El Druida Michelle in Olive wood with synthetic knot brush.

Let me introduce to all of you my current favorite brush , made by an Spanish artisan , El Druida : the "Michelle" in Olive wood synthetic brush.

I have been following El Druida since he joined us like a year ago in the Spanish forum foroafeitado.com , and I must admit that I didnt like a bit his earlier designs , until he decided to launch the model that he have named "Michelle" , inspired in one of my favorite handles of all times , the Rooney 1 series.A couple months ago and I asked Javier (El Druida) to make me a Michelle handle , in Olive wood , and put a synthetic knot on it , and my dream brush was born.


This brush contains a 24 mm synthetic knot from TGN.Its one of the new synthetic knots that TGN is currently selling and has the 4th generation fibre , the same than the Muhle V 2.0 or the Frank Shaving Pur Tech.

Here with the 23 mm Muhle Silvertip Fibre V 2.0 shaving brushes :


This brush has the following specs :

• 24 mm knot
• 50 mm handle height
• 50 mm loft
• 100 mm total height
  

I chose to set the knot at 50 mm since I wanted a brush for facelathering exclusively , and oh boy ! , It seems it was a very right choice for me.

But let me show you how El Druida (Javier) send the brushes.The word GORGEOUS , fall short to express the brilliant box and presentation :


But that's not all , the brush comes with a stand in the same wood than the handle.In this case , its Olive wood :


The handle is the best looking one that I currently own , to be honest.It competes with the latest Semogue foroafeitado 2013 horn handle brush , but If I have to pick up only one , I think I know which one I will choose...Let me show you some pics of the handle , in which the grain and the wood pattern is shown.This Olive wood also puts to shame my old Vie Long Olive wood brush that I used to have.


I truly also enjoy the "Red Heart" symbol on the bottom , as you can see in these pics :


As I have said , the synthetic knot is made with the 4th generation fibre , very well packed (like a Muhle STF brush 23 mm) and a dream if you are a die hard face latherer , like I am.Set it at 50 mm have been a success , since the backbone its quiet high , but keeping some flow.The tips are extra soft and feels so luxurious on the face ! And not only that : it creates thick and creamy lather in a blink on an eye too.

I have used with triple milled soaps and creams , lathering with circular strokes on my face , and the lather simply "explotes" , even with some "difficult" products , like Musgo Real shaving cream or Mitchell's Wool Fat soap.


I have tried several hundred shaving brushes (badger , boar , horse , synthetic) , so I know what I want on a brush , and I did ask that to El Druida. He truly followed my instructions and created this , again , GORGEOUS brush (I wish you guys could see it in "person" , since I can not show its real beauty on my pics , I'm afraid).Yes , this brush have become my current favorite shaving brush. So far this is my best acquisition for 2013 , and I think that says a lot.If I also mention that the price and shipping was less than the current price for some of the Muhle Silvertip Fibre brushes out there , then , I can only smile.

El Druida is doing a great job with his latest creations , and I can totally recommend him if you are looking for a customize handle.Seems that he also can get knots from different European brands , like Vie Long or shavemac , and also some special badger hair grades.

You can check El Druida's work here : Artesania El Druida

Muchas gracias , Javier !