Favorite Brush Hair (Boar, Badger, or Synthetic) a poll

Given the recent improvements in Synthetic knots, many have reported they prefer them to badger or boar. I thought it would be interesting to take a snapshot poll of your favorite knot. I am limiting to the three options of Boar, Badger, Synthetic or Other. I know there are horse and mixed knot brushes that some love, but I believe they are less popular.

I think it will be interesting to compare changes over time
2012


2014

I really love synthetic knots. I find I can make lather much easier and for me the performance beats badger whether I'm face lathering or bowl lathering. Here are my synthetic brushes so far.

Last year I would have said badger hands down. This year its synthetic hands down.

I use all three types of brush plus horse hair. I enjoy using the boar brushes the most, secondly the synthetics.

Lately, it's been the Vie-Long horse-boar blend; the one with the horse mane hair, and where the boar bristles actually split.

Alum of Potash said:

Lately, it's been the Vie-Long horse-boar blend; the one with the horse mane hair, and where the boar bristles actually split.

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So your vote would be other? <hint>

Synthetic!

I love horse hair. I just ordered two more, a high end Vie-Long and a Vig from China.

I still prefer badger, preferably Silvertip grade, over any other material. The only synthetic that I have tried and feel gives badger a run for the money is the Muhle 23mm synthetic I use as a travel brush. Most of the other synthetics I have tried are too floppy for my tastes.

Definitely synthetic will be taking share off the badger crowd in the long run.
As for me: Boar, please!

Mike H said:

So your vote would be other? <hint>

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Very well then, just to be first. But my Other is quite specific. ;-)

As of now it's still badger, but my first synthetic is in the mail.

I've only had one synthetic, a cheap burma shave brush that I received as gift a few years ago. Couldn't get it to make a bit of lather, ended up tossing it so I ruled out synthetic forever. So I choose boar for now, but all this recent praise for synthetics has peaked my interest to the point where I'm seriously considering giving one of the new ones a shot.

Mike:

Since starting out on my shaving odyssey 'eons ago' trying Boar, Horse, Horse/ Boar blend and all types of Badger, I've long since returned to using only Boar!

I found boars (my B & B Omega Boars are my 'go-to' brushes [I already have the gold flake, blue & frosted blue], to have knots that are more densely packed, has lots of backbone, more 'springy', soft but more stiffer than badger [or a mix thereof]).

In short, and in my own humbled opinion...boar is a 'face latherers' dream!

[FONT=&amp]&#8220;I am an artist. The [mirror] is my canvas and the boar is my brush&#8221;. Graham Hill[/FONT]

I am synthetic guy but could easily go back to my badgers and boars (First horse was just ordered today). Sometimes, I doubt the results of these polls as I often wonder how many voters actually have/or extensively tried all types.

njpaddy said:

As of now it's still badger, but my first synthetic is in the mail.

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Which one did you order?

diggingman said:

I've only had one synthetic, a cheap burma shave brush that I received as gift a few years ago. Couldn't get it to make a bit of lather, ended up tossing it so I ruled out synthetic forever. So I choose boar for now, but all this recent praise for synthetics has peaked my interest to the point where I'm seriously considering giving one of the new ones a shot.

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Do it! I have the Stirling and the Plissan. Both just wonderful to use. I pitched an old style WD synthetic also. Horrible.

I have boar (SOC, Omega 49), badger (NF Tubby 2, WD 30mm silvertip, Simpson P8), and synthetic (Muhle v2 STF 25mm, EJ v2 STF 25MM) and the synthetics are my favourite specifically the EJ.

Just got my first synthetic (Satin Tip) and WOW, blows my boar and my one super badger away! Synthetic for me.

Alum of Potash said:

Very well then, just to be first. But my Other is quite specific. ;-)

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Thank you, Sir!