Mühle STF Long-term review

[TRBeck]

So sometime last summer I acquired a Mühle STF synthetic brush, 23mm size knot, because, well, why are we all here? I had to know. So my initial reaction was overwhelmingly positive, and I have had good things to say here and the about these synthetics, but I held off on a serious write up due to my own tendency toward overenthusiasm and hyperbole. Well, I have not only had the brush for almost a year, but also used it more or less exclusively throughout that time, all my badgers long gone and only a single boar to distract from the v2 synthetic, which was at the time of purchase and, I believe still is, considered the top tier of synthetics (although I know Simpson has something available now that may trump it).

First, the brush is not particularly attractive IMO. The loft actually looked haphazard and uneven when I got it, but after use it bloomed and looks okay. Still, I don't care for phony badger stripes on a boar brush nor on these synthetics. It's not badger hair, and that's okay. But I digress. Loft aside, the handle is also not a shape I am drawn to aesthetically nor is it all that ergonomic, although it hardly detracts from my ability to lather.

Second, the thing lathers like there's no tomorrow. Flow-through, bristle strength, and knot backbone are all dialed in perfectly and should theoretically be consistent from brush to brush, one of the potential advantages of synthetic bristles. I get perfect lather every single day from simply wetting the bristles, flicking my wrist once or twice, gently, and then loading. Bowl or face lathering, it just works.

Third, the bristles are soft-tipped but not floppy. I never have to worry about the odd prickly hair in the knot, nor do I lose bristles. Ever. The brush does the job of depositing lather as well as it does the job of building it, and I never feel like I'm dealing with a lather hog.

But.

The brush is not much fun. Brian mentioned in a recent SOTD that his EcoTools synthetic is for the guy who refuses to enjoy his shave. This brush is not that, exactly, but the comment struck a chord with me. When I try to think of a way to describe the face feel of the brush, I land on the fact that there is none. I love Kents and Vulfixes, which softly massage the skin. I love (some) Simpson Bests, which scrub and give feedback. I love Savile Rows and Rooney Supers and Omega boars, each with its unique blend of plushness and backbone. But the synthetic bristle doesn't have any feel at all. It bends and flexes well, but it never feels soft. It won't splay, but I can't feel the backbone. On some level, the lathering is sort of perfunctory, whereas I used to be my favorite part of the shave.

I know ther are guys with skin too sensitive for most brushes, and this may work for them. Further, guys who get enough tactile feedback from their straights or open combs or SEs may not care about the tactile experience of the brush. And finally, some guys may just want their lather to come easy without worrying about it. So I won't say this is a bad brush. But I will say that after nearly a year of exclusive use, it doesn't feel like an old friend the way my Savile Row or Omega 10066 knots did after a year or two of fidelity. It's just there. For the time being, it's what I have, and I will use it and enjoy my shaves, because the lather, the scents, the razor, the blades, and the quiet are all terrific. But when the funds are there, I will be badger hunting once more.

[CMur12]

That's a very balanced and informative review, Tim.

In my own case, I lather in a bowl because my skin doesn't tolerate any "feedback" from a brush. What I want is a distinctly fan-shaped brush with good flex (a la Vulfix Super) and great flow-through. How close does the brush come to this?

Thanks, Tim.

- Murray

[TommyDawg]

Excellent write up. Well considered and articulated. Thanks for taking the time to do so.

[brothers]

Tim, yes, a very nice write-up. Synthetics have been on my radar for a relatively short time, maybe a month. That's nothing compared to a year, so I am just a synthetic brush newcomer. I couldn't claim to be an expert in anything about synthetics, other than knowing what pleases me, and being able to use synthetic shaving brushes pleases me a lot. Your report has placed some thoughts in my head as to what I should expect, and has helped me realize some things I've already noticed about these brushes. I get nothing but outstanding performance from synthetics. One benefit with a synthetic is the absence of skritch one feels from most badgers and some boars and horse brushes. That and the soft but outstanding consistency in the creation of great lather. That's why I use a brush. Now we have Simpsons, Plisson, Omega, Jagger, Muhle, HIS, Franks, etc. making and selling synthetics. It's business. There is a growing demand for synthetic brushes and they're in it to sell brushes to guys that buy and use brushes. Young guys aren't thinking twice when it comes to a choice of buying a perfectly excellent performing (synthetic) shaving brush that costs only a fraction of the cost of a very expensive badger brush made out of the hair of a dead animal that was killed to make the brush. Or, (yuck!) an inexpensive brush made from pig hair or hair from a horse's tail. I haven't yet had the urge to rid myself of my animal hair brushes, but it'll eventually be something I can address in the future if I want to. Collectively we aren't engaged in an argument about one vs. the other, any more than Williams vs. (you name it). It's just an ongoing evolution and discussion. It's just another day in the life of YMMV, and hooray(!) for variety. Now we have even more choices available to us. These are good times.

[Squire]

Very good and well thought out review Tim.

Somehow I can't shake the feeling that shaving with a synthetic brush is like cooking with a microwave.

[rsp1202]

Tim, I admire your fidelity to this brush, something I just couldn't muster. I've had the STF in both 23mm and 21mm, and while I agree that they're great latherers, I ended up ditching them because of many of the reasons you've mentioned, especially the splay issue. I've been through the Plisson synthetics, too, and for reasons ranging from cosmetics to build, have unloaded those as well. How you get the lather is as important to me as the lather you get, and so far the synthetics fall short. I understand why you're thinking of returning to badger; that SR3122 looks pretty good to me now.

[TRBeck]

Thanks, guys. Like I said, there's nothing really wrong with the brush, and I had no trouble using it for this long in part because I just put my head down and vowed not to think about shave purchases or minutiae for a while. Really, it does the job. But at some point you want to feel the bristles and not know they're just plastic filaments.

Murray, I think the black synthetic fibre is close to what you are after. The lofts are more fan shaped and the bristles have a softer, more hairlike feel. In fact, I have one I can send you to try. It has been my travel brush for the last year. I ordered it with the larger STF. I prefer its feel but wish it were a larger knot. Still, when I think about the comparison to badger, the black fibre is sort of like the Vulfix of synthetics, whereas the STF is the Kent (but without the massage or soft feel...just in terms of density and flex).

[rsp1202]

The Plisson will be very soft and compliant, without the springiness of the Muhle fibres. In fact, my first thought was that this is the Kent of synthetics, since it can pick apart hard soaps with ease and is easy on the skin. I have issues with it, but not when it comes to face feel and creating lather. OTOH, the Muhle STF exudes quality and looks like a "real" shave brush, except for the fake badger stripe. They could lose that.

[Rufus]

Tim, thanks for the well-balanced assessment. I have a Muhle STF 21mm and agree with your pros and cons. As I lather on my face exclusively I put a lot of store in a brush's face feel: compared with my badgers and boars the face feel of the Muhle is soulless.

[Johnny]

That was a well written review of your experiences with the Muhle 23 mm STF. I guess this is one reason they make so many different types and brands of brushes, to satisfy all of us with different skin/beard types and preferences.

I have the complete line-up of Muhle STF V2 synthetic brushes from 19 mm to 25 mm and I love all of them. I too face lather and these brushes feel good on my face and I have absolutely no problem at all getting any of them to splay.

I've sold off all of my boar and badger brushes, except for one Simpsons LE that has high sentimental feelings for me as it was a gift from dear friends.

Now I hope a year from now I can repeat all this. But with YMMV and all that, one never knows.

And Squire, noting like a microwave at all.

[ShadowsDad]

Squire, a microwave can be cooked with, one just needs to know how to use the tool. But if one decides to cook in the MW as one cooks in a "normal" oven it's doomed to failure.

The same with brushes. Boil it down and it's all YMMV.

[CMur12]

Tim, I should have taken you up on your offer to borrow a black fiber brush. Your statements were consistent with others that I had read about the black fiber brushes being especially well suited to bowl-lathering, so I ordered the HJM version for $35.00. I wanted a small brush because I always end up with too much lather and this brush looked more fan-shaped in the illustrations.

The HJM brush looks fan-shaped in person, as well, but it doesn't feel so in operation. This may be because the whole loft tends to flex together in the same direction, similar to early Omega synthetics that I bought long ago. It doesn't splay well. At the same time, though it felt strange in use, I made a very good test lather with it (as well as I could tell without actually shaving with it), and I really liked how quickly and easily the soap rinsed out.

I'll probably be testing a Feather MR3/FII cartridge razor that I just got, this week, so I plan to use a familiar brush and soap with it to keep variables to a minimum.

- Murray

[jww]

Thanks Tim -- well thought out review indeed.

I own one synthetic brush from The Body Shop --- it's stiff, and scratchy -- but it's a very good traveler as it dries so quickly so I will often take it on overnight trips when I am flying.

[brothers]

Johnny has done some research into these brushes and I understand Jagger makes the fibers and sells them to Muhle for their Silvertip synthetic brush. I have the Muhle, the Jagger, and the HIS 1794 synthetics. I've been using them pretty much exclusively for a few weeks. The Muhle and the Jagger are very similar, of course. However, the Jagger has a bit larger built-in bloom and due to the differences in firmness of packing, knot size, etc., even though the Muhle and the Jagger have the same loft, the Jagger's handle is a bit taller.

[rsp1202]

Gary, do you find the H.I.S. has softer tips, less spring and more splay than the Muhle or Jagger?

[brothers]

Ron, yes it has softer tips, more splay, and less spring than the Jagger and the Muhle. Those are the three main areas of difference, in my opinion.

[rsp1202]

Trifecta! I'd like to try one. I've heard the 28mm is their primo knot, but that's huge in my book so would opt for the 25mm, model 1918. That one comes with a 54mm loft, which sounds ideal for that size synthetic knot.

[Johnny]

Johnny has done some research into these brushes and I understand Jagger makes the fibers and sells them to Muhle for their Silvertip synthetic brush. I have the Muhle, the Jagger, and the HIS 1794 synthetics. I've been using them pretty much exclusively for a few weeks. The Muhle and the Jagger are very similar, of course. However, the Jagger has a bit larger built-in bloom and due to the differences in firmness of packing, knot size, etc., even though the Muhle and the Jagger have the same loft, the Jagger's handle is a bit taller.

Gary, that is the other way around. Muhle makes the fibers and sells them to Jagger under contract.

[SharpSpine]

Tim, well written piece, thanks. I really didn't enjoy that ecotools kabuki brush but the lather it made was great, just making in quantity due to knot size and composition. Now my Plisson and Mühle Black Fibres are a joy to use, the Plisson more so for me. I've always found the Black Fibre to be my favorite from Mühle as it splay better and has less springiness than the STF. I also think the fake badger pinstriping needs to go bye bye. I would love to see a brush maker embrace the difference and offer colored fibres; blue, green, gold, red. Just imagine the SOTD pictures!

[CMur12]

Brian, what size knot do you favor for Muehle black fiber brushes?

I got the HJM with a 20mm knot, but it doesn't splay well. I'm wondering if knot size might play into that.

Thanks -

- Murray