Synthetic recommendations please

+1 for the yaqi,s had a sagrada familia for around 2 months ,used it with cream,s ,croap,s & on hard soap pucks . Totally faultless ,lather monster for less then £15 on flea bay. Arrived in 10 days free p&p ..:D
 
Functionally, nothing.

Muhles are very well made, and their synthetic knots were cutting edge a few years back. They have long since been matched or bettered (according to your preferences) by many other makes.

Interesting. Can you give examples of what makes have matched or surpassed Muhle for synthetics? If some of the cheaper ones achieve this feat, then why pay more I suppose
 
Interesting. Can you give examples of what makes have matched or surpassed Muhle for synthetics?

Apart from the Plisson synthetic, they've all been mentioned above (RR Plissoft, Tuxedos and Cashmeres from Yaqi and ApShaveCo etc).

Nisse makes a relevant point. I've tried all those synthetics apart from Tuxedo, and they all felt better on my face than Muhle's 23mm.
 
It apears there are only three major affordable types MÜHLE Black Fibre is available in German drugstores, the Yaqi Plissoft/Black Fibre's and the latest Tuxedo/Cashmere/Mew's etc Yaqi's available on Aliexpress.

Interesting. Can you give examples of what makes have matched or surpassed Muhle for synthetics? If some of the cheaper ones achieve this feat, then why pay more I suppose
I don't have a MÜHLE SilverTip Synthetic, but I do have an EJ Black Fibre and Black Fibre's from both DM drogerie/Balea and a Rossmann/Isana. The German drugstore versions are identical to the EJ, they are only six Euro's each. They are excellent value for money. Plissoffts/Yaqi's are also excellent value considering we were buying them from L'Occitane at six times that amount a few years ago. I have a Cashmere and Tuxedo on order from Yaqi, all Yaqi fibres are the same no matter what the colour except for their black fibre.
 
I personally wouldn't pay the premium price of the muhle silvertip fibre now that I have about a dozen others (tuxedo, cashmere, plissoft, boss etc).

But I will say that the muhle/EJ STF v1 is a damn awesome fibre (I have it in 3 sizes)! I have a 23mm v2 muhle STF and I'm not impressed and would never recommend one over a yaqi synthetic!
 
Old Gen 1 synthetics were basically nylon fiber paint brushes, very simplistic and not on par with premium natural hair. The new synth technology for make-up brushes created in Korea launched the wonderful Gen 2 we enjoy these days. Tapered and corrugated fibres, soft tips, really wonderful stuff. Just pick the knot type you find in synergy with your lathering technique. Obviously you need to try them all, fan type, bulb, different lofts, backbone etc.
 
I personally wouldn't pay the premium price of the muhle silvertip fibre now that I have about a dozen others (tuxedo, cashmere, plissoft, boss etc).

But I will say that the muhle/EJ STF v1 is a damn awesome fibre (I have it in 3 sizes)! I have a 23mm v2 muhle STF and I'm not impressed and would never recommend one over a yaqi synthetic!

Well after my earlier comments in this thread, I got hold of a 23mm Muhle STF from the BST (not sure if its a V1 or V2 and didn't think to ask at the time) so I could compare it to the cheaper offerings. Its a nice brush, and for some reason I really wanted to like it above my Razorock Bruce & Yaqi Tuxedo, but I'm not convinced it does anything that they don't, and it costs 3 times the price of those (ok, I got it used but you get the point). The 3-band knot looks good, and the tips feel soft on the face, but not any more than the others, I think the RR feels as good if not better. A case of paying for the name, perhaps?

@Steve did you make a choice on a synthetic brush yet then?
 
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Well after my earlier comments in this thread, I got hold of a 23mm Muhle STF from the BST (not sure if its a V1 or V2 and didn't think to ask at the time) so I could compare it to the cheaper offerings. Its a nice brush, and for some reason I really wanted to like it above my Razorock Bruce & Yaqi Tuxedo, but I'm not convinced it does anything that they don't, and it costs 3 times the price of those (ok, I got it used but you get the point). The 3-band knot looks good, and the tips feel soft on the face, but not any more than the others, I think the RR feels as good if not better. A case of paying for the name, perhaps?

@Steve did you make a choice on a synthetic brush yet then?

Yeah, I think muhle should catch up to the market and adjust their prices to increase sales. It's definitely a case of a premium price for a premium brand...not a premium product.
 
There is another factor that comes into play that is rarely mentioned but yet is so important: glue bump height and its resultant effect upon splay/performance. From what I can discern from sifting through an absurd amount of threads on various forums is that one is better off buying one of these from a custom maker who not only culls the defective knots but also glues them properly. There seems to be great QC variation from Yaqi regarding their finished brushes regarding this. It's China after all.

As well, it seems some custom makers have lowered their prices to compete with the deluge of finished Chinese ones. Need I mention as well the fact that a custom maker will make good on a guarantee in case of a lemon whereas Yaqi will merely give you a discount on a future purchase.

Just something to ponder.
 
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