oh my gosh, what a nice brush, it is very soft on the face and has the backbone to work the soap. wow. i am very impressed.
I've used both now and can say this. The Stirling could make lather from a rock. It's a lather making machine. The Razorock is smaller, and I've only used it once on a soft soap, but having a shorter loft it would have no trouble on a hard soap. They are both very soft on the skin. Stirling is supposed to have their brush back in stock in a week or so, and they will be introducing a smaller size alongside their large model. If you want the large size then I highly recommend Stirling. If you want a smaller brush then either will probably be okay. I'd go by price point. Not sure what Stirling will charge for the Small, and not sure Italian Barber will re-stock at the same price.
I got mine and im very impressed. Extremely soft. Ive never tryed a plisson but after watching videos i can see it has no backbone and i like backbone on my brushes. This brush has similar backbone to a boar brush but feels like a high end badger on the face. For 10 bucks its a steal. The black handle does have some small scratches on it but no problem buffing them out.
I really do have to stay away from shave forums. Been looking for a synthetic brush for awhile. Just my luck that I find this thread with members raving about the deal they've gotten purchasing such an amazing brush... ...and it's sold out. Being the impatient face lathering snob that I am, I ordered it on Amazon for $22.00. I hope you're all satisfied with yourselves.
My girlfriend wants me to order 1 or 2 more just in case something happens to hers. I haven't tried it yet but I may today when I shave.
It took a couple shaves for this brush to break in, but once it did..WOW!! What a great performer! And for $10. :hooray: