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Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 7:36 pm
by brothers
For the past several months I've been rotating every day between 3 great brushes: EJ XL Silvertip Synthetic/Mesquite burl synthetic/Thater 4376/5 badger. Tomorrow will begin a long run of three more of my favorites: Razorock Monster synthetic/Semogue 2000 boar/and the legendary Rooney Finest Plexi. It's going to be something to look forward to. Keeps me coming back. Something to talk about, I suppose.

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 4:46 am
by fallingwickets
Gary, how big is the rooney plexi? When i think of a plexi i always have to include buzz and his plisson LOL

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 6:45 am
by brothers
Clive, see the attached photos. The Rooney Finest Plexi is the one that developed a major problem with the knot and had to be repaired in Germany by Bernd Blos at Shavemac. It measures 62 mm loft x 29 mm, and the plexi handle is 70 mm. 132 mm total height.

The giant Plisson Plexi brush measures as follows: knot loft is 79 mm X 31 mm, and the handle measures 70 mm in height. Total height of the Plisson Plexi is 149 mm.

Rooney Finest set in Shavemac Plexi handle:
Image

giant Plisson Plexi:
Image

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 5:45 am
by fallingwickets
Thanks Gary. For me, the difference between a 79mm knot and a 62 mm knot is in the spelling :D

clive

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 1:35 pm
by brothers
It appears that the the nature of boar brushes has been eclipsed, through no fault of its own, by synthetic fibre brushes. Evolution, or progress, or technological advantage by whatever name, is to blame. Badger holds its own, but being a natural fibre is a weakness that will probably be it's undoing at some point.

Translation: I love my Semogue 2000 boar brush, but used in day to day comparison with the synthetic Monster by Razorock it simply underperforms. I have made it work, but the extra effort simply isn't worth the trouble. This depresses me because I've got several beloved boar brushes that have just become obsolete. Boar brushes are no longer relevant to my shaving.

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 1:43 pm
by Rufus
Gary, it's clearly a case of YMWV. My two boars (SOC and Omega B&B Essential) more than hold their own against my two synthetics (Muhle Silvertip Fibre and Kent Silvertex). That is not to say, however, that my synthetics don't do a good job, because they do. I especially like the Muhle for travel as it works very well with the shave stick I use for travelling and as it dries very quickly. My badges are still my favourites.

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 3:30 pm
by CMur12
I, too, disagree about the inferiority of boar to synthetic. I wrote the following in response to a thread Gary resurrected in the General forum and I am copying it here:

"I'll have to disagree with you, Gary. I think the synthetics are pretty good, but I get the best results (better than synthetic or badger) from my Semogue 1305 boar brush. It and the model 830 are made with a grade of bristle different from any other I have tried, and it makes a huge difference. For me, the little 1305 outperforms everything else."

I agree with Bryan that YMWV applies here.

- Murray

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 2:45 pm
by LouisIII
My feeling is that quality synths have rendered budget badger brushes superfluous. Boars offer something a little different.

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 5:27 pm
by CMur12
LouisIII wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2019 2:45 pm My feeling is that quality synths have rendered budget badger brushes superfluous. Boars offer something a little different.
I think that, over all, I agree with this statement, LouisIII.

- Murray

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 8:34 pm
by brothers
Long live YMMV! :D It fuels the fires of discussion.

I believe it is true that quality boar brushes have also rendered budget badger brushes superfluous. It is undisputed, as you pointed out, that boars offer something a little different. It's the differences that keep the pot boiling.

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 5:11 am
by Rufus
I’m on my fourth synthetic brush and none has come close to matching my quality badgers and quality boars in overall performance and face feel. I use a synthetic, currently an AP Shave Co. Synbad, for travel mainly because it dries very quickly and is relatively inexpensive. So far the Synbad is the best synthetic I’ve tried; the others are: Muhle silvertip synthetic v1 & v2, Simpson Case (a dreadful brush) and Kent Silvertex (better suited to dusting my computer keyboard or dashboard of my car).

Re: Small rotation of favorite brushes

Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 4:31 am
by LouisIII
brothers wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2019 8:34 pm Long live YMMV! :D It fuels the fires of discussion.

I believe it is true that quality boar brushes have also rendered budget badger brushes superfluous. It is undisputed, as you pointed out, that boars offer something a little different. It's the differences that keep the pot boiling.
Imo the availability of quality boar brushes for roughly the price of a cream and synthetics of similar price is the best thing to happen in wetshaving in the last ten years. You can have an actual 'luxury brush now on a budget. The neverending conveyor belt of homemade soaps being hawked elsewhere is less appealing, mind you, but at least they're optional; when I joined here and theneother forums you felt you pretty much had to get a high end brush.