Nightguard
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- Joined
- Dec 28, 2013
Pretty much the same experience as me, although I've only had 5 or 6 of them.
Badger brush bristles keep dropping out
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TobyC
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- Nov 26, 2019
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- Cat Pig Swamp
Don't make that gesture if you're trying to meet a nice girl.
TobyC
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- Nov 26, 2019
- Location
- Cat Pig Swamp
If you want a soft brush to dust off delicate doo-dads, get a semoghe,... they are completely spineless.
TobyC
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- Nov 26, 2019
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- Cat Pig Swamp
They're worse that the "Pure Badger" that he has now, like using a bare handle and pretending there's bristles on your face.
However, if you’re trying to meet a dirty girl...
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2019
- Location
- Darwin
I defer to y'all experience cos' I ain't used nothin else but Semogue 1460 Boar. It was my first "decent" brush and still used daily after 3 years. Seems to have more spine than any of the synthetics I've tried
Synths are soft, messy, and spineless. Like painting with a car sponge and end up with lather up your nose, in your ears and half way down your chest. The boar is nice and precise in comparison.
Omega - 10065 Natural Bristle does have more spine than Semogue - Excelsior 1460 Boar Brush but the Semogue has seen over 1000 shaves 2 - 3 passes each shave and only shed 5 hairs max.
One day the brush will wear out and I will move on to bigger and better things and agree with y'all, but until then Semogue Boars Rule!
The Synths you're talking about sound like the Yellow/plisson type fibres. They are crap. The Silvertip V2 fibre as found in the Epsilons and Jaggers brushes is better. You're still not going to get scrub like a boar or badger, but that's overrated when you're getting a better quality lather. Scrubbing only does so much to soften beards. Lather provides the glide and protection.
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2019
- Location
- Darwin
Tried all of the below synthetics and moved them on except for 23mm Muhle Silvertip Fibre because it is the best of the bunch and if anything is going to convert me, this should.
I dont like voluminous pillows of foamy lather or whipped and beaten marshmallowy peaks especially when you end up with more on the floor than your face.
Maggard Razors - 24mm Synthetic Shaving Brush - Black
YAQI - Sagrada Familia 24mm Synthetic Tuxedo Knot
YAQI - White Knight 24mm Synthetic Boss Knot
I dont like voluminous pillows of foamy lather or whipped and beaten marshmallowy peaks especially when you end up with more on the floor than your face.
Maggard Razors - 24mm Synthetic Shaving Brush - Black
YAQI - Sagrada Familia 24mm Synthetic Tuxedo Knot
YAQI - White Knight 24mm Synthetic Boss Knot
I never find a huge difference in performance for many of today's synthetics. Based on my experience, I also agree that STF brushes appear to perform a little better - they are probably a little more "less-resistive" to splaying and have an ability to hold a little more water, but some of the other options are not that far off - i.e. Tuxedo. Every synthetic I have tried today has "a lot" of backbone (IMO, most of them probably have too much backbone). Based on reports, the original Plisson was on the floppy side, but they appear to no longer be in fashion (next year, there'll be something new which will receive a lot of the hype).
My suggestion would be to try a few different options and see what works best for you. Since you're based in Singapore, you might want to visit Mustafa's, where you'll be able to find a few Omega brushes that are affordable.
My suggestion would be to try a few different options and see what works best for you. Since you're based in Singapore, you might want to visit Mustafa's, where you'll be able to find a few Omega brushes that are affordable.
TobyC
Member
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2019
- Location
- Cat Pig Swamp
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2019
- Location
- Darwin
Hi all, just to demonstrate Semogue Boar after 1000 shaves has more spine than Muhle STF
Same 125ml tub on each. LHS Boar and RHS Synthetic
Side by side with a generous Squadron 125gm on each
Does the stiffer bristle and lack of splay indicate more backbone?
Same 125ml tub on each. LHS Boar and RHS Synthetic
Side by side with a generous Squadron 125gm on each
Does the stiffer bristle and lack of splay indicate more backbone?
That's fascinatingly scientifical - if backbone is the most important thing a brush has to posses. I don't think it is. My Omegas struggle to get a second pass of quality lather without a lot of effort and product.
Synths are quick, easy, consistent and make more and better lather with barely any effort. The ST fibre provides enough scrub to soften the beard for a close shave.That's my criteria for how good a brush is, not how stuff the bristles are.
Synths are quick, easy, consistent and make more and better lather with barely any effort. The ST fibre provides enough scrub to soften the beard for a close shave.That's my criteria for how good a brush is, not how stuff the bristles are.
TobyC
Member
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2019
- Location
- Cat Pig Swamp
Hi all, just to demonstrate Semogue Boar after 1000 shaves has more spine than Muhle STF
Same 125ml tub on each. LHS Boar and RHS Synthetic
Side by side with a generous Squadron 125gm on each
Does the stiffer bristle and lack of splay indicate more backbone?
But how sloppy floppy does that boar get when wet?
The synthetic is the same wet or dry, the boar will act like noodles, stiff when dry, soft and floppy when wet.
TobyC
Member
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2019
- Location
- Cat Pig Swamp
These are the firmest Synthetics I've found.
Maggard Razors Shaving Brush Knot 26mm Black and White Synthetic
"For all of you hobby brush makers, we are happy to be able to provide these knots for all of your custom brush projects. These knots are denser than our regular synthetic knots."
I've used three of them.
They are reasonably firm, but offer no scrub.
Some may be fine with that, but I like firm+scrub+scritch.
.
Maggard Razors Shaving Brush Knot 26mm Black and White Synthetic
"For all of you hobby brush makers, we are happy to be able to provide these knots for all of your custom brush projects. These knots are denser than our regular synthetic knots."
I've used three of them.
They are reasonably firm, but offer no scrub.
Some may be fine with that, but I like firm+scrub+scritch.
.
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2019
- Location
- Darwin
YMMV and technique
Agreed, wet noodle is a good analogy, but al dente' and springy not sloppy. Isn't that evidence of how much water it can absorb. I don't pre-soak like a badger.
Wet boar with 125gm tub still more backbone than STF
No, nothing to do with technique or YMMV, it's the material. My technique is the same with any brush, although I barely use anything than STF synths anymore. The boars are harder work and require far more product, the Silvertip badgers take longer to get going. Even then, the lather is never as good with either.
I've had a lot of brushes over the years. I tried synths out of curiosity, thinking I was unlikely to shift from my regulars. But the ability of STF synths to outperform all of them for producing the best/most/easiest lather is not a YMMV or subjective thing. It's a fact. The preference for boar and badger comes down to subjective things - look, brand feel. When it comes to what the brush is designed to produce, it's not a contest.
I agree with @Drubbing - on objective criteria synths can’t be beat. Whether it’s value for money, quality, longevity, drying, lather making (although I need a different technique to stop lather flinging or water falling out of the knot), softness, soap economy, etc it’s very hard to make an objective case for anything else.
That said, I still prefer my pre-soaked big omega boars - I have a number of soaps I need to work through so using a lot of soap is a plus and I find adding water easier / quicker due to the ability of the bristle itself to hold water. And I just prefer the higher loft they can achieve, with the backbone they provide, the split tips and what that adds up to in terms of feel on the face. I also find it takes longer for synths to load as much soap as I feel I need for four passes whereas I’ve never had that problem with my big boars. I like loading a lot of soap...
But all the synths I’ve tried to date have felt too small compared to my boars / badgers. I need Santa to bring me a 30mm YAQI to make it a fair fight...
That said, I still prefer my pre-soaked big omega boars - I have a number of soaps I need to work through so using a lot of soap is a plus and I find adding water easier / quicker due to the ability of the bristle itself to hold water. And I just prefer the higher loft they can achieve, with the backbone they provide, the split tips and what that adds up to in terms of feel on the face. I also find it takes longer for synths to load as much soap as I feel I need for four passes whereas I’ve never had that problem with my big boars. I like loading a lot of soap...
But all the synths I’ve tried to date have felt too small compared to my boars / badgers. I need Santa to bring me a 30mm YAQI to make it a fair fight...