Frank Shaving's produces a generation 4 synthetic brush

I've been studying and reviewing synthetic Shaving brushes for several years. One of the most frequent complaints I receive from non-synth users is that the lofts are not like natural badger knots--they're "too long".

These shavers may not understood that synthetic fibers are not directly equivalent to natural hairs. In order to make a brush with the backbone of a natural brush, synthetics have required longer lofts.

This was true until MUHLE produced its V2 series of brushes. These were engineered with thinner, softer fibers that behaved much more like natural badger hair. At about the same time, H.I.S. began manufacturing an almost identical fiber. MUHLE understood the needs of shavers very well, and produced excellent brushes. H.I.S. appeared to be too heavily involved in the cosmetic industry to invest much energy in studying shaver's needs, and its brushes suffered badly in the implementation.

Frank Shaving, with the release of its PUR-Tech line of synthetic brushes, is now offering a third alternative--Generation 4 synthetic brushes in a variety of knot configurations.

These handmade shaving brushes are advertised to be the "same quality as Muhle synthetic hair" brushes". Out of curiosity, I decided to purchase one for testing purposes.

The configuration I chose reflects the desires of shavers who have written to me in the hopes of finding a large "Chobby-like" synth with a short loft. Here are the brushes published specifications:

Knot size: 28mm
Brush loft: 53mm (actual measure 59mm)
Handle height: 49mm
Brush weight: 92g

I have not had enough experience with the brush to review it today, but I will say that the fibers closely resemble those of Muhle and H.I.S. They appear to be true Generation 4 fibers.

The news is not all good, however. This particular brush is listed at $67 with shipping. A 25mm MUHLE synthetic from Shaving.ie or Connaught Shaving can be had for $76 including shipping--a relatively small difference.