The New Generation of Synthetic Brushes – Part III

[Codfish]

The New Generation of Synthetic Brushes – Part III


“These are not your daddy’s synths.”


Summary of Responses to Questions 7

7. Do you have any summary comments regarding your findings? Would you recommend them to others?

Wim: I would recommend both Silvertip fibers, the Black fibers and the artificial badger knots to any wet shaver.

The new generation Silvertip Fibers are the biggest leap forward compared with the previous editions. The Mühle Classic 23mm model is a great all-rounder that offers tremendous value for money. In fact, its quality and performance outclass the majority if not all of the brushes I know around the $55 mark. They really are that good.

The black fibers are like softer, cloudier version of the silvertip fibers. The difference is that the black fibre knots are made by machine, the Silvertip fibers are tied by hand, as Mühle has stated after a question on The Shave Nook. The other difference is the color and diameter of the single fibers. They perform excellent and will be a gem for people who love softer yet firm brushes. To me, their handles do not appeal as much as the classy silvertip fibers handles, so I hope one day Mühle will offer a wider choice of handles.

The artificial badger also impressed me, after the experience with the Syntex knots. The Omega brush is built with good materials, better than was expected considering the price point of 17 GBP or $26 U.S. (though I have seen it on sale for as much as $45). In boar country, that is Semogue Owners Club territory, and I think the Omega does match the Semogue quality standards. It is also the same league as the new Mühle black fibers. The Omega did shed a couple of fibers though, but nothing dramatic. Omega has made this brush in a barber style design, which I find very attractive. It also works well to me. A simple plastic stand is included, which is a nice touch but in my den does not see much use. The material of this brush, called Ovangkol, is not without debate as the tree that provides it is threatened with habitat loss. Had I known that before I bought the brush, I think I would have chosen another handle indeed.

I think the Omega is another example of synthetics having usually relatively high lofts for their diameter to work well. I face lather exclusively, but can imagine the loft being equally suitable for bowl latherers. All in all, these artificial badger knots are an improvement compared with the previous Syntex editions. The Omega 343312 model is a nice addition to any den, and a great entry in the world of synthetics. It certainly is value for money.

It is tempting to compare this brush to natural silvertip badger brushes, for many in the wet shaving community the Holy Grail or at least a common reference for quality. I do think however, that synthetics are a class of their own, just like boars and horsehair brushes, and have their own merits and are to be judged by that. This particular brush to me is an excellent one, and for its price hard if not impossible to beat. It also gives some of the much more expensive silvertips I have a good run for their money.

I also feel that synthetics are in a league of their own. Just as badgers have their unique qualities, so do synthetics. I like my Mühles a lot, for their efficacy as well as for their look and feel. And I would not want them to try to be like any other type of brush at all. And like there are good and bad boars, good and bad badgers and good and bad horse brushes there will be good and bad synthetics as well. We certainly have seen some bad synths, so the current wave of new generation synthetics is a real treat.

Gary: As I stated earlier, all brushes have a series of strengths and weaknesses. It is up to the user to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each brush to determine the brush that is right for each user. Now for decades the choices that have dominated the discussion have been Badger, Boar and Horse. All of these solutions have a single commonality. They are from natural sources namely animals. Now based on the developments over the past couple of years, synthetic knots and fibers have come into their own. They are now at a level of sophistication and robustness that they can and do compete in every way with the natural products. This provides the traditional shaver with one additional choice in the arsenal of available products. In the grand scheme of things, it is always better to have more choices and these new synthetics provide some excellent choices. Would I recommend them to others? Yes.
I have and I do recommend them for both new and experienced traditional shavers.

Mark: I now feel more comfortable recommending synthetic shaving brushes to those who have an objection to using natural hair shaving brushes, though I still feel natural hair brushes (particularly horsehair and badger hair) are superior performers.

“T”: I would recommend (I do actually, in all of the reviews) the new Mühle silvertip fibre with no hesitation to others. Right price, works like badger hair but even better, and are the best options for those who care for animals.

Jim: When this project began, I asked two questions:

Have synthetics come of age?

The answer to this question is Yes, at least with regard to Mühle, Edwin Jagger, H.I.S. and Omega. Their new synthetic brushes demonstrate big steps forward in the areas of water retention, attractiveness, softness of tips, performance, density, backbone, drying time and economical use of soaps and creams. These brushes have come a long way. These are not your daddy’s synths.

Do they have qualities that are as good as or better than their natural counterparts?

I would rank Mühle and Edwin Jagger synthetic brushes with very good performing natural best badger and silvertip brushes. My reference brushes are Edwin Jagger 23mm Best Badger and Franks Shaving 21mm Silvertips, both of which have been favorites of mine. They have been replaced by the Mühle Classic 23mm Silvertip Fiber and HJM 21mm Black Fiber brushes, both of which I feel are improvements. Sadly, I have not yet tried an H.I.S. or Omega synth.

The project team is aware that synthetic brush development among manufacturers continues at unprecedented pace. We had opportunities to test a number of prototype and/or pre-release models and can say with certainty that further improvements in fibers and brush density are coming in the not-too-distant future.

Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank the members of the project team for their many hours of work, thoughtful insights and dedication to the
shaving community. Special thanks to Gary for developing our test criteria and allowing the use of his photos, and to
Wim who first suggested it was time for a new look at these brushes.

Mühle Black Fiber Detail

________________________

Continuation:
The New Generation of Synthetic Brushes – Part I
The New Generation of Synthetic Brushes – Part II
The New Generation of Synthetic Brushes – Part III

[StuMcB]

Great reviews. So much so that after selling my Men 'U' brush I recently purchased the Body shop synth. It must be me as with arko it lathered a storm. So much so that while I like the knot and scritcheness the handle puts me off as to me it's a little awkward in my hand. So I've ordered a custom synth from FS. Not everyones fave synth brush or brush maker but the other two finest badgers are real good to me, so why not have a synth aswell. Again a great set of reviews guys and well done.

[GDCarrington]

Jim, an excellent series and a solid job of writing and also in getting the team together. To all the team members, thanks! Excellent team work by all.

[drocu]

Very nice reviews. I've heard lots of good things about the Muhle silvertip fiber brushes and your little experiment confirms those findings. I'm still not sure if I'm sold quite yet though.

[jsj_297]

Awesome write up. I've been very weary purchasing synthetics after coughin up like $50+ on the men u brush of Yester years. The omega syntex nylons do make a wonderful travel brush as Mark said in his initial review. I too think there is a place for synthetics. Will I every try another, I dunno.

[bluesbishop]

Awesome series and write up...very impressed by all of the effort of the team in he analysis of this new generation of brushes.

[Disburden]

HAve you tried the black Jack brush? I really like it...

[Codfish]

HAve you tried the black Jack brush? I really like it...

No, none of the testers tried the Jack Black brush during our brush trials. I did hear positive things about it during the write-up period. If there's a round #2, we'll try to include it.

[OldGreyGuy]

Thank you for these series of posts.

I have the Muhle 23mm Silvertip Fibre and it is the rival of all my badger brushes, I still like to use them but I am using the Muhle more and more. Of course I still like Boar brushes as well.

[GDCarrington]

HAve you tried the black Jack brush? I really like it...

No, none of the testers tried the Jack Black brush during our brush trials. I did hear positive things about it during the write-up period. If there's a round #2, we'll try to include it.

Disburden, thanks for reading Jim's review and bringing up the Jack Black brush. I had heard some good things about it, but I have not used this brush so I cannot make an educated comparison to the others. To follow up on Jim's point, the team also procured additional natural hair brushes to provide comparison points. Some of us began making or refurbishing brushes to better understand the process of the handle and knot interactions. Sadly, we simply did not have the time or the resources to test every synthetic brush on the market. We chose to test close to 20 brushes from 9 manufacturers of the new generation synthetics. We chose brushes that were recently developed / recent market entries to observe how the fibers have changed over brushes introduced even as late as three years ago and how well they stacked up against the natural fiber brushes.

If there is a round #2 we may be able to investigate the Jack Black, however, it will take some time to have more new entries come into the market to justify the level of effort involved in testing.

[turtle]

Killer review. makes me want to order one today. THANKS (I think)

[drocu]

Thanks to you, I've taken the plunge and will hopefully be getting a 21mm Muhle silvertip fibre brush soon.

[maxzoran]

I finally got around to finishing this restore with, that's right, a Muhle Silvertip Fibre knot (21mm) I bought several weeks ago. I thought the HJM Black Fibre was a great brush until I tried this bad boy out this morning. I literally have not tried a brush that explodes with lather quite like this one. I lightly dipped the tips into AOS Ocean Kelp and began to face lather. Kaboom! The later exploded immediately. I had read about how little product was needed with this knot, but I had no idea. Fantastic!!

[facetime]

Exceptional work guys and a hearty thank you to each of you. Very useful, informative reading. great stuff.

[Unkas]

I finally got around to finishing this restore with, that's right, a Muhle Silvertip Fibre knot (21mm) I bought several weeks ago. I thought the HJM Black Fibre was a great brush until I tried this bad boy out this morning. I literally have not tried a brush that explodes with lather quite like this one. I lightly dipped the tips into AOS Ocean Kelp and began to face lather. Kaboom! The later exploded immediately. I had read about how little product was needed with this knot, but I had no idea. Fantastic!!

Where did you get the knot? Did you dissect another brush or can it be bought separately somewhere?

[maxzoran]

Where did you get the knot? Did you dissect another brush or can it be bought separately somewhere?

Nope, bought it from Muhle. PM me for info if you'd like

[El-a-Menthol]

Thank you all for doing this.
Bump for awesomeness!

[Codfish]

The series on new-gen synths will continue throughout the summer and into the fall here and on other sites.

[Attila]

The series on new-gen synths will continue throughout the summer and into the fall here and on other sites.

Awesome! I look forward to it. I myself bought a Muhle 23mm brush and couldn't be happier with it!

[CHSeifert]

I just used my new Mühle Silvertip Fibre 25 mm brush today and I'm really surprised over how good this brush is. Very soft and smooth, but still with backbone, the lather just exploded on my face....literally exploded - I used AOS Lavender shaving cream FYI

I will still buy badger brushes, but this synthetic brush from Mühle is an excellent alternative.....