Good Morning all,
I was lucky enough to win this Muehle/HJM synthetic fiber brush from a contest Shavetools.com had here on B&B. I promised I'd put up a review of sorts on the brush when I received it (I'm not that great at reviewing, just a fair warning!). Well luckily it arrived yesterday. I didn't need to shave but I used it to create some lather and took pictures to document it. My apologies in advance as they were with my phone, so they aren't the best quality. My opinions I'm going to express are just that, my opinions based on my first experience with a synthetic brush.
When I first received the brush, I inspected the packaging first to see what it said. It is basically a clear soft plastic box with no label or words indicating the manufacturer. All that's on it are care instructions for pre-use and post use.
I immediately popped open the box and pulled out the brush. The handle is pretty well weighted and the rubber wrap around portion (Grey part) is a nice rubber material so that you can retain your grip even when the brush is wet or covered in lather. It's a nice touch and definitely unique. I haven't felt many brushes with something like this. The overall shape was new to me, as I'm used to round handles.
When it came time to feel the knot, I was surprised. Actually I was more than surprised, I was shocked. The tips were soft, and when I mean soft I don't mean like Shavemac, M&F, Rooney, Simpson or any other top tier brush makers level. This is on a completely different level. This thing is far beyond any of those. Obviously not like an animals hair of any type. Prior to the brush arriving I read around a little bit on the Shavetools site and noticed in regards to the size of the knot, it was listed as 21mm. In reality when I measure it, I see 19.83mm wide, with a loft of 55mm. So things were not turning out as advertised in that department. No big deal though, since I have no other synthetics or brushes from this manufacturer to compare the estimate to. My only concern with the brush at that point was the backbone. It wasn't like a badger or boar brush. This thing had very soft tips, but a backbone that almost felt unnatural. If you apply pressure to the brush on your face, it almost feels like all the hairs in the center of the knot clump up and form some type of super thick hair that's not very appealing.
So first task after inspection was to follow the brush washing instructions on the packaging. I grabbed my trusty brush shampoo that I use on every single brush when I receive it.
The brush was very easy to clean, I apply about a dime sized amount to the brush and work it in.
This is where things get gross. I've never experienced this before, but it seems almost like the colors on the synthetic fiber was coming off. This next picture is difficult to see with the bathroom lighting, but the suds that came off the brush are a dark color. Almost a blackish tint. Gross.
After washing the brush twice, the color stopped coming out and I had white suds again. It was an interesting experience to say the least. I've owned a lot of brushes and never had this happen, all using the same brush shampoo. As for the feel after washing, the tips were the same, the backbone as a hair better. So it's on to actually building some lather.
First soap I grabbed was Pre de Provence. I love this soap! It has great performance and leaves your skin nice and soft. (The scent is not my favorite, but you can read my PdP review in the soap forum for more on that.) I put some water on the soap for a minute or two and then tried to soak the brush a bit. This didn't turn out as expected. I was aware that many people say you don't have to soak a synthetic brush, and this was no different. It didn't even want to hold water. It just came right out, went to work loading the brush for 30 seconds (counted in my head). This resulted in the brush looking like this. (The extra on top I scooped off the puck and put on top.)
I was a bit worried that building a lather with no water in the brush would be an issue. here's 15 seconds in a Dirty Bird Bill bowl.
Clearly the lack of water was impacting it. So I went ahead and added about a tea spoon of water and now we're on our way.
I had to fine tune things a bit with the water, and it took some time. Not a big deal but about 45-60 seconds more and some more water and we were here
Much better! Seems like the major challenge for me was adapting to the lack of water initially held in the brush. I lathered my face but didn't shave as I wanted to feel the brush. Did typical paint brush motion since the lather was nice and built already, and there was really a ton of lather. The brush picked up the soap much better than expected as I probably had enough for 5-6 passes. I know it's hard to see in the Bill bowl, but the sides are belled and it's full all the way around except for the area you see in the picture that I scooped onto the brush.
I didn't want to leave you all sitting there thinking this brush might be ok for bowl lathering but nothing else, so I went ahead and face lathered too. I washed the brush off and went for a cream almost everyone has or has tried at some point in time. It's a good starting bed for you to see what the brush can do.
I wanted to use less than normal to see what the brush could hold so I used about a pea sized amount.
That picture really made the knot look tiny. When it's wet it really is small. So I wet my face a bit and went to work building lather on my face and it sort of surprised me.
I know it looks like the brush doesn't have a lot in it. I felt the same way and was worried I wouldn't get 3 passes out of it. It turns out that even though the brush doesn't hold water, it sure holds the soaps well. after 3 passes I was still left with this.
The one thing that I learned from face lathering with this brush was, never dip the tips. Since the hairs don't absorb the water you'll actually lose the soap that's there instead. The best way to add water was the drip a few drops onto the brush and hold it in a way that the water falls into the fibers or stays put so that you can use it directly on your face building lather.
I didn't want to stop there, so I grabbed another soap many use. A stick of Arko! I again cleaned off my face, wet it a bit, and started rubbing it on. We all know Arko is insanely easy to lather, and yet again this brush did it's work appropriately.
Unlike the Proraso, the Arko really filled this brush. I had more lather than I knew what to do with and it took almost no application time with the stick.
The brush really is a a decent performer. I enjoyed using it and will continue to try different soaps and creams with it to test it out. It's much smaller than any of my other brushes, but I'm going to give it a fair chance. Here's a few photos of the clean up and the "bloom" if you can call it that.
Conclusion time!
The brush is affordable in my eyes, coming in at $40.00 from Shavetools.com. It arrived very quickly considering the holiday this week, and was packaged very well. The brush is my first fiber brush, but performed very well with everything I threw at it. Be careful using it in a bowl though. The unique shape of the brush had me hitting the sides a bit, as it's not round.
There's a learning curve that's small when it comes to figuring out just how to fine tune your lather with it. Adding water is not the same as badger or boar brushes, but that shouldn't deter anyone. After using the brush with those 3 soaps/creams and 2 shampooings, the backbone has softened up quite a bit. If you're someone who likes scritch or enjoys a nice exfoliation from the brush, look somewhere else. This is extremely soft. On that same note, if you want a big thick brush, again, this isn't for your. The knot is smaller than even advertised.
With all that said though, it's a solid performer. It built my lathers well and applied them appropriately. If you're a vegan shaver, this might be a brush to consider for you, but if you're into Badger or Boar brushes, evaluate what it is you want in a brush or are expecting prior to purchasing, as it's a completely different animal, or not animal, lol. I'm going to keep this brush and continue to put it through it's paces, so if you have a request and would like to see it lather with something else, please let me know. I have a closet full of soaps and creams, and if I don't have what you want, I can get a sample or order it.
My brush collection isn't huge, but it's enough to get a good feel of this brush. I currently own the following so you have an idea where I'm coming from:
Simpson Tulip-3 Manchurian
Simpson Emporer 3 Super 3-band
Simpson Milk Churn Super 2-band
M&F Blonde 2-band 24x52
Shavemac D01 3-band Custom
Semogue 1305 boar
2 Whipped Dog Silver Tips
2 TGN Finest restores
And more on the way!
The brush is in a different league than those listed, which is normal as it's totally different.
Finally, thank you very much to Shavetools.com for putting on the contest. It was very generous of you!
I was lucky enough to win this Muehle/HJM synthetic fiber brush from a contest Shavetools.com had here on B&B. I promised I'd put up a review of sorts on the brush when I received it (I'm not that great at reviewing, just a fair warning!). Well luckily it arrived yesterday. I didn't need to shave but I used it to create some lather and took pictures to document it. My apologies in advance as they were with my phone, so they aren't the best quality. My opinions I'm going to express are just that, my opinions based on my first experience with a synthetic brush.
When I first received the brush, I inspected the packaging first to see what it said. It is basically a clear soft plastic box with no label or words indicating the manufacturer. All that's on it are care instructions for pre-use and post use.
I immediately popped open the box and pulled out the brush. The handle is pretty well weighted and the rubber wrap around portion (Grey part) is a nice rubber material so that you can retain your grip even when the brush is wet or covered in lather. It's a nice touch and definitely unique. I haven't felt many brushes with something like this. The overall shape was new to me, as I'm used to round handles.
When it came time to feel the knot, I was surprised. Actually I was more than surprised, I was shocked. The tips were soft, and when I mean soft I don't mean like Shavemac, M&F, Rooney, Simpson or any other top tier brush makers level. This is on a completely different level. This thing is far beyond any of those. Obviously not like an animals hair of any type. Prior to the brush arriving I read around a little bit on the Shavetools site and noticed in regards to the size of the knot, it was listed as 21mm. In reality when I measure it, I see 19.83mm wide, with a loft of 55mm. So things were not turning out as advertised in that department. No big deal though, since I have no other synthetics or brushes from this manufacturer to compare the estimate to. My only concern with the brush at that point was the backbone. It wasn't like a badger or boar brush. This thing had very soft tips, but a backbone that almost felt unnatural. If you apply pressure to the brush on your face, it almost feels like all the hairs in the center of the knot clump up and form some type of super thick hair that's not very appealing.
So first task after inspection was to follow the brush washing instructions on the packaging. I grabbed my trusty brush shampoo that I use on every single brush when I receive it.
The brush was very easy to clean, I apply about a dime sized amount to the brush and work it in.
This is where things get gross. I've never experienced this before, but it seems almost like the colors on the synthetic fiber was coming off. This next picture is difficult to see with the bathroom lighting, but the suds that came off the brush are a dark color. Almost a blackish tint. Gross.
After washing the brush twice, the color stopped coming out and I had white suds again. It was an interesting experience to say the least. I've owned a lot of brushes and never had this happen, all using the same brush shampoo. As for the feel after washing, the tips were the same, the backbone as a hair better. So it's on to actually building some lather.
First soap I grabbed was Pre de Provence. I love this soap! It has great performance and leaves your skin nice and soft. (The scent is not my favorite, but you can read my PdP review in the soap forum for more on that.) I put some water on the soap for a minute or two and then tried to soak the brush a bit. This didn't turn out as expected. I was aware that many people say you don't have to soak a synthetic brush, and this was no different. It didn't even want to hold water. It just came right out, went to work loading the brush for 30 seconds (counted in my head). This resulted in the brush looking like this. (The extra on top I scooped off the puck and put on top.)
I was a bit worried that building a lather with no water in the brush would be an issue. here's 15 seconds in a Dirty Bird Bill bowl.
Clearly the lack of water was impacting it. So I went ahead and added about a tea spoon of water and now we're on our way.
I had to fine tune things a bit with the water, and it took some time. Not a big deal but about 45-60 seconds more and some more water and we were here
Much better! Seems like the major challenge for me was adapting to the lack of water initially held in the brush. I lathered my face but didn't shave as I wanted to feel the brush. Did typical paint brush motion since the lather was nice and built already, and there was really a ton of lather. The brush picked up the soap much better than expected as I probably had enough for 5-6 passes. I know it's hard to see in the Bill bowl, but the sides are belled and it's full all the way around except for the area you see in the picture that I scooped onto the brush.
I didn't want to leave you all sitting there thinking this brush might be ok for bowl lathering but nothing else, so I went ahead and face lathered too. I washed the brush off and went for a cream almost everyone has or has tried at some point in time. It's a good starting bed for you to see what the brush can do.
I wanted to use less than normal to see what the brush could hold so I used about a pea sized amount.
That picture really made the knot look tiny. When it's wet it really is small. So I wet my face a bit and went to work building lather on my face and it sort of surprised me.
I know it looks like the brush doesn't have a lot in it. I felt the same way and was worried I wouldn't get 3 passes out of it. It turns out that even though the brush doesn't hold water, it sure holds the soaps well. after 3 passes I was still left with this.
The one thing that I learned from face lathering with this brush was, never dip the tips. Since the hairs don't absorb the water you'll actually lose the soap that's there instead. The best way to add water was the drip a few drops onto the brush and hold it in a way that the water falls into the fibers or stays put so that you can use it directly on your face building lather.
I didn't want to stop there, so I grabbed another soap many use. A stick of Arko! I again cleaned off my face, wet it a bit, and started rubbing it on. We all know Arko is insanely easy to lather, and yet again this brush did it's work appropriately.
Unlike the Proraso, the Arko really filled this brush. I had more lather than I knew what to do with and it took almost no application time with the stick.
The brush really is a a decent performer. I enjoyed using it and will continue to try different soaps and creams with it to test it out. It's much smaller than any of my other brushes, but I'm going to give it a fair chance. Here's a few photos of the clean up and the "bloom" if you can call it that.
Conclusion time!
The brush is affordable in my eyes, coming in at $40.00 from Shavetools.com. It arrived very quickly considering the holiday this week, and was packaged very well. The brush is my first fiber brush, but performed very well with everything I threw at it. Be careful using it in a bowl though. The unique shape of the brush had me hitting the sides a bit, as it's not round.
There's a learning curve that's small when it comes to figuring out just how to fine tune your lather with it. Adding water is not the same as badger or boar brushes, but that shouldn't deter anyone. After using the brush with those 3 soaps/creams and 2 shampooings, the backbone has softened up quite a bit. If you're someone who likes scritch or enjoys a nice exfoliation from the brush, look somewhere else. This is extremely soft. On that same note, if you want a big thick brush, again, this isn't for your. The knot is smaller than even advertised.
With all that said though, it's a solid performer. It built my lathers well and applied them appropriately. If you're a vegan shaver, this might be a brush to consider for you, but if you're into Badger or Boar brushes, evaluate what it is you want in a brush or are expecting prior to purchasing, as it's a completely different animal, or not animal, lol. I'm going to keep this brush and continue to put it through it's paces, so if you have a request and would like to see it lather with something else, please let me know. I have a closet full of soaps and creams, and if I don't have what you want, I can get a sample or order it.
My brush collection isn't huge, but it's enough to get a good feel of this brush. I currently own the following so you have an idea where I'm coming from:
Simpson Tulip-3 Manchurian
Simpson Emporer 3 Super 3-band
Simpson Milk Churn Super 2-band
M&F Blonde 2-band 24x52
Shavemac D01 3-band Custom
Semogue 1305 boar
2 Whipped Dog Silver Tips
2 TGN Finest restores
And more on the way!
The brush is in a different league than those listed, which is normal as it's totally different.
Finally, thank you very much to Shavetools.com for putting on the contest. It was very generous of you!
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Hope it will work good with MWF and O Melhor creams, as well as AoS soap 
