With thanks to the good people at Muhle with support our very own Jim (Codfish) and his connections at Muhle, I received an early release copy of the new Muhle 35 K 252 25 mm XL Silvertip Fibre brush. What follows is a mini review of this brush. If you go to the Muhle website, it contains all the details of this brush. The link is attached below with pricing and pertinent details. http://www.muehle-shaving.com/shop/...__high_grade_resin_horn_brown/77/100/35_K_252 The brush is a resin faux horn brown color as seen in the picture below. The brush is very elegant and is very well sized. The fibers look and behave very much like a high end badger. It is got good backbone and is very springy to the touch. The tips are nice and soft. When comparing them to my Silvertip they are roughly equal in softness. I also have the Muhle 33 K 257 23mm Silvertip Fibre Brush which is an excellent brush. After using the 35 K 252 I have found a brush that excels most brushes from the first use including the 33 K 257 and my Simpsons Colonel X2L in Best Badger. A comparison picture and detailed measurements are provided for those three brushes below. Now to the testing. I first took the brush and face lathered using Palmolive stick. I moistened my face and applied soap to my face and neck only. I then put the brush in water and gave two shakes. It held water well and I was able to lather easily with circular strokes. I was able to get 3 full face passes and a thin layer for a head shave from the one application of soap to the face and neck with no more added product and the only additional water was what was applied to the face after each pass. This is very reminiscent of the H.I.S. brush which also performed at this same level but is a larger brush. I also have a Silvertip which performs at this level with a 23mm knot but using a much larger bloom. The next test was mug lathering with C.O. Bigelow. He was where the lather really got into motion. One small nickel sized dab of C.O. Bigelow produced enough lather on the brush alone for 3 full thick face passes, and a full thick head pass while using nothing else from the mug and still having plenty of soap left in the brush to gently wring between the thumb and finger. You can see the results in the photos below. As you can see it is quite a performer. In closing you may see that this may quickly become one of my new favorite brushes. It performs as well as the H.I.S. brush but is easier to maneuver around the face. It is slightly less soft than the H.I.S. brush and is more expensive. However, it does look more elegant than the H.I.S brush so if that is of high importance then this brush does score high on the looks scale. All in all and excellent brush and one I hope to enjoy for years to come.
A tidy review Gary and indeed as I've suspected for some time, it appears as though synthetic brushes are now beginning to come into there own. Now this new Muhle may be pretty and affective, but at it's present cost I think personally I'll stick with my fifteen dollar pig...
Well Joe, you can surprisingly get roughly the same great performance in a larger handle and brush with the H.I.S. Synthetic for around $33 including shipping for Amazon. It does not look as nice, but it is one of my three favorite brushes (the Muhle 35 K 252 has stepped into one of those three). You can move up and get high performance on a budget. Here is my review on that brush. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/h-i-s-synthetic-brush.28218/#post-490199
some really nice synthetic brush out there I maybe tempted to get one later in the year based on your reviews alone Gary
I will add that I am absolutely loving my Muhle 31K256 Silvertip Fibre Ebony 21 mm shaving brush. Granted, it was an upgrade from a Body Shop synthetic, but it's been outstanding. $68 most places, but I see it's around $40 at Connaught. I really wish I'd gone right to this brush first.
The Muhle 25mm just hit the streets on Muhle's website. I don't know if it has distributed to other vendors yet.
That is a nice looking brush. Currently I use four brushes in my rotation, but prefer an old flat top Stanley brush over anything. I need to look and see if they offer a flat top in Synthetic, as I would prefer that almost anything.
Gary, I always enjoy your product reviews. Excellent write-up, I think after reading this review and the H.I.S., I would consider a mid priced synthetic over a badger for the same price.
Read this one. It is fairly flat, large at 28mm but acts like a 24 - 25 mm badger. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/back-to-basics-brush-terminology.25413/
