ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Feb 1, 2013 23:37:46 GMT -6
OK, so I've used the 22mm and found it to be pretty nice. OK, better than nice IMO. While a comparison to badger is inescapable it is NOT badger. It has qualities better than badger and IMO may just make badger obsolete. It's really good.
The one thing that some folks may not like is the very rapid transition from soft to backbone. But keep in mind it isn't badger and you should do well. It is what it is and it's really very nice.
I made a brush out of the 24mm TGN gen3 nylon knot and find that it works some sort of fantastic also. Same gel like tips when wet, and absolutely no relation to a badger. A brush this large would be out of the question for me made of natural hair. I wanted this knot for head lathering and it won't be what I wanted... it doesn't bloom or splay. But for the face it works great and it's not too large even for this small brush loving dedicated face latherer. These knots DO NOT bloom or get larger. Maybe if one mashes the brush, but not when used properly. The 24mm worked fine for me with face lathering. Still big but quite acceptable.
I also just built a 20 mm TGN gen3 nylon kotted brush and the glue is set and ready for use. I'll get back here after first use, but a test hand lather sure does look promising.
I never thought I'd be so "taken" with synthetic brushes. I always thought they were for tree huggers and substandard. This is a major "TAH DAH!" moment for me.
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Feb 2, 2013 0:16:58 GMT -6
I just reread the thread, I said I'd get back with a review of the Muhle Silvertip fibers travel brush. It's a 21m knot with a loft of approx. 49mm. It's an attractive travel brush and typical for the breed the travel tube becomes part of the handle if you wish it to. Packed for travel it measures 67mm long and 31mm in diameter by calibrated eye and ruler. It's a small package, smaller than a Wee Scot in a Rx pill bottle. That's an Omega 10047 "Mighty Midget" boar/badger hybrid to the left of the tubed Wee Scot, and an Omega 599 Silvertip to the right of the travel tubed Muhle. If you didn't know it was synthetic you'd think it was a very high quality badger when dry. I face lather exclusively and the following is based on that. In use the brush is soft with excellent backbone. It's like no badger I've ever used. The softness is there and then bang, there's the backbone. It's really not fair to compare it to badger since it's completely different yet so darn comparable. In some respects it's superior to badger. The brush itself though... In short order I realized that I don't like long handles. So I unscrewed the end cap from the handle and used it w/o the storage tube/handle attached. It works fine that way. It's not an everyday brush that way, but for travel it would be fine. The brush doesn't bloom at all, typical of synthetics. so what you see when dry is what you get when wet. It's a really nice brush for face lathering. I suspect that the long handle would be quite nice for bowl lathering, but since I don't do that I can't comment further. Nice knot, nice brush, better if you like long handles, but useable if you don't. Too, it doesn't need to be dry for travel and it won't fall apart. Of course it's better if it has time to dry, but the synthetic fibers won't degrade if it isn't dry. I think I paid $34 for it and it's certainly worth that. Gents the present crop of the latest synthetics is certainly worth a try. If they get any better it just might put badgers out of business, and if they don't they still might. I never thought I'd think that no less write it publically. No, I'm not a vegan or a tree hugger in case you were wondering.
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Post by celar36 on Feb 2, 2013 14:00:11 GMT -6
"If they get any better it just might put badgers out of business, and if they don't they still might. I never thought I'd think that no less write it publically. No, I'm not a vegan or a tree hugger in case you were wondering." I pretend I didnt heard that. There is something in badger hair that I cant put finger on... Never less in todays world, when every thing is required to be eco friendly this might happend.,
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Feb 3, 2013 0:17:44 GMT -6
:-)
Yeah, not an eco nut here Jack. The synthetics today are really quite good. I'm simply telling the truth. I think many folks after trying a new synthetic might never even try a boar or badger.
Please don't misunderstand. Boar and badgers will always have a place in my cabinet. They have charactersitics that make them uniquely themselves and I appreciate that. But the synthetics are incredibly good but with their own chacteristics. I have NEVER used a brush as soft as the new gen3 TGN knots, and they have great backbone. I have an Omega 599 silvertip that comes close to the softness of the TGN knots, but it does so by having little to no backbone.
Anyway, I tried the 20mm TGN brush today and the jury is still out on it. I liked it, but I don't know if I liked it more than the 22mm, the same, or less. It's going to take more useage for me to make up my mind. I'll come back to this in a few days. After I'm through my badger brush rotation I'll probably cut in and use the synthetics for a time to further evaluate them against each other.
I'll get back to this in due time.
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beisler
SE Super Freak
bbs or bust
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Post by beisler on Feb 22, 2013 11:15:08 GMT -6
I am waiting for the muhle 21mm synth to come in---I never tried a synth but the reviews have been glowing
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Feb 22, 2013 16:27:08 GMT -6
Please let us know how you like it. I believe it has more loft than my travel brush, but that shouldn't create problems since they don't bloom.
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FWIW, I still don't know if I like the 20mm more than the 22mm TGN knot, or the 24mm for that matter.
One thing I do find is that the TGN knots take longer to load because the tips are so soft. It's no big deal, it just is. I don't remember noticing that with the Muhle. But I'll use the Muhle again on Sunday. I hope I remember to use it with a hard soap.
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beisler
SE Super Freak
bbs or bust
Posts: 27
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Post by beisler on Feb 22, 2013 21:40:48 GMT -6
[quote author=sahdowsdad board=tsb thread=597 post=8032 . I hope I remember to use it with a hard soap. [/quote]
Thats why I am getting it---I plan on using the Muhle on hard soaps and my new SOC boar with creams and my Duke 3 and other badgers to the sell bin
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Feb 25, 2013 0:49:48 GMT -6
I used the small Muhle 21mm silvertip fibers travel brush on a Burmashave puck the other day and there were no surprises. It performed quite nicely. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with it.
One thing I need to remember when I use the synthetic brushes is to not soak or in any way pre-wet the entire knot. The fibers (collectively) hold a lot of water and the fibers don't require soaking. I find that my habit of dunking the entire brush simply makes a mess near the handle after a few minute of face lathering. I need to remember to just dip tips as required and not to dunk the brush before lathering. That goes for the Muhle and the TGN knots.
FWIW, I had a custom handle made in the pattern of the Omega travel brushes seen in the OP. The purpose of the exercise was to mimic the size of the Omega brushes, but to fit a TGN 20mm synthetic knot. IMO, synthetic knots excel at being travel brushes since thay don't mold, degrade, or fall apart if put away wet, though I wouldn't make a habit of it. My handle turner tells me that he succeded in keeping the built in "bloom" (they don't bloom so it's built in), and overall size so as to fit in small Rx pill bottle. I'll get back here in a few days and update this thread.
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beisler
SE Super Freak
bbs or bust
Posts: 27
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Post by beisler on Mar 4, 2013 9:57:37 GMT -6
Well I have used the 21mm Muhle for 3 straight days and all I can say is I am off to buy a larger version. I am VERY impressed with these synthetics from Muhle and I have sold my Duke 3 and I am debating selling my new SOC but I probably will hold onto ir
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Post by HoosierTrooper on Jun 28, 2013 19:05:47 GMT -6
I used the ER with the 24mm TGN synthetic yesterday and it worked every bit as good as the Stag 22mm. In fact, size-wise, when looked at side by side or from the top they look identical. Of course, 2mm isn't very much. I am very, very impressed with these knots, I really can't find anything negative to say about them.I already have a couple candidates lined up as recipients for some more.
Thanks Brian for bringing these to our attention!
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Jun 28, 2013 22:56:14 GMT -6
It was my pleasure.
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Post by InfernoOrangeSS on Jun 29, 2013 8:46:17 GMT -6
I have an Ever-Ready 300N nylon brush that I believe dates o the 50's. I enjoy using it, holds a lot of water and makes great lather. I strictly bowl lather, this one is probably too stiff for face lathering. I'd be interested in your results because I kind of like the idea of synthetic knots. I have an old ER nylon brush too. I've never used it because it's used. I've been thinking of reknotting it. I may do that now.
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