Big Synthetics H.I.S. and E. Jagger

[brothers]

Now that I'm a believer in the benefits and joys of the evolving synthetics, I'm getting a bigger lofted one to go with the 50mm Frank. I've only found these two, both in stock at the moment at Fendrihan. EJ's specs are 24mm x 63mm. H.I.S. specs are 28mm x 62mm. I need you guys who have a bit more experience than me to help me out please. Should I get both? Or should I get either one, or not? Are these going to be super soft on the face as the Frank is? I'm talking about zero prickliness, no scritch whatsoever. Please tell me what you can about either or both of these two synthetics.

[Oscar11]

I like synthetic brushes but I'm very fussy about them. The original 28mm HIS is a very good brush and knot. I like it. can't speak for the E Jagger but I do like the Muhle knot and IIRC, Muhle has a 25mm knot. I've played around with quite a few different synthetics and with most I'm indifferent or just don't care for them. There is a good synthetic hiding in the Plisson but I'm not sold on the factory loft. Sorry, I'm getting off track with some smaller dia. brushes.
Turned this for a friend Sunday morning. Loft is about 45-46mm, Plisson synthetic knot with a slightly oversized hole.

Here's the 28mm HIS with the loft sub 55mm.

[Squire]

Very nice Oscar, very nice indeed.

[ShadowsDad]

Gorgeous brushes, but that's expected from Oscar11.

Gary, normally I don't like larger brushes, at least in natural fiber. In badger my Chubby1 is as large a brush as I really want and all my larger brushes are about that size. But in synthetic I can go larger because they don't act the same as natural fibers. But the lofts you're writing about are just nuts! I look forward to hearing about them. But that's as close as I want to get to a knot that size... reading about it.

I do have a Simpsons Chubby2 synthetic coming in, hopefully identical to what I tested, but the standard loft for the current production is shorter. I'll see how that works. I loved the test brush and it's 28 x 54mm knot.

[brothers]

EJ's specs are 24mm x 63mm. H.I.S. specs are 28mm x 62mm. Muhle specs are 25mm x 62mm. Just for the record.

[Tinman]

I used the big HIS this morning. Nice brush, makes lots of lather quickly and it is very soft on the face. A little big and heavy for my tastes but I could easily get used to using only this brush.

I'm using cream at the moment, but this is a very good soap brush on triple milled hard soaps.

[brothers]

No doubt about it. Probably the softer soaps too.

[Squire]

I don't subscribe to the idea a certain brush is better in any measurable sense for cream or soap than another, they all work, just some work better for us individually than others.

[ShadowsDad]

I'm with you there Squire. I've never subscribed to that either, all of my brushes get used with all of my soaps/croaps/creams when they appear in the rotation. It's not planned, it's just the way the rotation works, so any brush eventually gets paired with any soap. It's up to me to make it work. I just figure that increases my experience and mastery of shaving.

OK, having written that I do agree with some folks who think some brushes work better with certain products. I like to use my WeeScot with a cream because I spread the cream on my cheeks and it's less up to the brush to determine soap quantity. By being the craftsman it's up to me to make it work when that ideal pairing doesn't happen. Sometimes I cringe when the WeeScot shows up with what I consider a less than ideal pairing, but so far it's always done it's bit. It's just a mind game IMO. It's also gotten worse since I began using larger brushes. But, at least for me, the WeeScot was perfectly OK when I stuck to smaller brushes, and at that time the WeeScot Didn't make me cringe with some of the pairings. Again, I think it's more in our minds than in reality.

[brothers]

I agree. In my world, if a given soap or cream product or a given brush doesn't work well with it's random counterpart brush, soap or cream of the day, any day, I don't need it. Unfortunately, several have failed to perform! For that reason the non-working article is removed from my happy world of those that do work.

[Tinman]

Yes. All the brushes I have work with all the various products I've used. I think what I was referring to was more speed and ease of working the lather than the ability to make lather or even quality of lather.

[Squire]

For me a brush with a longer handle ( my Georgian style handle Jagger for instance) create lather quicker. Just do, I've always thought it's because the longer handle provides just a bit more leverage.

[ShadowsDad]

Yikes, this getting esoteric... It could be the velocity at the tips Squire. Like increasing the speed of the whisk in cooking, or using a larger whisk.

[Squire]

Well, I am good with a whisk.

[brothers]

Still enjoying the synthetics. Tonight's choice turned out to be the reliable EJ SilverTip Synthetic.

[Squire]

Yikes, this getting esoteric...

We're shave geeks Brian, esoteric is expected.

[brothers]

This evening as I rinsed the Muhle SilverTip Synthetic after having used it, it occurred to me that synthetic brushes are what I'd hoped and imagined horse and boar brushes would be, before I ever got a boar or horse brush. Regarding badger brushes, after I realized what I just mentioned, I asked myself to start thinking about the ways that a synthetic brush exceeds or fails to meet any of my pre-badger expectations. It appears I can't answer that question because I didn't know what to expect from a badger brush before I got my first one, the Tweezerman badger. I just had the crappy $5 drug store scrub brush (the cheapest boar bristle available, I imagine) and anything was going to be an improvement in those days. I'm still going to be mulling this over for a while. Hmmm. . .

[ShadowsDad]

Gary, I know that what I'm about to write below I've written on another forum in different words, but maybe not here. I'm in agreement with you. I think you nailed it.

If I was a new shaver and never experienced a badger, the synthetics would have me not missing badger one bit. But I'm not a badger virgin and I want them in my rotation now the same with horse and boar. Will I buy any more natural fiber brushes ? Probably not. Will I by another synthetic? The Plisson is calling to me; and Simpsons is about to release a smaller synthetic (Classic 2 ?) according to scuttlebutt. I hope they hold their uniqueness and not try to emulate badger. But either way, I'll have what I like.

[brothers]

After at least 3 months with these synthetics and no others used regularly, I couldn't be more pleased with them, as a group. It's impossible for me to pick a favorite. I recall someone posting that because they are synthetics they don't have the same "face feel" as a badger or boar, and presumably a horse hair brush. Well, guess what, no brush is going to have the same face feel as another brush. If they were all identical, none of us would have more than one brush. Even these three brushes have different face feel among themselves. I happen to like the fact that synthetics are virtually scritch-free. I don't care for scritch.

[Squire]

Come to think of it I haven't found scratchy a feature of any badger brush I've come across. I'm not surprised synthetics lack that trait as well.