I also have a Honeyfarm, and as my of the time of purchase, without request, those knots were Virginia Sheng. That was my first VS knot, and I asked him not to set it so I could use silicone and remove it if I didn't like it. Not sure what else to say but that it is still in there two years later, and I have no intention of re-knotting.
I put in the VS knot, sorry if it wasn't clear. Let me look and see if I still have some. Otherwise I will take another.
Is it a 2band finest or silvertip. I need to know because I'm toying with the idea of getting a true silvertip one from Dennis.
I have to load about 4 times the soap just so the brush doesn't eat all the lather. The lathering process itself also annoys me with badgers and i like the control of fine tuning my lather with synthetics. Boars fall in between the two but synthetics are still my most preferred now.
It really depends on my mood what I like best ... recently I am in a boar brush mood again But next week I am traveling (vacation is over, sigh) so then my Whipped Dog 24mm synthetic goes with me again. It is hard to beat synthetics as a travel brush!
To squeeze some of that lather out of the knot, try what I call The Chin Roll. Hold the brush parallel to the floor, press the base of the knot against your chin (for me, the top of the knot facing left, the base of the handle facing right), roll the base of the knot against your chin. Get that lather out of those lather hogs!
Totally hear you on the lather hogging. Dense badgers like to hoard it like gold, and not dense enough, they tend to be floppy. Not sure what you mean about annoying process or better fine tuning with a synth. It's just soap, water and air. I don't find one type makes better lather than another. Not asking for an explanation either, you can enjoy one over the other without my approval. In my opinion synthetics are the least expensive platform to get the best performance. I have basically nothing negative to say about them. Except: I find very little difference between them. I don't mean that a Tuxedo is the same as an S-Brush. I mean that once I have one Plisson style knot, I don't see enough difference in any other Plisson style knot to own another. I have a Tuxedo, and it is great, but don't want to put more in other handles. It will look the same, feel the same, lather the same. You can change loft settings of course, but I don't find they change much until they are simp,y set too deep and the splay sucks. I can take the same badger knot, set it in three different handles, and have three different knots that look and act completely differently. It is all subjective, but I suppose that is why my den has grown to have twenty badgers and only six or seven synthetics.
I agree that a good synthetic is the cheapest way to good performance and I have several and love them all. They can even compare and beat a lot of Badgers, but not all Badger hair is created equal. IMHO a well made Badger knot out of good quality hair, set in a handle at the proper height, will outperform any contemporary synthetic at least in the face feel department. For me face feel is more important than using less soap or drying out in a snap. Shaving is an experience and as such it should be made as efficient and pleasurable as it can possibly get.
Are synthetics the best ... no. They're different ... apples and oranges different. A nice boar is fantastic the same can be said for a badger. It's all preference ... I gave both of my boys a nice boar brush, then later a couple synthetic brushes. One gave up his boar and only wants his synthetic. The other still used his boar and only uses the synthetic as a travel brush. As I said personal preference.
OK PN. If this doesn't work out, I hold you responsible! Made a trip over to Tampa Shave Company today and picked this up. I'll be head shaving with it tonight...
OK, post shave report... Best synthetic i've tried, bar none. Holds water and lather well. Soft with substantial backbone. I'm happy to say this synthetic has cracked my brush rotation. I don't think I'd have thrown the dice on this one without the recommendation. I pronounce it: Every bit as good as a good badger . Thanks for the tip!
They are just fantastic brushes. The Chubby eats a lot of soap, but no more than any other dense knot of its size. Congrats.
It's the only synthetic brush I have tried that gives the dense "wall of badger" feel. The CH2 Synthetic is my favorite synthetic brush by far.
I might have to try one. I used my Maggard synth yesterday, and I was looking forward to using one of my good badgers today. I like the Maggard enough to continue using it once in a while, but I don't love it like I do my badgers.
