New drop happening today 2pm CST for some more 29MM A1's and there are more new color combo's showing!! Too bad I'm in a sabatical right now...
Wald A1 Synthetic Brush
- Thread starter Mr. Shavington
- Start date
They all said sold out the same time I saw the email.
I think they might be available at a particular hour. Now if I understood there are only the color already presented on the website and people can chose the knot.
- Thread starter
- #904
None are sold. The drop goes live at 9pm CET today. 3.5hrs after I’m typing this. Until then the brushes are not available to buy, but you can view them.
In January, I was fortunate to have a new brush made for me by Jannik. I opted for a 29mm Stratos with the Bulb knot in a unique colorway (since I already have a Nimbus with Fan knot).
The brush arrived in February and I’ve just completed 30 shaves with it, so I thought I would give some personal impressions to help people try to decide which knot shape they might prefer.
First off the Fan.
I bought this brush last summer and have used it many times since the purchase. It feels soft on the face, splays easily, and feels truer to list size (maybe like a 26mm badger). It also holds water easily and releases the water quickly, behaving more like other synthetic brushes that I own in this regard. I need only dip this brush in water up to the distal edge of the dark band to get all the water I’ll need for building a lather and a 3 pass shave. If I dunk the brush any deeper in the water, I’ll have lather running down the handle. Building lather is an easy process either on my face or in a bowl (I do both regularly). Lather release is easy and the brush is cloud soft against my skin. Cleaning is also an easy rinse followed by towel drying and leaving out in open air. I find it is dry by next morning.
The bulb. Please note this is the “standard bulb,” not the “OG bulb.” This is the brush that arrived in February. It has the same soft fibers. It took me about 20 shaves to get this brush to really open up. Once it was fully opened up, I have noticed some differences in the way it behaves relative to the fan. It handles water much more like a badger brush. Meaning I need to actually dunk in water and squeeze out some excess to get the right amount of water to start the loading and lathering process (rather than just a light tip dip for the fan). It also holds the water more like a badger brush, releasing it evenly over time rather than all at once like other synthetics. The brush splays, but not as easily, giving this brush more backbone than the fan. Also, this brush feels smaller on the face, closer to a 24mm badger. I like this brush as a contrast to the fan, given the different experience it provides.
If you made it here, thanks for reading along. I wonder if others have had experiences similar to mine?
TLDR:
Fan: Easy splay, releases water quickly, feels like a 26mm knot on the face.
Bulb: More backbone, releases water more evenly (like a badger brush), feels smaller on the face like a 24mm knot.
Both: beautiful handles and well tied knots made by a great artisan. Super soft material and I’m grateful to own them both.
The brush arrived in February and I’ve just completed 30 shaves with it, so I thought I would give some personal impressions to help people try to decide which knot shape they might prefer.
First off the Fan.
I bought this brush last summer and have used it many times since the purchase. It feels soft on the face, splays easily, and feels truer to list size (maybe like a 26mm badger). It also holds water easily and releases the water quickly, behaving more like other synthetic brushes that I own in this regard. I need only dip this brush in water up to the distal edge of the dark band to get all the water I’ll need for building a lather and a 3 pass shave. If I dunk the brush any deeper in the water, I’ll have lather running down the handle. Building lather is an easy process either on my face or in a bowl (I do both regularly). Lather release is easy and the brush is cloud soft against my skin. Cleaning is also an easy rinse followed by towel drying and leaving out in open air. I find it is dry by next morning.
The bulb. Please note this is the “standard bulb,” not the “OG bulb.” This is the brush that arrived in February. It has the same soft fibers. It took me about 20 shaves to get this brush to really open up. Once it was fully opened up, I have noticed some differences in the way it behaves relative to the fan. It handles water much more like a badger brush. Meaning I need to actually dunk in water and squeeze out some excess to get the right amount of water to start the loading and lathering process (rather than just a light tip dip for the fan). It also holds the water more like a badger brush, releasing it evenly over time rather than all at once like other synthetics. The brush splays, but not as easily, giving this brush more backbone than the fan. Also, this brush feels smaller on the face, closer to a 24mm badger. I like this brush as a contrast to the fan, given the different experience it provides.
If you made it here, thanks for reading along. I wonder if others have had experiences similar to mine?
TLDR:
Fan: Easy splay, releases water quickly, feels like a 26mm knot on the face.
Bulb: More backbone, releases water more evenly (like a badger brush), feels smaller on the face like a 24mm knot.
Both: beautiful handles and well tied knots made by a great artisan. Super soft material and I’m grateful to own them both.
Last week I bought the STF XL from Muhle eshop at Germany for 70€ plus 10€ for shipping. The total amount I paid was 80€. The 25mm STF is really great. Soft fibers, easy to splay and enough backbone to work even with hard soaps. So I put aside my other two brushes, a Simpson Trafalgar T3 (value 30€) and a Zenith 502GIADA SB Silvertip (it costed me 100€).
The handle design of STF XL is nothing special, especially against my Zenith, but I understood that my face can tolerate only soft synthetic brushes like the STF. And when I decided that the STF XL is the best synthetic brush I found this thread….
From what I read here I understand that the Wald A1 synthetic is the top synthetic brush if you like the category of soft fibers with good backbone and splay. The design and the colors of the Stratos and Nimbus handles are also unique and beautiful with top quality materials. It looks like that the 29mm A1 brush is the king of synthetic brushes.
But the total cost of the 29mm A1 for me is 292€ (229+24% VAT+8€ EU shipping). Outside EU the brush costs 246€ and I have to pay almost 300€ for the same brush. Way too much...
Wald also sells A1 with knot of 24mm and 27mm for 230€ (with shipping) but they aren’t that good as the 29mm model, I don’t like their handles design at all and their price is still high for what they offer. Unfortunately there isn’t any A1 with 29mm knot and a less costly nimbus handle to buy.
So, my question for owners of Wald A1 and Muhle STF XL, is a nimbus A1 with 29mm knot that better to pay almost 4 times the price of an STF XL?
The handle design of STF XL is nothing special, especially against my Zenith, but I understood that my face can tolerate only soft synthetic brushes like the STF. And when I decided that the STF XL is the best synthetic brush I found this thread….
From what I read here I understand that the Wald A1 synthetic is the top synthetic brush if you like the category of soft fibers with good backbone and splay. The design and the colors of the Stratos and Nimbus handles are also unique and beautiful with top quality materials. It looks like that the 29mm A1 brush is the king of synthetic brushes.
But the total cost of the 29mm A1 for me is 292€ (229+24% VAT+8€ EU shipping). Outside EU the brush costs 246€ and I have to pay almost 300€ for the same brush. Way too much...
Wald also sells A1 with knot of 24mm and 27mm for 230€ (with shipping) but they aren’t that good as the 29mm model, I don’t like their handles design at all and their price is still high for what they offer. Unfortunately there isn’t any A1 with 29mm knot and a less costly nimbus handle to buy.
So, my question for owners of Wald A1 and Muhle STF XL, is a nimbus A1 with 29mm knot that better to pay almost 4 times the price of an STF XL?
The Wald A1, I have the 29 mm bulb version, is something totally different compared to any other synthetics, or any other shaving brush per se. The SF is also a super synthetic, so, for me both are great and worth to have, however, the price difference is huge, so not everyone is able or willing to spend the coin for the Wald. Then handle is something to get used to, I do not like it a lot, the very wide top ring always clonks on the sides of my scuttle.
What you like is what you like, and certainly "better" depends heavily on what you like. For all I know some shavers are thrilled that their synthetic likes to fling lather around the room.
The Muhle is my travel brush and I think it's a lovely brush. It's a little short on backbone for me, but I like it a lot - fabulous brush for the $$$. The Wald is in another class altogether. It is the first synthetic I've owned that almost makes me think I could live without my badgers. In a perfect world mine would have 3% less backbone, but they are really spectacular synthetics. Is it worth 4 times as much as the Muhle? That's one you'll have to answer for yourself. I'm glad I have mine, but I only have one - because that is a lot of money.
I haven't used the Muhle since the Wald arrived, so it was worth it for me. If the Muhle does everything you like in a synthetic it might not be for you. The law of diminishing returns definitely applies here, and if you want it to be 4 times better you're going to be very unhappy.
- Thread starter
- #910
This says it all, in my opinion. I felt the same - the Wald was the one synthetic brush that made me feel there was nothing I was missing compared to using badgers, and I am happy to use the Wald exclusively for months at a time. It could be my only shaving brush and I think some prolific badger collectors have said the Wald is the first synthetic they have been truly happy with (not saying that the Wald feels anything like a badger - but saying that it is as good as the best badger brushes).
But the Mühle is superb too and I don’t see why anybody wouldn’t be completely satisfied with it unless they really don’t get along with synthetic knots. If you haven’t had the Wald in your hand you wouldn’t believe any synthetic brush could be softer or perform better than the Mühle. But actually the Wald fibres are a lot softer and it splays a lot easier. You just wouldn’t feel you needed a softer-tipped or better splaying brush if you only have the Mühle.
If having a really beautifully made handle is important to you then I’d say the Wald is a different league, and that’s most of the price difference with the Wald. Otherwise, while the Wald knot is better in every way than the Mühle, those differences are probably improvements you don’t really need and you would never think the Mühle is less than excellent in any area.
I don’t know why I wrote all that. I’m just restating what @musicman1951 said. Should probably have just typed “+1”.
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I'll give a "+2" to what @musicman1951 eloquently said. I purchased a Calyx, and will also affirm that the Wald knot is unique. To me, the uniqueness and performance justify the premium price. The Calyx and Muhle knot in my @Rudy Vey brush purchased at the same time are pretty much the only two brushes I use now.
I must confess that before I got the Wald A1 I haven't used any badger brushes. So, while I know it's different from other synthetic brushes, I don't really understand why it's designed to work like this.
Since then I've got and used a RazoRock Chubby Extra Silvertip (apparently made by Zenith), and it suddenly made sense to me.
For imitating a badger brush, Wald A1 is very impressive. But it's just one direction of making a brush, not the only direction of it.
I still enjoy my other synthetic brushes, mixed badger/boar hair brushes, and boar brushes.
(Omega S-brushes are nothing like boar. I wonder if there will be some better boar imitation synthetics ...)
Since then I've got and used a RazoRock Chubby Extra Silvertip (apparently made by Zenith), and it suddenly made sense to me.
For imitating a badger brush, Wald A1 is very impressive. But it's just one direction of making a brush, not the only direction of it.
I still enjoy my other synthetic brushes, mixed badger/boar hair brushes, and boar brushes.
(Omega S-brushes are nothing like boar. I wonder if there will be some better boar imitation synthetics ...)
Given the significantly thinner fibers in the A1 node, are they more likely to fall or break? Have any of the owners noticed fibers falling from their brush?
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Not a single hair has left my knots.
- Thread starter
- #915
No. I’m pretty sure the knot will remain perfect forever. There’s nothing fragile about it, like fine silvertip badger hairs can be if you don’t look after them.
I want to thank you all for your replies. You helped me decide.
I have paid a lot of money buying shaving soaps that I don’t like how they smell, buying brushes that I don’t like how they touch my face, for razors that I don’t like how they shave and for blades I don’t like how they cut my facial hair. But this is how I found the soaps I like and the razor, the brush and the blade that is right for my face. I am sure I will waste more money for bad products in the future (based on my personal preferences) but at least now I have done my research and I already have the items I really need.
Judging from your comments I think Wald A1 29mm is a very good brush and I will like it. Most likely I will like more from my STF XL. But I also think that is way overpriced. I have the feeling that I am calling to pay a lot of money for the handle of the brush and not for the true reason that makes the Wald A1 a good brush. I want a good synthetic knot with ergonomic handle and the choice to pay a logical amount of more money for a better looking handle. Wald is selling artworks but I want to buy a shaving brush and not an exhibit for my living room.
I can afford to pay 300€ for something even if this something turns out to be a bad choice. The question was if I am willing to pay that much for a shaving brush. Muhle STF XL is perfect for me, as far as I know, and it costs 70€. A better knot and a better handle will be justified to cost twice this price? Three times this price? But is it really worth almost 4 times? The synthetic fibers after all, even the best of them, are relative cheap.
Thank you again.
I have paid a lot of money buying shaving soaps that I don’t like how they smell, buying brushes that I don’t like how they touch my face, for razors that I don’t like how they shave and for blades I don’t like how they cut my facial hair. But this is how I found the soaps I like and the razor, the brush and the blade that is right for my face. I am sure I will waste more money for bad products in the future (based on my personal preferences) but at least now I have done my research and I already have the items I really need.
Judging from your comments I think Wald A1 29mm is a very good brush and I will like it. Most likely I will like more from my STF XL. But I also think that is way overpriced. I have the feeling that I am calling to pay a lot of money for the handle of the brush and not for the true reason that makes the Wald A1 a good brush. I want a good synthetic knot with ergonomic handle and the choice to pay a logical amount of more money for a better looking handle. Wald is selling artworks but I want to buy a shaving brush and not an exhibit for my living room.
I can afford to pay 300€ for something even if this something turns out to be a bad choice. The question was if I am willing to pay that much for a shaving brush. Muhle STF XL is perfect for me, as far as I know, and it costs 70€. A better knot and a better handle will be justified to cost twice this price? Three times this price? But is it really worth almost 4 times? The synthetic fibers after all, even the best of them, are relative cheap.
Thank you again.
same here, not one fiber has left the Wald knot.
You have made up your mind, and I am not trying to persuade you against your own better judgment. For anyone reading in the future, I will just add that the Calyx handle is very comfortable, and the 27 mm knot is probably not too different from the 29 mm (from what I have heard from someone who has both knots).
Also, the knot is very secure, and the bristles are not at all delicate. My Calyx has not shed a hair since January (unlike most natural fiber brushes where shedding seems to be a break-in rite of passage).
This thread contains a plethora of helpful information. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Great write up!
Which knot do you like better?
Also would be curious to know which handle shape you prefer?
