I feel that synthetic knots have made dramatic improvements, over the past few years. They feel very nice, retain water, dont eat up the lather, and some have the right amount of backbone. The only thing is, the ones I've seen do not look as nice as a good Natural Boar knot. They make them to resemble Badger, but do they have any that look like Boar? I am in the process of restoring a Rubberset 400, with a nice Omega Boar knot. This will look almost identical to the originals. But, I have another Rubberset 400 handle on the way, that will need another knot, and I was wanting a synthetic that mimics boar, in appearance. Any suggestions or pics?
I have the AP Shave Faux Boar 26mm synthetic knot. In my opinion, the color is spot on. it's a relatively dense knot and the backbone is sufficient for me, I bowl lather and paint. The tips are quite soft, you wont get scritch from it. The knot has lost a few hairs, more than most synthetics but less than many natural hair knots. Overall I like it.
I’m guessing it’s a price ratio issue. Great boar knots are cheap enough that I’m guessing a good fake one costs significantly more to make than the real thing. I’ve been getting tempted to try a synthetic badger knot and have looked at the Muhle STF. I do like my boars though.
Synthetic(Fake) Badger Knots are all everywhere. IMHO they can outperform the real thing, except the Scritch. But, is that really needed when your brush has god backbone. Now I just want the same for Synthetic(fake) Boar Knots. One thing I detest, is a knot that constantly sheds, even after break-in.
That looks like the real thing. How long have you been using it, and how much does it shed, after the break-in?
I've used it 2 or three times, so not really broken in yet. 3 to 4 hairs maybe each time. It's only noteable to me because I rarely have a synthetic lose any hairs.
Phoenix Shaving $8.95 Unknown what they are like. This is from their site: Looking for a great synth knot for that brush project you currently have cooking up? The Nexus Knot You'd be amazed at how fast synthetic fibers are evolving. With the market and demand for synthetic knots growing, the competition in quality & development will send your head spinning! This is also due to the fact that a lot of big shave giants, like Art of Shaving, are also making the switch to offering only synthetics...this is huge and forcing manufacturers to out do each other every other month it seems! Fans (pun intended), of our recent synthetic knots are going to love our latest Fan/Bulb Hybrid! Not only is The Nexus visually stunning but the performance is exceptional. The Nexus possesses super soft tips and a killer fiber density, providing you with some great backbone and more wispy than scritchy lathers. The Nexus Knot is sure to impress.
I was initially going to say I would not think a synthetic boar would be appealing, simply because real boar knots are not expensive. Then, thinking about it a bit more, I could see the value in skipping the long break in period and the barnyard smell. Especially at a $9 price point. I have a few older brushes that could use new knots, and may try this as a cheap experiment of one of mine can take a 24 or 26mm knot...
My thing is, lately I don't have the time to soak a boar brush for 10 minutes. Also, synthetics have come a long way, in the past few years. But, I do love the look and feel of a well broken in Omega, or Zenith Boar.
10 minute soak? I soak my boars (I soak all my brushes in hot water to warm them up), but only 3-4 minutes. Never had any of my boars feel stiff after soaking that long. But that's me.
I usually never soaked them that long(impatient). Probably 5+ minutes. Ideally 10 for me. The longer the better. That way they don't soak up as much lather.
I don't have one so no experience with one maybe worth checking out . https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256...lgo_pvid=c025b517-649f-41aa-afb4-d0c85dbfc163.
Here's one more , I honestly might try this one myself , I have a couple knots from ds and they're amazing. Make me want to try this one. https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256...lgo_pvid=149256cd-6cfe-4e7f-b26c-4bdceee1b2bc
This one looks very nice. For a couple of dollars it might be worth a try. I believe this one is natural boar. ..
I've ordered this one from you posted about, from Boti. I also ordered the Nexus Hybrid, from post #10. I also ordered a nice Fan shaped Boar, from Boti as well. I like the look of the AP Shave knot, but everyone that ever bought one, and wrote a review states it's a shedder. I don't like shedding brushes.
The Nexus Hybrid just came in, today, and it is very light in color, and very soft, with thin bristles. Not like a Boar. I will wait on the others I've ordered, before deciding on whether to set it in a 100 yr. old Rubberset.
