#1
(This post was last modified: 08-20-2018, 07:02 AM by zaclikestoshave.)
Hello Damn Fine Shave Forum Members,

Today I am listing a brush for sale. You are free to contact me for final purchase price including shipping and whether you would like insurance. I normally am shipping via USPS Priority which is price friendly and allows for good protection of the brush. I will be shipping the brush in a cardboard tube with plenty of bubble wrapping. I always ship items as quick as possibly and that's usually the same day of payment via Paypal. I then send over tracking link whenever I get a chance to message the buyer. I am selling the brush for $140 (again, we will discuss your options and whether I will cover shipping).

The brush was made in France by Plisson likely in the 70s or 80s. It is simply labeled "PUR BLAIREAU" or pure badger. I won't get into much discussion of what exact grade of hair is in this knot. If you have looked at or bought various Plissons of different time frames, there is a variety of hair they classify. I would be happy to describe what the knot has felt like to me. But if you are concerned for the type of hair being High Mountain White, Euro White or Euro Grey, etc, I cannot tell you much with certainty.

My hunch is that Plisson brushes had a quality around the craftsmanship in the knots before they standardized the difference in their knot hair qualities. I would guess there was a time when they were using different or higher quality in their brushes without changing labeling. You have seen this with some other European brush makers. I do my best in the listing to let your eyes do the judging on the hair for what it is and how it looks rather than putting focus on the classification of hair.

If you look online at a Plisson Size Chart, supposedly an average stat for a size 10 brush bears a diameter width of 20mm and loft of 53mm. Below is what I recorded using electronic calipers doing my best to try to measure with accuracy after the brush dries after full bloom.

Knot Diameter- 20.9mm
Loft Height- 53.5mm
Canopy Height- 28.6mm
Bloom Width- 53.2mm

This is the Plexi brush I was most excited to try and use when I first got the set of 4 vintage brushes (NOS) from a dealer in France. This handle is very clean and sharp. The metal cup which holds the knot is in very good fit related to the opening of the handle. In the past when I have bought and used Plexi Plissons, knots will absorb enough water to fill and swell the base so the cup would remain firm inside the handle. then after full drying you would get a slight space and rock between the cup and handle. On this specific model, the knot remains firmly in the metal cup and the fit of the cup is the most stable I have encountered. This brush was initially cleaned by using warm water (never above 110 F) and tested lathered 15 times using SV Flying Mango shave soap and then I have shaved with it between 5-10 times.

My notes on the knot are as follows. I like typically doing a 2 pass shave and with normal brushes I normally have another pass full of lather remaining in my brushes. This is a size brush smaller than my normal silver tips. But as with every brush made by Plisson that I have owned, the desire to try more comes from my belief that the individual hairs become formed into the more suitable shape for lathering efficiency. Plisson besides having a reputation for being too expensive or now having some inconsistent quality control and drastic change in quality of hair, I do believe that one thing that has remained the same is the idea to use a badger hair that is as genuine and pure as possible. The hair tips will not always have a taper and that is true with any and all brushes. That is because all bristle types are prone to bending and breaking.

As with this knot, you will see normal things in the pictures. Some hairs may looked flipped or the ends of some hair don't appear perfect. But for the positives that I think are worth noting. The hair has a beautiful color range to it. The tips to me have a bright but still naturally white look to them. The center of the knot shows the hair to have a noticeable darker second band in the hairs. The base of the knot is showing a difference to the middle band by being lighter and more brownish.

I would describe the feeling of the individual hairs (tips and total hair at length) to have the thinness of silver tip 3 band or HMW varieties that have the thinner shafted hairs. I mention this because it relates to how much water I think it holds. I believe this knot is going to be good to use in a variety of soaps. You could use the brush to load after giving it a flick and removing some of the water for a wet load or mug style lather on top of the puck. You could also vigorously shake out the water and see the brush at full bloom before loading on the drier side. It will grab and load up very easily since so many of the hair ends are pure.

The shape of the knot combined with the hairs as described above make for an easy load. I always used this brush with an SV soap and it picks up very quickly at the face of the knot. It has some bend at the tips but will have that wonderful feeling of plush or somewhat suction feel since it compacts to a point. The brush will be most exfoliating and be best used in a scrubbing motion by using light circles, pushing lightly into the face and leaning into the bend or give of the hairs. That would be around the canopy where you aren't using much of the inner area of the brush. For those who want a dynamic feeling brush, this has the ability to offer scrub on the face without scritch. This is also helped by the size of the brush being smaller than most current brushes. Have a pointed shape at the peak of the knot allows you to scrub your face with the lather in smaller areas at a time without having to much coverage or displacement of lather.

My favorite way to use this brush was to lighter circles at the beginning of the lathering process. The proto lather gets spread apart and thats when I usually like to scrub where I feel the need. The knot is still a bit foamy and not filled out or hydrated. As I get past that stage, I can then start painting the same proto lather to smooth out in texture and spread. After each dipping in water, the knot will get used will back and fourth painting strokes that get deeper and deeper into the knot. The knot is constructed in a way where the hair and the lather is the only thing you will feel above the brushes handle.

There is not glue protruding from the lower bottom of the knot. The thinness of the hairs, combined with the balanced packing of the hair, and the complete free loft allow for a very luxurious feeling on the skin when finishing your crema application. The lather deep in the knot will remain smooth and creamy so it is great for all types of software. The brush will continue to break in get even softer. To do my best for most people, I would describe the overall feel to be on the softer side. It will have some scrub to those very who have sensitive skin but again, it is all in how you use the knot. The painting motions will other a nice sweet spot for most as having a natural balance of luxury and presence to the hairs.

https://youtu.be/NEXC53em7SI
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Here is a picture that I took early March this year. Not long after I received these from France. This picture shows the condition of the brush after a bit of cleaning through just test lathers. I included a group shot with the other Plisson Plexi previously sold. This knot to my understanding has more peak or point in the center versus the other Plexi knot bears a softer curve at the face. That has some filled out bulb qualities in the shape but again, side by side, this bears a shape that reminds me of a Vie Long Silvertip and Shavemac D01 Silvertip knots I've used that have a triangulated shape.

Note-Brush on left in photo just below is what is being listed.

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Note-Brush on right in photo just below is only to be compared to for difference in knot shaping.

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Dry State
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Overhead Dry
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Wet Badger Hair
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Loading SV Flying Mango

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Bowl Lathering, Further Hydration and Pulling Out the Lather

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#2
(This post was last modified: 08-06-2018, 01:11 AM by zaclikestoshave.)
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Rebus Knebus likes this post
#3
dude you don't need that many pictures....

kctrem likes this post
#4
Lowered price and bump.
#5
Sold! Thank you to the buyer and DFS forum. Closed listing.


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