This is a considerably bigger knot that I would like in badger or horsehair or synthetic (or goat, for that matter): 28mm. I generally prefer 20-22mm, though some some synthetics 24mm is okay, but 26mm seems huge. I think the 28mm knot diameter works because of the extreme loft of this knot: 70mm (vs., say, 50mm on a regular brush). It also helps that the bristles used are of very good quality — and that the brush is by now well broken in.
As usual, I let the brush soak by sitting sopping wet while I showered, and then I reheated the brush by wetting it well under the hot-water tap, shook it hard over the sink 5 or 6 times, and started loading with Mystic Water Oatmeal Stout. The brush indeed start picking up some soap, but only at the very tips of the bristles.
I moved the tip of the brush through a dribbling steam of hot water and resumed loading. The soap visible in the brush moved up a bit in the knot. I repeated, and the soap moved up in the knot some more. With this knot you can clearly see the progress of the loading. I did one more iteration, then moved the brush to my face and brushed lather over all the stubble.
I added a good dollop of water to the brush, and worked up the lather, which increased in volume while maintaining an excellent consistency — and fragrance. (I do like the Oatmeal Stout fragrance.)
The razor today is the iKon Shavecraft X3, the handle the RazoRock Barber Pole. Three passes over a two-day stubble left my fact perfectly smooth with no damage.
A splash of Southern Witchcraft’s Valley of Ashes — whose fragrance reminds me strong of Chiseled Face’s Midnight Stag — and the shave is done and the day begun.