Synthetics: Whatever Happened To Gen V?
- Thread starter rsp1202
- Start date
Imo it's hard to see how the Plisson type knots could be improved upon.
IDK there were numbered generations in synthetic knots.
Gen 1 has thick cyndrilical bristles.
Gen 2 has thin cyndrilical bristles.
Gen 3 has thin tapered bristles.
Gen 4 has thin tapered bristles that are wavy all along their length.
Gen 3 was a major breakthrough in "soft tips" instead of scratchy.
Gen 4 bristles hold more water and don't release it all at once.
Plisson proved that gen 3 with more loft retained water fine too.
The synthetic knots still have some issues:
Many are "springy" and take force to splay and keep splayed (Muhle).
Eliminating springy with more loft results in "floppy" (plisson).
Eventually someone will find "gen 5" bristles that flex like badger
I say "find" not "develop" because I think the bristles are developed for cosmetic brushes and paint brushes. Shaving is a teeny tiny market.
Ps:
The body shop brush uses gen 2 bristles.
The plisson, plissoft, sterling, fine, WD & TGN use gen 3 bristles.
The Muhle and Edwin jagger are the only brushes with gen 4 bristles.
Gen 2 has thin cyndrilical bristles.
Gen 3 has thin tapered bristles.
Gen 4 has thin tapered bristles that are wavy all along their length.
Gen 3 was a major breakthrough in "soft tips" instead of scratchy.
Gen 4 bristles hold more water and don't release it all at once.
Plisson proved that gen 3 with more loft retained water fine too.
The synthetic knots still have some issues:
Many are "springy" and take force to splay and keep splayed (Muhle).
Eliminating springy with more loft results in "floppy" (plisson).
Eventually someone will find "gen 5" bristles that flex like badger
I say "find" not "develop" because I think the bristles are developed for cosmetic brushes and paint brushes. Shaving is a teeny tiny market.
Ps:
The body shop brush uses gen 2 bristles.
The plisson, plissoft, sterling, fine, WD & TGN use gen 3 bristles.
The Muhle and Edwin jagger are the only brushes with gen 4 bristles.
That's great information. Thank you for teaching me something new today.
I didn't realize those differences between synthetics. I have an Envy Alluminati and I have no idea what generation it is. I looked it up and they just call it an "Ubersoft" knot, but it doesn't look like they sell it anymore (although the Dr. Jon's website still has them in stock). I've noticed two things with it that are much different than my badger and boar knots. One is the springiness and required force to keep it splayed. The other is that it holds too much water in comparison to my badgers. If I don't make sure to squeeze out excess water, then the soap lather is super runny. I've had to start over more than once, but I've used it enough now that I remember that step.
I gifted someone a Maggard's synthetic--the knot was totally different than my synthetic--much bigger and didn't seem like it had as much springiness (it was a gift, so I didn't try it even though I wanted to).
I gifted someone a Maggard's synthetic--the knot was totally different than my synthetic--much bigger and didn't seem like it had as much springiness (it was a gift, so I didn't try it even though I wanted to).
Which knots / manufacturers currently use a Gen 4 fiber?
- Thread starter
- #8
Here's a pic of the Muhle v2. If you zoom in, you can see how the fibers are wavy along their length (this is called "crimped fibers").
http://www.muehle-shaving.com/en/Sh...l?azrec=9b14d1d0-e0ee-11e6-9833-448a5b2c393f#
This crimping is the big difference between gen 3 and 4.
The big question is: is gen 4 "better" than gen 3 ?
It certainly holds more water.
But the springy vs floppy characteristic is due to loft and/or density - not the generation of the fibers.
AFAIK, only Muhle and Edwin jagger have the crimped fibers.
And their brushes are both at the "harder to splay" end of the spectrum.
http://www.muehle-shaving.com/en/Sh...l?azrec=9b14d1d0-e0ee-11e6-9833-448a5b2c393f#
This crimping is the big difference between gen 3 and 4.
The big question is: is gen 4 "better" than gen 3 ?
It certainly holds more water.
But the springy vs floppy characteristic is due to loft and/or density - not the generation of the fibers.
AFAIK, only Muhle and Edwin jagger have the crimped fibers.
And their brushes are both at the "harder to splay" end of the spectrum.
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Ps: I see paint brushes come with "flagged" fibers.
"Flagged" is the same as "split tips" on boar brushes.
Ie: The tip is split into 3-4 smaller tips.
This is to hold more paint when doing edging, etc.
Paint brushes also come in "firm", "medium" and "soft" flexes.
My guess is that "gen 5" will be those soft flex fibers with flagged tips set into shaving brushes.
"Flagged" is the same as "split tips" on boar brushes.
Ie: The tip is split into 3-4 smaller tips.
This is to hold more paint when doing edging, etc.
Paint brushes also come in "firm", "medium" and "soft" flexes.
My guess is that "gen 5" will be those soft flex fibers with flagged tips set into shaving brushes.
The fibers in my Tuxedo knot look wavy. So do those in the Maggards, Whipped Dog and AMack Sunrise knots.
The ones on Etsy look wavy.
The split ends, flagged like [MENTION=27013]JohnG10[/MENTION] said would be nice. With backbone, no flopping, and softness.
I had a synthetic brush once and it was irritating. It dried fast. Wasn't enjoyable to use though. A Razorock something or other. I prefer real badger.
The split ends, flagged like [MENTION=27013]JohnG10[/MENTION] said would be nice. With backbone, no flopping, and softness.
I had a synthetic brush once and it was irritating. It dried fast. Wasn't enjoyable to use though. A Razorock something or other. I prefer real badger.
Pretty interesting. I have the new RR Silver Tip synthetic. It's a lathering machine. Just amazing. But I hate how it releases water. It always makes a mess.
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