. I think it’s just a step up in every way.

I do think if you like the way synthetic feels and performs and you’re thinking about buying two or three premium synthetic brushes, it’s worth considering one Wald A1 for the money instead. Or if you have several nice badgers in this price range and you want to add something new, this might be better than buying another badger. Certainly the handle is truly high-end in quality and finish, the same as Jannik puts on his €430 badger brushes (plus tax) but you’re paying €180 less for the synthetic, and the knot is still hand-tied by Jannik.

I actually don’t see any performance disadvantage with the Wald A1 compared to a high-end badger, unless you’re a high backbone fiend or you just don’t like the soft feel of synthetic knots at all - for some badger guys the Wald would feel too soft on the skin, but a synthetic user already appreciates this quality and the Wald has more of it. If you do like synthetics then the Wald is all the good points magnified, and has none of the disadvantages (like poorer splay or drying out). I guess the only thing is that it takes about as long to dry as a badger does, so you’d choose a Mühle or Blackland for travel.

Ultimately if you never tried the Wald you would never feel you’re missing anything with either the Mühle or Blackland, and they are fantastic. Nobody ever felt these other synthetics weren’t soft enough. But if you do try the Wald you will probably feel it beats them in every way. I know not everyone is open to the idea of a €250 synthetic brush, though, and of course that’s reasonable.

First world problems, honestly. Incidentally, Wald’s last drop had 15 A1 brushes and it was more than 24hrs before they sold out, so they are quite gettable if you join his mailing list. The last two drops were for pre-orders so you could choose whatever handle shape, colourway and knot shape you wanted. His website doesn’t display all the colour options so you need to look through his Instagram or Facebook posts to see them all and the names.
So ... you're making me totally curious but...not about the Wald,but about the one that always made me
hesitate-the Blackland Signature.
There are not that many posts related to that one and the majority are not necessarily positive. Now you are putting that one next to the Mühle STF, that's very intriguing. Or maybe there's a difference between the black and the white fibre that Shane has been using.
Does it perform similar to the Mühle STF? Is there anyone that has been using both -white and black fibre -knots ?
 
So ... you're making me totally curious but...not about the Wald,but about the one that always made me
hesitate-the Blackland Signature.
There are not that many posts related to that one and the majority are not necessarily positive. Now you are putting that one next to the Mühle STF, that's very intriguing. Or maybe there's a difference between the black and the white fibre that Shane has been using.
Does it perform similar to the Mühle STF? Is there anyone that has been using both -white and black fibre -knots ?
I do have a black fibre one, and I think my review above was probably my first time using the white fibre. I was actually surprised the white fibre seemed to splay almost as easily as the Mühle because I had in my mind that the Blackland isn’t a great splayer. Maybe the white is rather different from the black, or perhaps my memory is playing tricks. You’ve got me curious, though, so I’ll do a side-by-side shave tonight with both colour knots to see.

The Blackland brush handle is really, really good and I always feel this is a really neat and fun brush to use. I just enjoy it a lot. Even though I remembered the black knot as a difficult splayer I still had in mind that I really liked it. I always hesitated to talk about it because of the price, but now all these other premium synthetic brushes are as expensive, if not more.
 
I do have a black fibre one, and I think my review above was probably my first time using the white fibre. I was actually surprised the white fibre seemed to splay almost as easily as the Mühle because I had in my mind that the Blackland isn’t a great splayer. Maybe the white is rather different from the black, or perhaps my memory is playing tricks. You’ve got me curious, though, so I’ll do a side-by-side shave tonight with both colour knots to see.

The Blackland brush handle is really, really good and I always feel this is a really neat and fun brush to use. I just enjoy it a lot. Even though I remembered the black knot as a difficult splayer I still had in mind that I really liked it. I always hesitated to talk about it because of the price, but now all these other premium synthetic brushes are as expensive, if not more.
A side by side would be great!
I m very curious. I love the Signature design just that the reviews weren't that positive... until now -for the white one.
Thanks
 
I do have a black fibre one, and I think my review above was probably my first time using the white fibre. I was actually surprised the white fibre seemed to splay almost as easily as the Mühle because I had in my mind that the Blackland isn’t a great splayer. Maybe the white is rather different from the black, or perhaps my memory is playing tricks. You’ve got me curious, though, so I’ll do a side-by-side shave tonight with both colour knots to see.

The Blackland brush handle is really, really good and I always feel this is a really neat and fun brush to use. I just enjoy it a lot. Even though I remembered the black knot as a difficult splayer I still had in mind that I really liked it. I always hesitated to talk about it because of the price, but now all these other premium synthetic brushes are as expensive, if not more.
Have been curious and do like the handles :) so am looking forward to the comparison :)
 
Will be interested to hear what you think of your new STF when you try it. It won’t have the backbone of your G5C but I think it’s a super brush overall.

DBF1EA40-5887-4EEC-B670-BFDB051DADBF.jpeg


I've gotten a couple of shaves in with my new 19mm STF, and I am quite impressed with it. I was more comparing it to my 18mm timberwolf in my mind as a potential replacement as my travel brush, but it's even good enough to be an everyday brush if I wanted it to be.

Compared to the G5C, it's about what I was expecting. The STF a little bit softer - the G5C has the tiniest bit of scritch, and there's absolutely none to be found with the STF. And while neither has a whole lot of backbone, the G5C has a bit more. Both splay well. And of course the G5C is distinctly a fan, whereas the STF is sort of a bulb/fan hybrid.

So there's reasons to like them both, and I can see why some people love the STFs so much. If I’d gotten the STF travel brush first, I would have strongly considered a larger one, maybe 23mm, for my regular brush. I quite enjoy my G5C though and am not looking to rotate my daily brush. But if I were ever to do so, an STF would surely be the first one I add. The only other brush besides that that holds any interest to me at this point is that darned $270 Wald. 😅
 
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I've gotten a couple of shaves in with my new 19mm STF, and I am quite impressed with it. I was more comparing it to my 18mm timberwolf in my mind as a potential replacement as my travel brush, but it's even good enough to be an everyday brush if I wanted it to be.

Compared to the G5C, it's about what I was expecting. The STF a little bit softer - the G5C has the tiniest bit of scritch, and there's absolutely none to be found with the STF. And while neither has a whole lot of backbone, the G5C has a bit more. Both splay well. And of course the G5C is distinctly a fan, whereas the STF is sort of a bulb/fan hybrid.

So there's reasons to like them both, and I can see why some people love the STFs so much. If I’d gotten the STF travel brush first, I would have strongly considered a larger one, maybe 23mm, for my regular brush. I quite enjoy my G5C though and am not looking to rotate my daily brush. But if I were ever to do so, an STF would surely be the first one I add. The only other brush besides that that holds any interest to me at this point is that darned $270 Wald. 😅
Glad you like them both. They look great.
 
@bughyjoy @Ckmaui Well, I did my side-by-side shave with the black and white Blackland knots. There was certainly a lot of lather using two brushes and face-lathering.

You’re not going to like it.

They were both exactly the same - at least close enough that I couldn’t detect any difference - and both were wonderfully soft with easy splay. I honestly like these brushes a little bit more than even the Mühle overall. Just lovely synthetic brushes with a brilliant handle.

What can I say now? I haven’t seen the other reviews of the Blackland brush but it appears that I love them and some others don’t rate them. My best guess to explain it is that you may need to load plenty of soap in order for the brushes to splay nicely and perform their best. I suspect if the lather is thin, or too dry, or not really sufficient for three+ good passes then that will change things. I’ve certainly observed that shaving brushes - especially synthetics - are much harder to splay when they aren’t full of lather, and maybe these ones, with a distinct bulb shape and a narrow 21mm diameter are particularly hard to splay in those conditions. But load a good amount of nice lather in them and they splay very nicely with very little effort. I am convinced they splay easier than the G5C knot, and nearly the same as the Mühle, the way I am using them. Maybe it’s different if you bowl lather. Or possibly they broke in - but do synthetic knots break in and loosen up?

I can only report what I experienced myself. Fantastic brushes, and the same with either knot colour.

Incidentally, I didn’t mention before but it’s rather lovely to rinse the aluminum brush handle after the shave. The dried lather runs right off the aluminum and the channels in the base accelerate the water and rapidly fire out any lather that got in there. Small thing but it gives me pleasure.
 
You're right! It's totally disturbing now 😂😂. But I guess that's why we are still here having a new subject to discuss.
Thanks a lot for your quick report. Now that you are saying it is even more enjoyable than the Mühle you gave the kid in me that tiny reason to buy another toy.
 
@bughyjoy @Ckmaui Well, I did my side-by-side shave with the black and white Blackland knots. There was certainly a lot of lather using two brushes and face-lathering.

You’re not going to like it.

They were both exactly the same - at least close enough that I couldn’t detect any difference - and both were wonderfully soft with easy splay. I honestly like these brushes a little bit more than even the Mühle overall. Just lovely synthetic brushes with a brilliant handle.

What can I say now? I haven’t seen the other reviews of the Blackland brush but it appears that I love them and some others don’t rate them. My best guess to explain it is that you may need to load plenty of soap in order for the brushes to splay nicely and perform their best. I suspect if the lather is thin, or too dry, or not really sufficient for three+ good passes then that will change things. I’ve certainly observed that shaving brushes - especially synthetics - are much harder to splay when they aren’t full of lather, and maybe these ones, with a distinct bulb shape and a narrow 21mm diameter are particularly hard to splay in those conditions. But load a good amount of nice lather in them and they splay very nicely with very little effort. I am convinced they splay easier than the G5C knot, and nearly the same as the Mühle, the way I am using them. Maybe it’s different if you bowl lather. Or possibly they broke in - but do synthetic knots break in and loosen up?

I can only report what I experienced myself. Fantastic brushes, and the same with either knot colour.

Incidentally, I didn’t mention before but it’s rather lovely to rinse the aluminum brush handle after the shave. The dried lather runs right off the aluminum and the channels in the base accelerate the water and rapidly fire out any lather that got in there. Small thing but it gives me pleasure.
Advancement in synthetics is unbelievably rapid. The G5D has possibly rendered all previous knots redundant.
 
Glad to hear they are the same reckon that way buy on what ya like

my Muhle does perform a touch better with certain soaps I notice that just trying to figure out the next one to get a touch easier to splay maybe

but for sure going to go down and test more synthetics and find that best one for me :)
 
I wanted to give an update on my post above. The Mühle STF is still my #1, but the APShaveCo G5A has broken in (this took a while) and has become my next favorite, edging out the Shavemac and small Yaqi Cola. The knot is dense and holds a lot of water and lather. The tips are super soft, almost gel-like in feeling. There is good backbone, about like my former badgers. I like the price of the G5A and C, too. The G5A fibers are made in Germany (and the B). The G5C fibers are made in Japan. I just ordered a 26mm G5C and asked Andrew to set the knot a bit higher for better splaying while face lathering.

These knots are very good and if you shop the Scratch and Dent or Seconds a person can come away with a very nice brush for very little money.
 
Does anyone have any experiences with MiG Premium Synthetic - Hybrid Shape and/or Titanium Synthetic Fibre Knot ? Are they on any brushes that are more commonly known? I'm curious if they really are worth the extra cash compared to the Cashmere for instance.
I don't, but the MIG is knotted in Germany only. The fibers are made in SE Asia somewhere, Thailand I think. That doesn't mean they aren't good fibers, though. G5A knots are made in Germany of German materials. Mühle STF are a different fiber also made in Germany and tied there. I am unsure about Shavemac, which are made in Germany, but I don't know where the fibers originate.

The Titanium are the same fibers as in Simpson Platinum Grade fiber brushes. Those are better than the Sovereign grade fibers Simpson has started using.
 
I'm unaware of any other manufacturer than APShaveCo using MiG knots. I bought a 26mm knot separately and had it set in another brush-builder's custom handle. There was some problem with the metal collar around the glue knot that prevented getting the loft I wanted, but had no such difficulty with APSC's own handles.

As to a comparison of the MiG and Cashmere, the former has thicker fibers and more backbone, but softness and splay is still first-rate. It's an excellent knot that falls between the G5C and STF in performance and feel.
 
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