Lijun Silvertips any good?

for $29 im not expecting the best brush ever made. ive been using a small EJ BBB for 2 yrs now and i was looking for a silvertip that wouldnt break the bank and ran cross the Lijun on ebay. i read the one review on here but not much info on them.

they look nice ill say that.

http://www.lijun-brush.cn/product.asp?id=37

I have not used one, but other threads on the topic indicate adequate but not stellar build quality. The knots are lowish density with a tall loft. If you are a cream/bowl guy this might not be a deal killer, but if your a soap/face lather guy these are most likely of little use.

If you want to get a cheep quality silvertip, I would suggest purchasing a handle and Super Silvertip (not Super Badger), or Silvertip Grade A knot from TGN and setting it yourself. Or for slightly more money you could have Rudy Vey or Tony from TGN/Penworks make you a custom out of the same materials. The Super Silvertip is softer than the Grade A, but only comes in one size as of right now (22mm). However the Grade A can be hand in most sizes up to 30mm. Plus this way you can have the loft custom set to suite your technique and preference in gear.

They also have a store on ebay: http://stores.ebay.com/nickshave2010

I have a LiJün&1980 in Finest badger (2-band) and it is a good brush. Good density, an heavy, very sturdy and well built handle and a champion lathering both creams and hard soaps. Good overall construction, which had surprised me. I have it since about 3 months ago and the brush only loose about 10 hairs so far, not more than that.
My opinion about this 2-band: a very good brush that performs way beyond what you can expect based only in is price.

This is the model that I have (you can see it frequently on my SOTD photos):



I have not tried their silvertips, but some Spanish friends had acquired some silvertip models from LiJün and they are very satisfied. I think that they should be great for lathering creams in a bowl, but one of my friends told me that is having excellent results lathering hard soaps like Martin de Candre with that silvertip brush...

oversaturn said:

I have not tried their silvertip models, but some Spanish friends had acquired some silvertip models from LiJün and they are very satisfied. I think that they should be great for lathering creams in a bowl, but one of my friends told me that is having excellent results lathering hard soaps like Martin de Candre with that silvertip brush...

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After paying for MdC its no wonder they had to chose a budget shaving brush, that stuff is not cheep! Anyway as I stated I have not tried them, I was just repeating what I had read on other threads

If you want to change anything about a brush you only need to email them, I've changed the lift height before and enquired about making the knot denser, both they could do.

Ids said:

If you want to change anything about a brush you only need to email them, I've changed the lift height before and enquired about making the knot denser, both they could do.

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Nice suggestion. I've just e-mail and asked if it's possible to make a custom brush with a denser knot

Ids said:

If you want to change anything about a brush you only need to email them, I've changed the lift height before and enquired about making the knot denser, both they could do.

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did you contact them through the ebay site or other?
id like the loft to be a few mm short but for the price a little floppy wouldnt be bad..esp for creams

Was it extra to have a brush custom made?

I bought one out of curiousity. I think that the LiJun and the similar Frank shaving brush (which I've also tried) are excellent value for the money. They appear to be an evolution of the bargain Chinese made DeLong brushes that people (myself included) were buying a couple of years ago.

The handles are machine made, but they're solid acrylic and not hollow plastic. Not as nice as the lathe turned handles of the more expensive brushes but decent quality.
The knots are not as dense as the better name brand brushes. On the examples I've had the glue extends up into the knot a few mm above the entry to the handle. This adds some backbone by holding the hair in place and effectively shortening the loft.
The hair is not sorted nearly as well as better knots and there are different grades mixed into the knot along with some "strays" (those wrinkly non-useable hairs). The tips are bleached for uniformity and softness but then so are some of the better brushes. The tips aren't trimmed even though the knots are rumored to be machine made.
The face feel is not as luxurious or consistent as better brushes, but definitely not unpleasant.
The brush doesn't hold as much water or lather as my better brushes but still enough for a multi-pass shave with decent flow through.
I can get a better quality lather from my better brushes, but that's subjective and there's nothing wrong with the quality from the LiJun. It's not going to hinder your shave.
It has enough backbone for picking up soap and face lathering although a shorter loft would be better.
None of the Chinese made brushes I've had (small sample size) have been shedders and the knots were uniform in shape, which is more than I can say about a couple of my name brand brushes.

I consider these brushes functional and better than something like the Tweezerman as an entry level brush. I think the TGN knots are better. A little more uniformity in hair quality, better density and you can set your own loft. I don't use one since I prefer the improved characteristics of the better brushes and am willing to pay for that. YMMV.

Yes I emailed through eBay.

When I altered the loft there was no change in price.
I never got past them saying they could increase the density, I'd imagine price would increase but don't know?

I have both a finest and a silvertip from them (I got both for $7 total on the bay)

I have had no problem loading soaps or whipping up cream sin a scuttle. I ahve also face lathered with both, and both do fine.

The silvertip is pretty floppy (choke up on the base of the hairs for more backbone), but is great with creams and soaps really, hold plenty of lather.

These are my two go-to brushes (until I finish restoring the handles I have with some TGN knots).

If I think of it, I'll take a few photos when i get home and post them here.

Ids said:

When I altered the loft there was no change in price.
I never got past them saying they could increase the density, I'd imagine price would increase but don't know?

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when you changed the loft did it take a long time before the brush was ready if you dont mind me asking?

The brush got to the UK within a couple of weeks, I don't know if this added much if any time.

The guy from LiJun asked $23 to make a 50mm loft with a 22mm knot (same density I guess).

Lusitano said:

The guy from LiJun asked $23 to make a 50mm loft with a 22mm knot (same density I guess).

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darn good price

sas71 said:

for $29 im not expecting the best brush ever made. ive been using a small EJ BBB for 2 yrs now and i was looking for a silvertip that wouldnt break the bank and ran cross the Lijun on ebay. i read the one review on here but not much info on them.

they look nice ill say that.

http://www.lijun-brush.cn/product.asp?id=37

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Yesterday I received my Chinese Silvertip, not Lijuan, it was quite soft and the density was very nice, fan shape, Loft 44 Knot 21.

I test bowl lathered the brush with a combination of EJ sandalwood puck & Charismata Cherry Tobacco soft soap. The lather buildt quickly, ~2 minutes with little water added. I did start with a fairly dry brush, shaking and one squeeze of the knot, it picked up the EJ o.k., it's a hard soap, and did much better with the softer soap.

After drying the bristles with a few shakes an quick light rubs on the towel, I left it to dry. The next morning it had bloomed very nice and uniformly, during the initial lathering the brush lost ~ 6 hairs.

I did a second lather with the brush and did not observe any hair loss.

They do have a choice of Knots & Lofts:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Silvertip-Badge...264?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4155207f00

^^ AKA, the "FS" or Frank Shaving brushes. In my opinion, not a terrible way to spend very little money on a brush, but don't expect top shelf fit and finish. Like LiJun, molded handles (no seams though, so apparently polished or something). The Finest badger knots are your best bet - just as soft but springier than the Silvertips, yet with moderate density. I have one and like it a lot. Measurements can vary (as they do with Simpsons, Rooney, etc).

sas71 said:

darn good price

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It's a finest badger brush, not silvertip.

JPDyson said:

^^ AKA, the "FS" or Frank Shaving brushes. In my opinion, not a terrible way to spend very little money on a brush, but don't expect top shelf fit and finish. Like LiJun, molded handles (no seams though, so apparently polished or something). The Finest badger knots are your best bet - just as soft but springier than the Silvertips, yet with moderate density. I have one and like it a lot. Measurements can vary (as they do with Simpsons, Rooney, etc).

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Didn't want to mention the brand, I had read about Their time on this site and didn't want to PO someone. It is a pretty nice brush for the money though.