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M7 Manchurian Badger - First Impressions

Intrigued

Bigfoot & Bagel aficionado.
When I ordered this brush, beginish (Bob) ask me to give my candid assessment of whether Manchurian was as good as legend says it is.
I did have high hopes for it, that I posted about at that time......
I'm really looking forward to checking it out. If the tips are as soft as some of the Manchurian Badger I've read about it will be right in my sweet spot. If this batch is more like Rooney's Finest or most 2 Banded it will be in my husbands sweet spot. It would be a winner either way. If a (small) miracle happens and it lands at that magic spot in between then we'll have our very own unicorn............. that we could fight over.....
Oooooh..... this could be bad. :sad: I think I'm secretly hoping that it lands in my sweet spot.



....So when the Beauty arrived and I used it for the first time.... and it seemed to have that magic degree of scrubbiness. I thought I just might be letting my high hopes for it color my judgement.
$M7 Manchurian Badger bloom.jpg $M7 Manchurian Badger bloom 2.jpg

The next time I used it, I did a side by side comparison with the Emperor 3 Two Banded. It won the brush off. The Emperor was still too scrubby for my taste and the Manchurian took it just to the edge of too much, but landed instead at just right.

The next outing was a side by side comparison with a Rooney 1/2 Finest. It won again. For me the legendary Finest is still too scrubby for my taste.

Now in a classic case of YMMV (your mileage may vary), my husbands favorite brushes are the Simpson 2 Banded and the Rooney Finest. He used the Manchurian today (his second use of it) and told me, "If it was any softer, it would be too soft. Instead, it's just right there with just enough scrub."

After comparing our impressions we both agree it is a great all around brush. It has good backbone and density, produces and releases lather easily, and walks the tightrope of scrinchiness for two people with very different preferences in brushes. It looks like we found our unicorn and a welcome addition to our stable of brushes.


The Manchurian Badger might best be described as a hybrid of Simpson's Two Banded and Three Banded Super. It's bloom is more like the Three Banded, while it's face feel more resembles the Two Banded.

It's interesting to note that the knot on the Manchurian Badger does indeed look like a crossbreed of the brushes on either side in this picture below.

M7 GYLE finest Silvertip, M7 Manchurian, Emperor 3 Two Banded
$M7 GYLE, M7 Manchurian, Emperor 3.jpg






* On a side note - When I received my brush, the good people at Simpsons included a complimentary full size tub of Sicilian Lime shaving cream. I would be remiss if I didn't say "Wow! What a wonderfully fresh lime scent it has. It smells like a good Key Lime pie taste. :drool:
 
Thanks for the great comparison / review of the Manchurian grade hair of brush. I am definitely more tempted to add one to my rotation now! :lol:
 
Thanks for the great review, Connie. I am one who prefers the soft tips of 3 band super over the backbone of 2 band, and it sounds like Manchurian is the best of both worlds. How does Manchurian compare with the Super in the GYLE?
 
Love the M7 handle. Is the M7 Manchurian a bespoke brush or one of a limited run?
 
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What a great looking brush, the review was very concise and of course I now want one. Congrats on your newest addition to your family of brushes.
 

Intrigued

Bigfoot & Bagel aficionado.
Thanks for the great review, Connie. I am one who prefers the soft tips of 3 band super over the backbone of 2 band, and it sounds like Manchurian is the best of both worlds. How does Manchurian compare with the Super in the GYLE?

The GYLE "is filled with the finest Silvertip hair available", to quote the Simpson web site and is much softer than the Manchurian. While not as soft as the Rooney XLs, the GYLE has a nice soft feel to it with just a hint of scrub. It is very similar to the feel of my LE CH2 in Super, though just a touch softer.

I general prefer the softer brushes, but some days I want a bit of scrub. Finding just the right touch of scrub has been a challenge. The good part of the hunt has been that every brush of ours that I gave up on as being too scrubby, my husband has loved.
And that's why YMMV can be a good thing. :biggrin:

I noticed something I found interesting when comparing brushes over the last few days. When I ran hand my across the various knots when dry, the Manchurian feels like silk as do the 2 Rooney Finest and to a lesser extent the Simpson 2 Bandeds. The GYLEs and the CH Super feel more like your running your hand over velvet and as has been noted by many the XLs feel quite coarse. If you had never used any of these brushes the chances are you would be totally wrong in trying to guess which of them would be softer or scrubbier in use.
 
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I ordered a GYLE M7 today! I'm not a fan of scritch and only tolerate a small bit of scrubbiness. I have both M&F and Rooney 2 bands but have never used a Simpson 2-band that I liked. Ive been wondering about the Manchurian but I think this review has convinced me that it's not likely a good fit for me. This was superbly written review and a pleasure to read.
 
I ordered a GYLE M7 today! I'm not a fan of scritch and only tolerate a small bit of scrubbiness. I have both M&F and Rooney 2 bands but have never used a Simpson 2-band that I liked. Ive been wondering about the Manchurian but I think this review has convinced me that it's not likely a good fit for me. This was superbly written review and a pleasure to read.

You're going to love the GYLE!!! Everything about it is fantastic.
 
Mark, I didn't know they were still making the limited edition Gary Youngs? I am assuming they were not a limited run? What rock have I been under...

I ordered a GYLE M7 today! I'm not a fan of scritch and only tolerate a small bit of scrubbiness. I have both M&F and Rooney 2 bands but have never used a Simpson 2-band that I liked. Ive been wondering about the Manchurian but I think this review has convinced me that it's not likely a good fit for me. This was superbly written review and a pleasure to read.
 
Mark, I didn't know they were still making the limited edition Gary Youngs? I am assuming they were not a limited run? What rock have I been under...

As far as I know they were limited, but I think they still have a few left from the production run. That link is to the lighter version, and there was a darker version as well.
 
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