After much delay due to the USPS, my Yaqi Moka Express Two Band Badger finally arrived yesterday. I had previously owned the Moka Mew Brown synthetic brush, so I knew that I would like the geometrically cut amber handle. The badger version, however, is a 26 brush vs. the 24 mm synthetic, and to my eyes the smaller handle is more aesthetically pleasing. That said, the larger handle fits my hand better and is more pleasant to use. But larger in every way is what first struck me. Except for some large synthetics I have never used a brush this large. Here is what it looks like next to a Duke 2 and a West Coast Shaving 24 mm silvertip.
After receiving it yesterday I shampooed it to both relieve some of the stiffness I felt in the knot and to try to neutralize the natural badger smell. In the process it lost 3 or 4 hairs which caused some brief concern, but in its first use on today's morning shave it did not lose any more. When I picked it up this morning I thought that I had successfully removed the smell, but as I began using it, I discovered that it was still clear that this was a brush made of animal hair. It wasn't overpowering or particularly unpleasant, but even with a heavily fragranced soap like Wet Shaving Products' Olympus, the natural badger smell still poked through.
The first thought I had after loading it and whipping up plenty of lather in my bowl was that it was extremely soft. I first thought that it might be too soft and lack backbone, but that turned out to be a false fear. Behind the softness there is plenty of backbone. Flow through was good, but not as good as my Maggard 20 mm two band, but that may well be due to the difference in density between the two. The Moka holds lather to about the same degree as the Duke in best badger or the WCS Silvertip, but it's softer on the face than the Duke and provides more backbone than the WCS silvertip.
This brush will definitely be used regularly, alongside the others in the photo, the aforementioned little Maggard 2 band, an SOC Mistura, a Zenith boar and a Yaqi Rainbow Brown synthetic. All are fine brushes with their own unique characteristics and I love the variety.
After receiving it yesterday I shampooed it to both relieve some of the stiffness I felt in the knot and to try to neutralize the natural badger smell. In the process it lost 3 or 4 hairs which caused some brief concern, but in its first use on today's morning shave it did not lose any more. When I picked it up this morning I thought that I had successfully removed the smell, but as I began using it, I discovered that it was still clear that this was a brush made of animal hair. It wasn't overpowering or particularly unpleasant, but even with a heavily fragranced soap like Wet Shaving Products' Olympus, the natural badger smell still poked through.
The first thought I had after loading it and whipping up plenty of lather in my bowl was that it was extremely soft. I first thought that it might be too soft and lack backbone, but that turned out to be a false fear. Behind the softness there is plenty of backbone. Flow through was good, but not as good as my Maggard 20 mm two band, but that may well be due to the difference in density between the two. The Moka holds lather to about the same degree as the Duke in best badger or the WCS Silvertip, but it's softer on the face than the Duke and provides more backbone than the WCS silvertip.
This brush will definitely be used regularly, alongside the others in the photo, the aforementioned little Maggard 2 band, an SOC Mistura, a Zenith boar and a Yaqi Rainbow Brown synthetic. All are fine brushes with their own unique characteristics and I love the variety.
