whose (faux) tortoise/horn is best (and why?)

[sanpaku]

as you may or may not have seen in the b/s/t, i'm (desperately?) seeking a shavemac 501 in tortoise.

for those not familiar, the 501 is nearly (if not actually) identical to the world-famous, award-wnning, hall-of-fame bound 177. only the handle design is decidedly more moderne.

over the period of not less than three days, just as i decided to place an order, vintage blades removed it from their inventory and are not answering my emails inquiring as to whether one can be tracked down. i've not found an alternative retailer if one exists...

at the shavemac site, i can customize a build to replicate a 501, but it's hardly cost effecient; winding up @ $126.64 ($112.64 plus $14.00 shipping)while the 501's list was $99.99.

so all of this is sending me back to the drawing board a bit as it concerns why i wanted what i wanted in the first place. hence, i'd like some opinions from owners of (yes, faux) tortoise/horn handled brushes telling me what you like and/or don't like about your brush and why you chose it instead of the competing brand...

[AFG]

The Rooney faux horn is nice but if you are going to order from Shavemac why not spend a little more and get the real thing. Bernd has the real stuff, genuine buffalo horn handles and they are beautiful. There have been several pictures posted here and maybe you can find them doing a search. It may be more money that you are willing to spend but these are really special.You can then have Shavemac make any type of knot you want. Couldn't hurt to email them for a price quote.

[cooncatbob]

Isn't Faux Ivory and Horn just polyurethane?

[dwestenk]

... why not spend a little more and get the real thing. Bernd has the real stuff ...

I believe Rooney has genuine horn handles as well.

[blantyre]

Plisson makes a decent acrylic faux tortoiseshell. Of course they also make real horn for not much more cost. The only advantage of acrylic is that it is very unlikely to crack whereas horn might over time develop cracks along the length of the handle.

[sanpaku]

fwiw, i prefer tortoise over horn. hence, as beautiful as the genuine horn handled pieces are, they're not to my taste...

[Crag]

I have a beautiful faux tortoise from Shavemac that I absolutely love...Too bad I didn't get the knot in the Super D01, and shorter loft, but the handle is my favorite of all the brushes I own...quite fantastic, really.

Looks quite like this one.

[JimR]

Isn't Faux Ivory and Horn just polyurethane?

Yes, thus making it more durable and resistant to water.

And cheaper.

And easier to care for.

And, in the case of Ivory, legally and morally defensible.

[sanpaku]

shavemac has offered to (custom) make a 501 for me at the domestic price. how generous is that?