@PRobots asked me to share my thoughts about the Wald A1 synthetic brush that I received recently. I’ve used it a good few times now with a variety of soaps so I think I can comment.
First of all, some basic information. The brush is beautifully made and the handle finish is extremely high quality. It comes in a nice quality, soft touch, box with a magnetic flap. The knot is made with extremely fine fibres - I assume nylon - and is very densely packed indeed. The knot diameter is 29mm with a loft of 51mm. Mine is a fan shape but Wald also offer this with a bulb shaped knot. The price is $245 excluding tax, and as I am in the EU the price was $300 including tax, which is obviously a lot for a synthetic brush (though nearly $200 less than Wald’s hand-tied badger brushes and with the same handles). I chose mine with the “Werther’s” colour and with the “Nimbus” handle shape.
So, to my observations….
Very premium finished handle and a great, comfortable shape and size. In terms of finish quality it’s the best made handle I have. If this matters to you then it is why the brush may be worth the money.
The knot is incredibly soft due to the ultra fine fibres - much, much softer than other synthetics, which are of course already very soft compared to animal hair. Hard to believe there would be such a difference but after using this if I stroke the knots of my other synthetic brushes they feel a lot coarser than the Wald. The Wald A1 knot feel reminds me of the catkins on ***** willow that I used to pick up when I was a kid. If you never used the Wald A1 then you would surely feel your synthetics are as soft feeling as you would ever need, but there is a big difference all the same.
There is plenty of backbone due to the extremely dense packing, and the lower loft - it has as much backbone as a firm badger brush, and nobody would find this knot lacking for backbone. Due to the extreme density it feels a bit different from other synthetics - sort of like having one very thick, soft fibre when you use painting strokes. But it also splays very easily when lathered up - which surprised me - and does so better than my other synthetic brushes. I can’t comment on whether the bulb splays as easily as the fan, or not. Splay can be an issue with synthetics, and as this knot is extremely densely packed and the fibres are not crimped, I expected it not to splay very well, but it does. No problem at all with splay once the brush is loaded, and you can splay the knot with quite gentle pressure.
The brush creates lather very quickly and easily and I have no difficulty loading enough lather for 3 or 4 passes. The 29mm knot diameter and the very high density makes it feel similar in size to a 26mm badger brush, which I find about ideal for face lathering and having a luxurious feeling and coverage.
So, overall I would say the Wald A1 achieves what it was intended to - extreme softness, strong backbone, easy splay, sized right for the premium artisan brush market. If you like synthetics and you value a super soft feel on your face then this may be a superior brush, but it will feel a bit different from other synthetics due to the softness and the high density. Of course there are very good synthetic brushes for much, much less money, but I think with the quality of finishing on this brush you can’t really say it isn’t priced fairly for what it is. I think you’d have to judge that you like synthetic brushes enough to buy this, though. I don’t think any synthetic brush is anything like badger - they are their own thing entirely - but if you are really into the synthetic thing, and prefer the particular characteristics of nylon fibre brushes, then you would probably feel this is a very high end product. If you are mainly a badger guy and not especially bought into the different feel of synthetic brushes then this is pricey for something that isn’t really your preference. But it does give you great performance, backbone and splay - however it’s extremely, extremely soft and not organic feeling.
It is at least relatively gettable. The last couple of Wald drops had quite a few A1 synthetic brushes and they were available for a few days. I’m sure the market for such a high end synthetic brush is fairly niche, and as far as I know Wald is the only one doing something quite like this.
First of all, some basic information. The brush is beautifully made and the handle finish is extremely high quality. It comes in a nice quality, soft touch, box with a magnetic flap. The knot is made with extremely fine fibres - I assume nylon - and is very densely packed indeed. The knot diameter is 29mm with a loft of 51mm. Mine is a fan shape but Wald also offer this with a bulb shaped knot. The price is $245 excluding tax, and as I am in the EU the price was $300 including tax, which is obviously a lot for a synthetic brush (though nearly $200 less than Wald’s hand-tied badger brushes and with the same handles). I chose mine with the “Werther’s” colour and with the “Nimbus” handle shape.
So, to my observations….
Very premium finished handle and a great, comfortable shape and size. In terms of finish quality it’s the best made handle I have. If this matters to you then it is why the brush may be worth the money.
The knot is incredibly soft due to the ultra fine fibres - much, much softer than other synthetics, which are of course already very soft compared to animal hair. Hard to believe there would be such a difference but after using this if I stroke the knots of my other synthetic brushes they feel a lot coarser than the Wald. The Wald A1 knot feel reminds me of the catkins on ***** willow that I used to pick up when I was a kid. If you never used the Wald A1 then you would surely feel your synthetics are as soft feeling as you would ever need, but there is a big difference all the same.
There is plenty of backbone due to the extremely dense packing, and the lower loft - it has as much backbone as a firm badger brush, and nobody would find this knot lacking for backbone. Due to the extreme density it feels a bit different from other synthetics - sort of like having one very thick, soft fibre when you use painting strokes. But it also splays very easily when lathered up - which surprised me - and does so better than my other synthetic brushes. I can’t comment on whether the bulb splays as easily as the fan, or not. Splay can be an issue with synthetics, and as this knot is extremely densely packed and the fibres are not crimped, I expected it not to splay very well, but it does. No problem at all with splay once the brush is loaded, and you can splay the knot with quite gentle pressure.
The brush creates lather very quickly and easily and I have no difficulty loading enough lather for 3 or 4 passes. The 29mm knot diameter and the very high density makes it feel similar in size to a 26mm badger brush, which I find about ideal for face lathering and having a luxurious feeling and coverage.
So, overall I would say the Wald A1 achieves what it was intended to - extreme softness, strong backbone, easy splay, sized right for the premium artisan brush market. If you like synthetics and you value a super soft feel on your face then this may be a superior brush, but it will feel a bit different from other synthetics due to the softness and the high density. Of course there are very good synthetic brushes for much, much less money, but I think with the quality of finishing on this brush you can’t really say it isn’t priced fairly for what it is. I think you’d have to judge that you like synthetic brushes enough to buy this, though. I don’t think any synthetic brush is anything like badger - they are their own thing entirely - but if you are really into the synthetic thing, and prefer the particular characteristics of nylon fibre brushes, then you would probably feel this is a very high end product. If you are mainly a badger guy and not especially bought into the different feel of synthetic brushes then this is pricey for something that isn’t really your preference. But it does give you great performance, backbone and splay - however it’s extremely, extremely soft and not organic feeling.
It is at least relatively gettable. The last couple of Wald drops had quite a few A1 synthetic brushes and they were available for a few days. I’m sure the market for such a high end synthetic brush is fairly niche, and as far as I know Wald is the only one doing something quite like this.
