EJ sythetic or Men-u

[guru]

I would like to hear from those who are using either of these brushes, the EJ synthetic or the Men-u. Especially the Men-u synthetic. It gets such good reviews on the bristle and bad on the handle. How do the users find it? I've read the reviews in this forum and that's why I've narrowed it down to these two.

[mmack66]

These 2 threads might help you out.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=74145

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27683

[guru]

Yeah, I have seen those two. Think I have narrowed it down to the two. Thanks. Any users?

[Stubblefield]

I use the EJ Synthetic, have not used the Men-U. The EJ works well with both soaps and creams, and is very soft without being floppy. Cleans up easily as well. A very nice synthetic.

[Siv]

I have both and the Men-U is collecting dust. It performs just as well as the Edwin Jagger but the quality of the handle on the EJ makes it a pleasure to use. The fact that the EJs were mostly cheaper than the Men-U should make it an easy sell to go with the EJ.

[persco]

I have the Men-U. The handle is cheapo cheap cheap. Which is annoying given the price. I had it rehandled by Don McIvor, who did a splendid job. Now, as to performance... It's a little too floppy for my liking. Very soft, but I usually end up using it like a paint brush. I wouldn't reccomend it if you use soaps (which I do), it works better for creams in a lather bowl. Then the performance is incredible in terms of how much lather the thing will produce. I think it was designed really with this purpose in mind.

I also have a Body Shop brush, which I didn't like very much, but have to admit it works very well -- it is kind of broken in or something now and works better than it did when I first bought it. I find it better than the Men-U for hard soaps or face lathering.

I am now considering the Jack Black brush -- you should maybe check it out before making a decision. Although I haven't tried it, I have read it is not floppy.

[Siv]

I am now considering the Jack Black brush

The Jack Black is a pretty poor performing brush IMHO. I would say it has practically the same bristles as the Men-U but they are so densely packed that it makes it tougher to make good lather. The one thing it has going for it is the build quality - it's a tank. But again, it sits on my shelf looking pretty.

A good soap brush is the Rooney synthetic. The problem with it is that it's pokey on the face. The bristles are nice and stiff and it makes good lather from soap but you can't use it to build lather on the face unless you enjoy being poked!

By the way, the Omega synthetic artificial badger brushes are not too bad - especially the ones with a large head.


L-R: Jack Black, EJ Chatsworth, Muhle Bog Oak, Men-U, Omega artificial badger, Body Shop, Omega cheapie, Gillette cheapie, l'Occitane travel brush.

[persco]

Thanks Siv. Good feedback.