- Thread starter
- #21
I watched some videos and read some reviews and most say it's more backbone/scratchy. I need softer. have you tried Simpson synthetic?
How are recent synthetic brushes?
- Thread starter slyfox279
- Start date
I've never tried any of the Simpson synthetics as most of the reviews I've read say the backbone is quite much compared to most brushes on the market.
That is a strong statement without any own experience. It is definitely is not what I experience, using the STF myself for years and of the many customer I have and they are all very happy. Most say that is the best synthetic knot out there.
- Thread starter
- #25
theres not best for all synthetic. I like soft floppy brushes. others like more backbone. from all I read most people praised it for having more backbone than plissofts and other synths. im not stating personal experience just from what I was able to find.
So try horsehair. I understand they are especially floppy.
- Thread starter
- #27
perhaps is it humanly gathered and clean?
Hell if I know. You can probably find a thread on it somewhere around here. My impression is that it is, being a renewable resource and all. You certainly don't have to hurt a horse to trim its mane. Not sure what you mean by clean though. Get some mane and tale shampoo if you think it isn't. (Yes that's a legitimate thing. Good stuff too. Used it myself decades ago. On my hair that is.) If you are referring to religious strictures, I believe they are indeed more prevalent in those countries and cultures that are concerned with such things.
not anymore... sold out
Plissoft were the first ones I used, the one from L'Occitane - these were relabeled Plissons. I used to harvest the knots for customers and re-set them in a decent handle. Used one for myself, but it was like a wet mop, extreme soft and floppy.
Tried other ones, including the first synthetic from Simpson in a Chubby 2. Not impressed. Shavemac first synthetic in the USA, also not impressed. Used a Muehle STF for a long time, many years, in my travel brush. It was a 19 mm and i made the brush myself. It was the most used brush in my stable as in traveled a lot. Now I have a 25 STF and Wald. These are the best, believe me. As Ron said above:
"Scratchy and STF shouldn't be used in the same sentence. Not in my experience"
and neither is this mine or the many customer that got a STF knotted brush from me.
| AP400Slim AL (Rubberset 400 clone) with a G5C synth. Very nice! |
I personally disliked the Muhle STF brushes, as they had more backbone than I liked (more than my badger or boar, so it required significantly more pressure to splay). I strongly prefer APShaveCo's SynBad and Cashmere knots (Cashmere is slightly softer and slightly less backbone, SynBad is closer to a standard badger brush) as they splay easily. In fact, I have a 30 mm Cashmere knot here, and a 30 mm handle arriving today--it'll be my first "homemade" brush. We;ll see how it goes with a 17 mm depth handle.
I have not used any "high-end" brushes. My experience is limited to a Maggard Timberwolf, several RR Plissofts, a Yaqi Mojito, and an APShave Muhle STF in a Shavemac beehive handle.
The STF is the best of the bunch...face-lathers great, good splay and flow through, and is the closest I've used to genuine badger. It has quickly become my favorite synthetic. The Yaqi is a close second in terms of mimicking a natural badger, and it performs very much like the STF.
The others are nice, but just nylon brushes. They work fine but you would never confuse them with badger...not even close.
The STF is the best of the bunch...face-lathers great, good splay and flow through, and is the closest I've used to genuine badger. It has quickly become my favorite synthetic. The Yaqi is a close second in terms of mimicking a natural badger, and it performs very much like the STF.
The others are nice, but just nylon brushes. They work fine but you would never confuse them with badger...not even close.
Synthetic 2-Band Brush - 24mm x 56mm
Product Description Our newest addition to our synthetic brush lineup! This black and white synthetic 2-band knot has super soft bristles but enough backbone to perform flawlessly. Lathers like a champ! Total Brush Weight: ~85g Total Brush Height: ~4.375in Knot Diameter: 24mm Knot Height: ~56mm...
My last acquisitions in synthetic fibers.
Boti Mother Lode 30mm, uber soft but with enough backbone not to be floppy. Zero scrub. My preferred synthetic.
Boti Mother Lode 26mm, super soft with very little backbone, bordering with being floppy. My least preferred synthetic brush.
Simpson CH3 Sovereign, very gentle when painting, needs some effort to splay and scrubby similar to a Simpson Best Badger. I would buy it again.
Maggard G5 30mm, very soft tips, needs some effort to splay but I don’t find it scrubby. Very pleased.
Simpson CH2 Synthetic (Platinum). Too hard to splay. I dismissed it after few shaves. I may give it another try based on awk_m4 experience.
Simpson T3 Sovereign. Excellent, Like the CH3. I dismissed it only because too small for my taste.
(However I use badger brushes most of the times)
Boti Mother Lode 30mm, uber soft but with enough backbone not to be floppy. Zero scrub. My preferred synthetic.
Boti Mother Lode 26mm, super soft with very little backbone, bordering with being floppy. My least preferred synthetic brush.
Simpson CH3 Sovereign, very gentle when painting, needs some effort to splay and scrubby similar to a Simpson Best Badger. I would buy it again.
Maggard G5 30mm, very soft tips, needs some effort to splay but I don’t find it scrubby. Very pleased.
Simpson CH2 Synthetic (Platinum). Too hard to splay. I dismissed it after few shaves. I may give it another try based on awk_m4 experience.
Simpson T3 Sovereign. Excellent, Like the CH3. I dismissed it only because too small for my taste.
(However I use badger brushes most of the times)
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- Thread starter
- #38
I've been seeing good things about cashmere and saw apshaveco has fan knots which I prefer. i dont know what loft id want on it though. looking at 26mm knot.
My understanding is that loft is generally twice the diameter (so, 52 mm?). Having said that, I set my Cashmere fan as shallowly as possible (1 mm past the glue bump) because it felt best (splayed easily, as opposed to something deeper which felt stiffer and less pleasant for me).
- Thread starter
- #40
I wonder how to communicate that to him when ordering.
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