Lijun Shaving Brushes

SliceOfLife said:

Can't really divide it as eBay brushes and high end brushes. Let's compare Simpsons vs eBay (though most of these will carry over to other manufacturers)

Handmade knots
Better hair sorting
Higher quality material for handles
Turned handles vs molded/injected plastic
With relatively few exceptions, denser. In most cases far denser. (There were guys saying their FS were denser than their Berkeley when FS fans were spamming these forums up last year. I measured it. My Berkeley had 3-5 TIMES the hair of any of the three FS I had.)

You may like Lijun or FS brushes better. But there are pretty obvious reasons why Simpson, Rooney, Kent, etc brushes cost more. And when people go around with statements about how they don't use their duke or their Rooney Super or their whatever because their eBay brush is so much denser, it makes taking any of their opinions seriously require a level of gullibility I lack.


I've tried three different eBay makers. TGN knots were superior to all three by a LARGE margin. And TGN knots are direct price competitors with all but they cheapest of them.

Click to expand...

Evening mate. Read your post last week, I thought I'd give my take on it after a few uses of the Lijun.






Well four shaves with the Lijun 'Finest' 24mm has left me more than pleasantly surprised.

I've owned two TGN Finest brushes in the past, one extra stuffed and the other regular. In my opinion, the Lijun is hands down better than both knots offered by TGN. The hair seems firmer, yet softer. And the Lijun knot is closer to the extra stuffed offering than the regular. In fact, I think you can see from the pics I attached above, the Lijun is one well packed beast.
Yes it's not got a hand turned handle. I accept that. But so far, I can not fault any of the workmanship. I've not lost a single brush hair so far, and that's something even my cherished butterscotch Duke 3 can't claim.
I can't compare it to a 'FS' brush as I've not used one. And seeing as the Lijun offering was half the price of a Frank Shaving Brush, I doubt I will.

Honestly, for £12 I'd struggle to find better bang for your buck. It may not be my favourite brush, but it's up there.

SliceOfLife said:

Can't really divide it as eBay brushes and high end brushes. Let's compare Simpsons vs eBay (though most of these will carry over to other manufacturers)

Handmade knots
Better hair sorting
Higher quality material for handles
Turned handles vs molded/injected plastic
With relatively few exceptions, denser. In most cases far denser. (There were guys saying their FS were denser than their Berkeley when FS fans were spamming these forums up last year. I measured it. My Berkeley had 3-5 TIMES the hair of any of the three FS I had.)

You may like Lijun or FS brushes better. But there are pretty obvious reasons why Simpson, Rooney, Kent, etc brushes cost more. And when people go around with statements about how they don't use their duke or their Rooney Super or their whatever because their eBay brush is so much denser, it makes taking any of their opinions seriously require a level of gullibility I lack.


I've tried three different eBay makers. TGN knots were superior to all three by a LARGE margin. And TGN knots are direct price competitors with all but they cheapest of them.

Click to expand...

It's late to contribute to this thread. I found it while doing a search on a related topic.

I started wet shaving a couple of months ago and stocked up on Frank Shaving brushes but also got a couple of New Forest and a Duke 2. The Duke 2 gave me a comparison point. I also got a Liojuny 24 mm two band. More recently, I got two Thaters, one a 24 mm silvertip, and the other a 24 mm two-band.

I'm going to do a den clearance soon. All the Frank Shaving brushes are going to go. I'm keeping the Liojuny two band, which really is a surprisingly good brush, stiff and soft, fairly dense.

I shaved this morning with the Duke 2. Well, as SliceOfLife says, there's a reason for those prices. It's only a 22 mm in best (= super in Simpson's singular brush ranking system), but it is soft and dense, far denser than any of my other brushes. It's a lathering machine.

The Frank Shaving brushes are perfectly usable. They do the job. But then, a lot of people who take up shaving as a hobby, including me, are not satisfied with functionally adequate results. It's a luxury, the sense of fine quality.

I bought into the idea that because of cutting out the middlemen the Chinese eBay brushes could provide quality like that of the high end brands for a fraction of the price. The fraction of the price part is true. The quality part, as I've come to feel it, isn't.

I'm keen to get a Simpson silvertip and/or a Shavemac D01 silvertip. Just this morning, I bought on B/S/T a Shavemac ordinary silvertip. Those run at a comparable price to the Thaters (about $120-130 for a 24 mm, which I've come to prefer). The Shavemac D01 silvertip is presumably going to give the impression of being distinctly superior.

I haven't tried the TGN knots. Among the less expensive brushes, I've been happiest with New Forest. In price, they are in between the Frank Shaving/Liojuny and the entry-level quality brushes (ordinary silvertip from Shavemac, Best [=Super] from Simpson, or Thater silvertip. I have a New Forest 22 mm silvertip, which is silky soft and dense enough. I also have a New Forest 20 mm super, which is almost too small for me, but which has good soft tips and a lot of spine. Peter at New Forest compares the spine to his two-bands, and that seems right. More spine than the Duke 2, though the Duke 2 compensates by being so very dense. Nothing floppy about either brush.

Two key future ambitions: a Chubby 1 in Super (= silvertip); and a Shavemac D01 in silvertip or two-band. In later years, I might branch out and try a Rooney, but probably never a Kent. Don't like floppy. I also had a Vulfix super and already sold it.

I'm waiting on two brushes now: a Tubby 2 from New Forest (26/54 knot/loft, two band), and a Simpson 58 (24.5/50 knot/loft) in best (= super) bought from The Superior Shave. I wanted a Chubby 1 in two-band, but those are out of stock, and pricey. The Tubby 2 cost only $77 (vs. $180 for the Chubby 1 in two band--there was one on B/S/T this morning for $155, used); and the Simpson 58 comes in at $130.

Joe