Brad Sears / Morris & Forndran 2XL Finest vs. Blonde

I have a 2XL in a finest bulb and a 2XL in a blonde fan. See the photos above.

The finest has moderate back bone and density. The tips a very white and very soft. It feels like a pillow on your face. Of the knots I have used it is most similar to a Thater.

The blonde is more of what I would consider a traditional 2-band knot. The tips are more yellow but very soft. I have only lathered it a few times and the tips are beginning to curl. It is more dense than the finest and has more "presence" on the face. Of the knots I have tried it is most similar to my Shavemac silvertip 2-band.

Which do I prefer? It's a toss up. Depends on the day. They are both luxurious and I am happy to have one of each.

Great pair!!!

German thanks!

Nice set!

Absolute gorgeous brushes, congratulations!

Your brushes look great. I have tried a good handful of M&Fs and I enjoyed each of them. There were a couple that I LOVED! Keep us updated as they break in and get used. I quite like the color combo on the resins so nice score! Enjoy them.  

Not to derail the thread, please understand I am not trying to stir up the board. But does Lee even need to bother anymore with labeling these?

I know many on this forum have had experience with trying many M&F brushes. Some will tell you the labeling is sometimes right, and other times it is simply not.

I'm not making an uproar and saying Lee is misleading people. There are things that I liked about both of his Finest grade and Blonde grade. But with your two brushes, I would've guessed that the black and disco handle was Finest grade and the faux ivory handle would be the Blonde grade.

My guess is that Finest is the higher quality picked hair of his batches and is very likely untreated. So it may be a bitch scratchy or scrubby at first but can actually settle down into a very soft, luxury feeling, natural tipped knot.

The other thoughts I had regarding Blonde are that is 2nd choice hair, but to be clear I am not saying it is bad by any means. From what I remember, although I have never bought any M&F from Lee, is that Finest knots are price more expensively than Blonde knots of two equal models. The Blonde knots that I have tried for the most part are brighter and whiter at the tips and have been more likely to gel tip.

Anyone ever see people that are tuner heads (people who improve and modify performance on Asian vehicles and such) that drive an Acura car and then take of the Acura emblem and throw on the Honda emblem? Not the same but it is kind of funny.



One more thought, look at this thread and see two brushes, one labeled Finest and one labeled Blonde, yet the knots look almost identical.

https://damnfineshave.com/thread-brad-se...ey-and-2xl

At the end of the day, they are simply both brushes with badger hair in them with some ink on the side. The Finest resin handle and Blonde resin handle feel the same on my face.

I just received my Brad Sears/M&F 2XL Blonde. Your Finest looks like my Blonde.

GoHabs photos please!

GoHabs photos please!

Here you go:

OP, thanks for the comparison. I like the Blonde 2XL I recently received so much I was tempted to pick one up in Finest mostly to compare. My blonde is similar to yours, less plush, more firm than my ultra soft Shavemac Silvertip 2-bands, but softer and gentler than my Shavemac D01 3-band.

Concerning the second topic in this thread, having never tried any of Lee's knots before, I chose in the only sensible way: I like the "Blonde Badger" label better than the Finest font.