New Brad Sears/Morris and Forndran 2XL arrived today.

Beautiful brushes! Ordered two (L7 in butterscotch and 3XL in lapis) and cannot wait to hear from Brad when they are ready

Chris, mine arrived today: It's the same combo of Lapis and a Tortoise (faux) band but in the Alibaba handle.

As beautiful as your pictures are, that combination is even more amazing in person.

Brad and Lee did a wonderful job on this brush-the handle is stunning, and the knot has the Blonde Badger softness but with good backbone.

Here is my 3XL in Finest, this pic does not do it justice though.

Michael-- I have an L7 in Finest on order and I just changed the rod from Tortoise to Lapis. Mostly because I don't have a blue brush and I've yet to see an L7 in Lapis. Looking at your pictures, I'm feeling optimistic!

Cheers,

Alex

Chris -- That brush looks amazing. Such a terrific bloom. I ordered a Finest because i have a Blonde Paladin (Second Batch). But looking at your brush makes me wonder if I made the right choice!

Bad case of brush envy now. I placed my order on Oct. 6 (day or so before closed) - hoping for Feb 6 delivery.

Chris, mine arrived today: It's the same combo of Lapis and a Tortoise (faux) band but in the Alibaba handle.

As beautiful as your pictures are, that combination is even more amazing in person.

Brad and Lee did a wonderful job on this brush-the handle is stunning, and the knot has the Blonde Badger softness but with good backbone.

That is stunning! Looking forward to some bloom pics and your thoughts on performance. I used mine again yesterday. The knot is slightly less dense than other two bands I've acquired recently, as well as my other M&F knots. But the performance and feel is outstanding. There is a mild scrub sensation that feels quite nice and the lather production and release is great. I noticed that the tips looked more hooked and chaotic after the final rinse and towel dry. I expect the knot to break in more.

Enjoy your new beauty.

Chris -- That brush looks amazing. Such a terrific bloom. I ordered a Finest because i have a Blonde Paladin (Second Batch). But looking at your brush makes me wonder if I made the right choice!

I'm sure the Finest will be a great brush. Let us know how it differs from the Paladin. I also have a second batch Blonde Paladin and it is one of my favorite brushes hands down.

Bloombido!

Chris, I'm almost embarrassed to admit, but after seeing your bloom pics I changed my order from Finest to Blonde. It just looks sooo good.

Michael-- I have an L7 in Finest on order and I just changed the rod from Tortoise to Lapis. Mostly because I don't have a blue brush and I've yet to see an L7 in Lapis. Looking at your pictures, I'm feeling optimistic!

Cheers,

Alex

It's really beautiful in person, and the appearance changes in different lighting-the gold flecks in the resin especially.

That is stunning! Looking forward to some bloom pics and your thoughts on performance. I used mine again yesterday. The knot is slightly less dense than other two bands I've acquired recently, as well as my other M&F knots. But the performance and feel is outstanding. There is a mild scrub sensation that feels quite nice and the lather production and release is great. I noticed that the tips looked more hooked and chaotic after the final rinse and towel dry. I expect the knot to break in more.

Enjoy your new beauty.

Thanks, Chris.

Here's the bloom this morning after I had shampooed and lathered it last night:


Here's the first pickup of lather from the first loading of the brush (I used SV Stella Alpina). Loaded very well.



Here's the knot after the shave and rinsing.



And finally,the brush next to some of the other larger brushes I have for comparison: From left to right SV Paragon, SV 2.0, MF Alibaba, Simpson Chubby 3 in Super, and a Kent BK-12.



I found, as you did, the performance to be outstanding. My preference, as I primarily face lather, is for a soft feel yet with a good amount of backbone, and this was right in the sweet spot. Only the tiniest amount of scritch in the very center of the brush. Overall, a 'wall of badger' sensation. Held the water well, released the lather nicely, and after 4 passes and touchup, there was enough in the brush to do another 3 passes, easily. This is my first 'Alibaba', Persian Jar style handle, and it's a very different sensation. I deliberately wanted something different in the handle shape-it feels very solid. I thought it might be unwieldy but it wasn't at all. I'm very impressed.