The new generation of synthetic brushes has come a long way in the past few years. This latest addition to the MÜHLE line is a prime example. It will appeal to silvertip lovers, large-knot fans and head shavers. Synthetic brushes address animal-product issues for those who are concerned, and may one day surpass natural brushes in every dimension of performance. Is that day here? I have an open mind.

I saw characteristics in the XL Silvertip Fiber brush that are as good, and possibly even better than natural brushes. To me, it seems to use half as much soap/cream to quickly produce billowing heaps of lush lather. It is easier to clean, much faster drying, more hygienic and does not needs to be broken-in or de-skunked. It holds its shape and does not shed. It's darned good looking, too. It has an attractive and functional handle with substantial weight, good balance and that feels good to the touch. I find it difficult to tell it from natural hair silvertips in appearance and performance as well.

The lofts seemed higher than I expected, but that's because synthetic fibers are solid and have different characteristics than naturals. They need more loft to emulate the backbone and feel of fine badger.

I was pleased at the softness of the tips, its ability to hold water and the fast drying time. I think its price makes it a very good value, especially when compared to natural-hair silvertips in a similar knot size. MÜHLE has found a winning balance of knot size and loft.

It has a number of notable positive characteristics that are quickly apparent:

• Design

• Softness of the tips

• Performance

• Density

• Backbone

• Quick drying time

• Economical use of soaps and creams

Price: Offers good value at $109 in the MÜHLE catalog. It offers true silvertip feel and performance at a fraction of the cost of a quality natural silvertip.

Quality: Every detail is carried out with extraordinary attention to design, materials, craftsmanship and manufacturing standards. The brush handle has substantial heft, nice balance and grip, and is highly polished with a very nice tactile feel.

Density: Dense and luxurious feeling and is very effective to use with soaps and creams of all types.

Softness of Tips: Very soft, with the feel of a premium silvertip. By comparison, it is notably softer than my EJ Best Badger or Frank Shaving silvertip, both of which have been favorites of mine for years.

Ergonomics: This brush is outstanding in this respect. The size, shape and weight are perfect for my hands. Even the ring at the base serves as a functional part if the design—helping me to maintain a sure grip. The handle has substantial weight and balances the brush very well. It is made of high-grade resin in a brown horn pattern.

Latherability: I’ve used it with a wide range of favorite hard and soft soaps and creams, and it performs better than any other brush I've ever used. The quality of the lather it produces is a delight to see and use. This is truly a lathering machine. It picks up enough hard soap in 15 seconds to last through my usual four-pass shave and beyond.

Recommendation: Highly recommended? YES The B&B editor is not functioning to allow this to be shown above.

One of the advantages of this brush, I found, is that it needs less soap/cream than with natural hair brushes. Synthetic fibers are solid, rather then hollow, and do not absorb lather the way animal hairs do. This also makes the brush more hygienic, faster drying and easier to clean. My experience has been that it uses soap/cream at about half the rate of badger or boar brushes.

If you’ve been curious about synthetic brushes or great brushes in general, this will be a wonderful and often-used addition to your shave den. The prior issue with water retention in older synths from other manufacturers has been solved by features built into the Silvertip Fiber that aid water and heat retention.

In my opinion, MÜHLE has hit a home-run with its Silvertip Fibre® brushes. The new fiber was designed to compare in performance with high quality, natural silvertip badger brushes. I think they did even better with this brush. If you like large-knot premium brushes, you owe it to yourself to try one.

The brush is featured in the MÜHLE online catalog in their Classic line, as Model 35 K 252.

*Thanks go to B&B member GDCarrington for permission to use his photos.

------------------------------
Jim S.
"You can always tell who the pioneers are. They're the ones with arrows in their backs." --Silicon Valley saying

The Muehle 25mm silvertip fibre (STF) is a HUGE brush. It has a slightly higher loft than my Omega 49 Pro, so this offering from Muehle is a real monster.



I obtained this brush after having a fantastic time with the Muehle 23mm STF. The 23mm is, and has been since the first use, "automatic" with making top flight lather. I had high expectations for the 25mm, and I confess to being slightly disappointed right out of the gate.



The 25mm STF, while having the same fibre type as the 23mm STF, is a totally different brush and a brush with a slight learning curve. My first few times with the 25mm produced only average lather. The problem was the initial water retention of the brush. For its size, the 25mm doesn't seem to hold as much water per volume of brush as the 23mm. I tried a few different techniques when dumping the initial load of water out of the brush and finally hit on three SHARP downward pumps over the sink.



That solved the water issue for me and the brush started producing some really nice lather. The brush has good backbone, and I wouldn't describe it as "floppy" at all, especially considering the massive size. That being said, the brush is not excessively stiff, and I think Muehle really did their homework when selecting the density & the loft on this brush. The tips are nice and soft, not much "skritch" at all, and the brush feels really nice on the face.



While the 25mm is a good brush for sure, I have other brushes that produce better results with less work (with one exception that I will elaborate upon below). The brush is a real lather hog and the "good stuff" stays in the core of the brush. Therefore, you are left with less lather in the bowl to whip into shape which makes for more work and a trickier time figuring out how much water to add.



Although the review seems a bit negative thus far, I still recommend this brush and I am glad to have it in my stable. However, anyone contemplating purchasing this brush should meet the following guidelines, IMO.



1) You must love big brushes. If I haven't mentioned it before, this brush is a MONSTER.



2) You should use a lot of soft soaps / hard creams. For whatever reason, the 25mm STF makes superb, absolutely killer, world-class lather with soft soaps. This is the primary reason I recommend this brush. The shortcomings I have experienced with this brush with hard soaps and soft creams are nowhere to be found with the hard creams. The 25mm just kills it, knocks it out of the park. For whatever reason, the stiffness, density and fiber composition just work for me with soft soaps. For example, I love QCS hard creams, and use them a lot. With the 25mm, I got the BEST lather I have ever gotten from QCS, and it was FAST. Very little effort.



In summary, if you meet the two suggested requirements above, get this brush. Hands down.



But to be fully honest, if you want an excellent all-around performer, get the 23mm. The 23mm will do everything and do it well, while the 25mm only really shined for me with the soft soaps, but it lathers the soft soaps better than any other brush I have tried.

------------------------------
Chris

SIR Searus Dysconyus - OG Member - Knights of the Maillard Table