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Yaqi brushes galore! Some more reviews...

Hey Gents,
I’m back after a long break, been very busy with my baby daughter and life in general.
I purchased a bunch more Yaqi brushes and as usual, wanted to share my thoughts on the forum.
My order is of several synthetic brushes and a couple of badger brushes.

Shedding:
No brush has shed at all. I think I’ll take this section out of future reviews as it has become fairly redundant as I haven’t had any shedding problems with any of my Yaqi brushes.

Softness:
So, synthetics are basically at a point where we can’t really say one is soft and another is not soft, or is prickly, or scritchy etc. They are all luxuriously soft!
Synthetic fibres are basically as comfortable as is possible. I feel future development would/should be focused on fibre behaviour, such as splay etc. I find Muhle has done the most work on this aspect and still produce the most natural splaying knot on the market.

Splay/Backbone (Glue bump):
With synthetics, I’ve come to learn that due to the softness of the tips, they are going to perform wonderfully and still feel good on the face no matter how deep the knot is set or how big the glue bump is.
However, the presence of glue bumps is really not an issue as they are 5mm or less. At 5mm, it doesn’t impact the splay of the knot. It’s the 10mm+ glue bumps that really do impact the face feel of the brush. None of the brushes I have gotten in this batch have glue bumps over 10mm so I’m very happy about that.
I find basically the bigger the synthetic knot is, the better it splays out. My preference when it comes to Yaqi synthetics is their 26mm knots as the splay is very nice and they don’t feel huge on the face. In fact, they feel smaller than the Yaqi 24mm badger brushes.
I just wanted to mention the black/white synthetic knot has a splay that is bigger than most synthetics. It reminds me of the cashmere/angel hair knots where the backbone is not huge and the brush feels very luxurious on the face.

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Review of the dual knot two band/synthetic brush:
The two band finest in metal handle is actually a dual knot brush. The knot screws out of the handle and the other screwed in so it’s literally a two-in-one brush…Genius! This would make an ideal travel brush for those that like to carry a badger and a synthetic on their travels.
Like my other Yaqi two bands, it’s scritchy for the first 6 or so uses and then the tips soften up like crazy! From that point onwards, it’s just pure luxury!

You still get a scrub which you really can’t get from any silvertip because the two band hair is thicker at the base, but the tips are still super soft once broken in. Of course, this also means a two band can’t deliver the luxury of a silvertip!

The brush is what I would regard as upper level of density. The knot to loft proportion is perfect so there is no lather hogging. Also, once the two bands break in, they never eat the lather in between passes either. But in the first half dozen uses, they do eat lather and this is an annoyance but well worth it because after the break in period, I just adore the two bands!

Please see previous section for comments regarding the synthetic knot that comes with the dual knot brush.

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Misc:
Yaqi are still IMO the best value for money brushes on the market. Yes, there are other synthetic brushes that come very close but overall knot quality and the “semi-custom” handles set Yaqi apart from the others.

The Yaqi badger brushes are way ahead of the pack. I mean, these are easily worth $80+ as they are fairly densely packed knots for a fraction of the cost we used to have to pay for badger brushes about 6+ years ago. I remember when I was buying badger brushes back in 2010/11/12, I had trouble finding good quality badger brushes for under $100. That same quality can now be had for around $35!!
 
Nice! I love my Yaqi brushes and they've actually been more enjoyable than other higher end brushes at times. I have the same Boss knot 30mm synth on the way and I can't wait to try it out. I've had bad experiences with alternative boss knots (Thick, high backbone, scritchy) so I'm hoping this one is a lot better.

Also, my favorite Yaqi brush at the moment is Tuxedo 26mm brush. Great soft and plushy feel on the face with excellent performance. Can't go wrong with a Yaqi brush but I'm also restraining myself to a couple instead of their whole lineup.. haha
 
nice write up. I agree with your comment that a 26mm synthetic feels smaller than the 24mm badger. Havnt got a 2 band badger from yaqi yet, how do you compare that to the silvertip?
 
have you heard / tried the mastro 2 band brushes? from what i have heard they are best bang for buck out there, i am curious to know how these stack up to a yaqi 2 band
 
Yaqi are still IMO the best value for money brushes on the market. Yes, there are other synthetic brushes that come very close but overall knot quality and the “semi-custom” handles set Yaqi apart from the others.
I'd have to disagree on the "semi-custom" handles though because there's nothing custom about them other than the camo switchable you posted a pic of. The rest are all replicated or reproduced handles that are standard if anything to they're line.They may be a good quality for money option but they have some of the ugliest handles the market has to offer!! To their credit and after more than a year selling brushes they finally delivered on an attractive handle in the camo switchable you posted though!! Its about time!!

ETA... I know...I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if you put any Yaqi handle next to the majority of custom handles you can get from Wolf Whiskers, That Damn Rob, Rudy Vey, Brad Sears, Elite Razor, WildWest Brushworks, TurnNShave, and a few others the Yaqi's are very bland was all I was trying to point out...
 
I'd have to disagree on the "semi-custom" handles though because there's nothing custom about them other than the camo switchable you posted a pic of. The rest are all replicated or reproduced handles that are standard if anything to they're line.They may be a good quality for money option but they have some of the ugliest handles the market has to offer!! To their credit and after more than a year selling brushes they finally delivered on an attractive handle in the camo switchable you posted though!! Its about time!!

ETA... I know...I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if you put any Yaqi handle next to the majority of custom handles you can get from Wolf Whiskers, That Damn Rob, Rudy Vey, Brad Sears, Elite Razor, WildWest Brushworks, TurnNShave, and a few others the Yaqi's are very bland was all I was trying to point out...
I completely agree but for the cost of the custom handle you can easily get at least 3 Yaqi brushes
 
Thanks for sharing. Ugly handles, ugly logo. But ultimately performance is king, and for this price point, I want to try a couple.
 
And by the way, everyone on the review videos keeps pronouncing it as Ya-Kee. The company is Chinese, so the pronunciation is Ya-Chee.
 
I'd have to disagree on the "semi-custom" handles though because there's nothing custom about them other than the camo switchable you posted a pic of. The rest are all replicated or reproduced handles that are standard if anything to they're line.They may be a good quality for money option but they have some of the ugliest handles the market has to offer!! To their credit and after more than a year selling brushes they finally delivered on an attractive handle in the camo switchable you posted though!! Its about time!!

ETA... I know...I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if you put any Yaqi handle next to the majority of custom handles you can get from Wolf Whiskers, That Damn Rob, Rudy Vey, Brad Sears, Elite Razor, WildWest Brushworks, TurnNShave, and a few others the Yaqi's are very bland was all I was trying to point out...

I more meant semi-custom in the sense that they are giving so much choice and basically something to suit nearly everyone's taste.

It's difficult to get so much handle choice without going the full custom route, which comes with a hefty price tag and for people like me that honestly don't see the value of paying so much extra for a custom handle, the Yaqi choices offered are a big plus.

In terms of what is good and what is ugly...there are at least 4 Yaqi handles that look absolutely gorgeous (Deep Space, moka, purple haze, violet swirl)!
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
I more meant semi-custom in the sense that they are giving so much choice and basically something to suit nearly everyone's taste.

It's difficult to get so much handle choice without going the full custom route, which comes with a hefty price tag and for people like me that honestly don't see the value of paying so much extra for a custom handle, the Yaqi choices offered are a big plus.

In terms of what is good and what is ugly...there are at least 4 Yaqi handles that look absolutely gorgeous (Deep Space, moka, purple haze, violet swirl)!
i agree. And in addition i think the rainbow handle is pretty cool too.
 
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