That passion fruit handle - Okay in the hand - it's definitely something to "hold on to" but it was much larger than I expected. I could easily use a much thinner version - and it'd still be enough to balance the knot.
The knot - mmm... This one threw me for a bit! - I chose the Titanium knot, and had AP Shave set the knot depth. I have two prior APShaveCo knots; one SilkSmoke, and a SynBad. Both in 24mm's. From those two, SynBad acts more like a badger, and the SilkSmoke as a boar. Both well broken in...EXCEPT, that they're synths - so that "backbone" and "splay" aren't as effortless and comfortable as natural bristles.
Splays from synthetics happen after you've punctured your skin to make them behave in splay. "Backbone" is how stabby you want your plastic bristles to stab you before they succumb to your pressure and give or "splay". I forgot all about the bold warning at the bottom of the description about this Titanium knot as really ideal for bowl lathering. NOT face lathering.
Alas, I don't want to waste my time anymore - and so, I am a face latherer. Most synths will have backbone enough to simply never be ideal face lathering knots. This titanium is no exception. It's a bowl lathering knot. I used to "load it like you hate it" on my pucks, with a natural bristle brush to heavily load some soap in the knots. I tried that with this titanium knot - and I pierced my puck of Stirling soap!
The positive aspect of a plastic knot is that it's going to save money on soap loading - you'll definitely see a buildup on your knot faster with a synth over a natural hair brush. A negative aspect of a plastic brush is that plastics used for these knots aren't hydrophilic - to absorb, and swell the bristles making them fuller, softer, more luxurious exfoliators, No, the fact that they're solid plastic - water will continue to flow through your knots, and continue to drip down and out of your knot. They'll never get softer - and they don't "break in".
That break in process on a natural fiber bristle brush is always an incredible bonus experience to the knot -it performs even better as the fibers "split" and bend and hook. Nothing like aging will ever happen to a plastic brush. What it does on day one, will be what it does down the road. For a boar hair brush, that's a welcome improvement.
All this said - I'm now ordering my 4th AP Shave Co synthetic brush - hoping it might become what's been missing in my past knots. This time I'm in charge of the knot depth, hoping the Independent knot feels most akin to badger, and has the least amount of synthetic backbone.
I think natural backbone and synthetic backbone are two completely different things!
If you want a synth that breaks like natural hair - choose the "floppiest" backbone you can find. The term, Floppy, has been around since before synths were formed...when synthetics borrowed that term to try to help the buyer/user better understand the knot before purchase - it has since become heavily misleading.
Your Mileage May Vary...
Good luck.
