This Omega brush, the 21762, is very soft, and the secret of using it is to accept that and enjoy it. It actually does quite a good job. I let it soak while I showered, then rewet it under the hot-water tap to warm it up, shook it well, and loaded it (easily) on the Dr. Selbly 3X Concentrated Shaving Cream, which for all practical purposes is simply a (very good) soap.
The lather was excellent and the brush has a very nice feel against the skin. I did three passes with this iKon stainless slant, now sold with a B1 coating, and got an extremely smooth result — plus two small nicks on the chin. With this razor, it’s important that the handle be held away from the face, and I think I erred by letting the handle drift too close to my face.Since I have My Nik Is Sealed, it’s not really a problem — very small nicks, and definitely user error (since I generally get trouble-free shaves from the razor).
A splash of Vitos Lavender finished the shave — nice fragrance, and I’m sitting here enjoying the post-shave feel of my face.
A reader, GP, sent a photo of his line-up, primarily to show the size of the Phoenix Artisan Peregrino compared to their Solar Flare (white knot) and Green Ray (brown knot) and to the Omega 21762. It does look enormous. It’s just a 24mm knot, the same size as the Solar Flare and the Green Ray (and the Starcraft, not shown — the big boy is the Atomic Rocket: 26mm). You can see the Phoenix brushes here.
I’m pleased to see the iKon 102 in the photo — great razor.
