Received one of these yesterday...
I dont really like gaudy shaving brush handles and this definitely counts as such! I only went for it as they seem to be the most popular so I figured it would be relatively painless to move on compared to a vanilla ivory one.
Aesthetics aside, the handle is well made with a good heft... There are no machining marks or imperfections unlike every Maseto I've had! The knot has a small glue bump, is dense for a synthetic (coming from Muhle & Plisson) with medium backbone and good water retention, possibly the first synthetic I've used that doesnt dribble. There were 9 fibres upside down in the knot which I had to pluck out, nothing compared to RazoRock synthetics but still more than I'd like to see ideally.
After two uses I think its safe to say they are a bit of a bargain... They blow RR brushes out of the water, still not quite up to Muhle & Plisson handle quality wise but the Yaqi knots are in another league, the old European companies really need to catch up as they're still advertising 4 year old fibres as some kind of breakthrough... In reality they're barely fit for purpose compared to the latest generation.
...definitely a case of YMMV; I find the old style RR synthetics have a better face feel for me than Yaqi's offerings, which feel like a sponge; backbone with many synthetics though varies even with the same models and seems to depend entirely on the height of the glue bump...
...I dont really like gaudy shaving brush handles and this definitely counts as such!...
I don't see it so much gaudy as I do retro "moddish" appearing. I kinda like it.
Aesthetics aside, the handle is well made with a good heft... There are no machining marks or imperfections unlike every Maseto I've had! The knot has a small glue bump, is dense for a synthetic (coming from Muhle & Plisson) with medium backbone and good water retention, possibly the first synthetic I've used that doesnt dribble. There were 9 fibres upside down in the knot which I had to pluck out, nothing compared to RazoRock synthetics but still more than I'd like to see ideally.
After two uses I think its safe to say they are a bit of a bargain... They blow RR brushes out of the water, still not quite up to Muhle & Plisson handle quality wise but the Yaqi knots are in another league, the old European companies really need to catch up as they're still advertising 4 year old fibres as some kind of breakthrough... In reality they're barely fit for purpose compared to the latest generation.
...I found my Yaqi Fan Tuxedo Mysterious Blue handle has the lowest glue bump of any brush I have,...
They make a synthetic fan brush?
I'm surprised by the RR comparisons as I had a suspicion Yaqi were the OEM manufacturers for RR's brushes, as they seem to make some of their razors (the SLOC seems most likely to be Yaqi made) but maybe it's Maggards who they make some of their brushes?
I found my Yaqi Fan Tuxedo Mysterious Blue handle has the lowest glue bump of any brush I have, I measured mine to have a glue bump of 3.6mm and even though the brush is advertised to have a 26mm knot, I measured mine to be 28mm and both things combined I found it to feel quite large on the face, as those factors work it's favour as with creams in particular if I'm looking for a relatively quicker shave.
After a strictly scientific cost benefit analysis my take on shaving brushes: We have a winner and it is YAQI!
I have a couple of Yaqis and the feel of the fiber tips is more synthetic then my RR plissoft knots. While the handles are very attractive, I want my brush to feel right on my face as I exclusively face lather. Even if the Mu knot looks the same colour as a 2 band badger, the feel matters to me. I also have two silvertip brushes on the way from Yaqi, am still to judge them.Received one of these yesterday...
I dont really like gaudy shaving brush handles and this definitely counts as such! I only went for it as they seem to be the most popular so I figured it would be relatively painless to move on compared to a vanilla ivory one.
Aesthetics aside, the handle is well made with a good heft... There are no machining marks or imperfections unlike every Maseto I've had! The knot has a small glue bump, is dense for a synthetic (coming from Muhle & Plisson) with medium backbone and good water retention, possibly the first synthetic I've used that doesnt dribble. There were 9 fibres upside down in the knot which I had to pluck out, nothing compared to RazoRock synthetics but still more than I'd like to see ideally.
After two uses I think its safe to say they are a bit of a bargain... They blow RR brushes out of the water, still not quite up to Muhle & Plisson handle quality wise but the Yaqi knots are in another league, the old European companies really need to catch up as they're still advertising 4 year old fibres as some kind of breakthrough... In reality they're barely fit for purpose compared to the latest generation.
I'm truly honestly surprised some of you gents prefer the RR knots... SMH.
YMMV, as you say.