New Wilkinson Sword brush….am I just a cheap date?

[Frito Ray]

…or does it hit above its weight class?

Been exclusively an Omega boar guy for the past decade, and became synthetic curious. Initially ordered an Omega S-brush the same knot size of my boar, but it arrived with a damaged handle and was returned.

So, as a lark, I purchased this brush for about $8 Canadian at a local Walmart a few months ago.

Its the new blond ones (not to be confused with the old, common imitation badger bristle) Made in Germany by Edgewell in 2022 (Prod02.06.2022 MA).

picture from amazon:
sorry for the size of pic

Visually, with its plastic handle and hair bulb with a flat spot on the side, it’s not pretty at all. Performance wise, I‘m surprised to say that I really like it. It’s soft, has good backbone, doesn’t smell, doesn’t need soaking, and dries really fast. There is a bit of a learning curve when adding water, but that’s to be expected.

I’m a convert.

Would be interested to hear from the guys that own a large collection of synthetics, what they think of this brush and what it compares to in terms of performance. Any idea what generation of fibers this brush uses?

 

[Rudy Vey]

Kinda miss-leading on the front.....Blaireau means badger in English....

 

[Multum in parvo]

Aren’t these rebranded NOM brushes from Germany @Rudy Vey ?

 

[Rudy Vey]

Aren’t these rebranded NOM brushes from Germany @Rudy Vey ?

No clue, what or who is NOM?

 

[Multum in parvo]

No clue, what or who is NOM?

nom | made in germany

The proper shave starts with a shaving brush of our brand nom. Functional and for a fair price – made in Germany.

www.nom-shaving.com

 

[Dobric]

No clue, what or who is NOM?

I have bought my in Müller store, it's German store brand that sells various cosmetics. I got badger brush, knot is small, it works, but I'm not impressed tbh...

 

[ivan_101]

Kinda miss-leading on the front.....Blaireau means badger in English....

Not misleading. It is in French for the French market. Blaireau not only means 'badger' in French. It also means 'a shaving brush" (any shaving brush).
Check the dictionary https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/blaireau

View attachment 1691918
I have bought my in Müller store, it's German store brand that sells various cosmetics. I got badger brush, knot is small, it works, but I'm not impressed tbh...

NOM is not a store brand. It is Muhle's own lower segment brand. Formerly known as HJM.

nom | made in germany

The proper shave starts with a shaving brush of our brand nom. Functional and for a fair price – made in Germany.

www.nom-shaving.com

 

[ivan_101]

Aren’t these rebranded NOM brushes from Germany @Rudy Vey ?

NOM doesn't have these light coloured bristles. Only synthetic black fibre bristles.

 

[Rudy Vey]

View attachment 1691918
I have bought my in Müller store, it's German store brand that sells various cosmetics. I got badger brush, knot is small, it works, but I'm not impressed tbh...

Looks like they are made by the same company as the Muehle brushes, odd never heard of NOM. But, one never stops learning, they even have a 28 page catalogue on their site. Its the cheap low end of their brushes.

 

[rreynoso]

Kinda miss-leading on the front.....Blaireau means badger in English....

I believe the french refer to any shaving brush as "Blaireau" not just the badger ones, and the package seems to have descriptions for English and French market.

The brand NOM is a re-brand of another low cost brand made by Muhle, named HJM, I used to have an HJM boar and it was decent quality, two years ago I bought a NOM boar and it was sub-par, defects on the resin handle, trimmed bristles... The synthetics might be better...

Cheers

 

[Dobric]

NOM doesn't have these light coloured bristles. Only synthetic black fibre bristles.

I have their bagder brush, low quality but it is badger hair

 

[nlife]

It's the brush I started my DE journey with. I used it for some time before deciding to go in on an APShave Co. A5C.

I didn't mind it. It got the job done, but compared to the APShave Co, the Wilkinson sword is a wet noodle.

 

[lasta]

Wilkinson boar was my first every brush!

I think I used it everyday for almost 6 years. Be aware that the anti-slip coating on the handle gets sticky after a while.

For a few dollars more, Omegas are much better brushes.

 

[ivan_101]

I have their bagder brush, low quality but it is badger hair

I have their badger too. Didn't mean they don't have badger and boar. Just that their synthetics are only black fiber, not those light bristles on the Wilkinson.

 

[Frito Ray]

nom | made in germany

The proper shave starts with a shaving brush of our brand nom. Functional and for a fair price – made in Germany.

www.nom-shaving.com

Thank you for that.
Nom does seem like a possible candidate for manufacturer. Alot of the knots on their site are 21mm and the Wilki is 13/16” with my calipers…pretty close to 21mm.

NOM doesn't have these light coloured bristles. Only synthetic black fibre bristles.

Possible that they don’t want customers to associate them with the ultra low cost Wilkinson.

Wilkinson boar was my first every brush!

I think I used it everyday for almost 6 years. Be aware that the anti-slip coating on the handle gets sticky after a while.

For a few dollars more, Omegas are much better brushes.

Mine too, until I discovered Omega brushes.

But this new synthetic has nothing to do with that old Wilki boar….which by the way is still in use as a car vent duster

 

[Chef455]

@Frito Ray , likely your a cheap date. That's OK. We really don't think less of you.

As to the brush, glad you're enjoying it and at the end of the day that's all that really matters. Happy shaves!

 

[Frito Ray]

…That's OK. We really don't think less of you...

I’m surprised at how much I actually like this brush, it is nothing like the old bristle imitation badger they’ve been selling for decades.

For folks looking to for a cheap travel brush or looking to try a synthetic, it’s defiantly worth the try.

 

[Goblin]

Like many people in the UK, I started my wet-shaving journey with the Wilkinson Sword brush and the Blue Bowl soap from the supermarket...I like to think the fact I stuck with it despite that is a testament to my strength of character.

If the current brush is decent and you are enjoying it, that's great. I am definitely a "cheap date" so no judgement here!

Neverthless, I would say that if you want to sample cheap synthetics, get thyself to Yaqi store on Aliexpress, or pick up one of the cheap Razorock plissoft brushes. I cannot say for sure, but I suspect you may find that twice the price gets you more than twice the brush. But who knows...I am always buying shaving stuff I don't need, so maybe I should try the new Wilky brush too!

 

[Chef455]

Like many people in the UK, I started my wet-shaving journey with the Wilkinson Sword brush and the Blue Bowl soap from the supermarket...I like to think the fact I stuck with it despite that is a testament to my strength of character.

If the current brush is decent and you are enjoying it, that's great. I am definitely a "cheap date" so no judgement here!

Neverthless, I would say that if you want to sample cheap synthetics, get thyself to Yaqi store on Aliexpress, or pick up one of the cheap Razorock plissoft brushes. I cannot say for sure, but I suspect you may find that twice the price gets you more than twice the brush. But who knows...I am always buying shaving stuff I don't need, so maybe I should try the new Wilky brush too!

+1 for the Yaqi synthetics, great brushes for not very much $. IMHO the Razorock Plissoft brushes are great as well. A bit more backbone than the Yaqi brushes.

 

[Jopo]

I believe the french refer to any shaving brush as "Blaireau" not just the badger ones, and the package seems to have descriptions for English and French market.

Indeed, OP purchased in Canada and all packaging is required to have Canada's two official languages - English and French.