Thread: Morris & Forndran

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

Congratulations bill.

Lee may be an elusive so and so but he sure makes a beautiful brush.

Brad Sears is currently the connection for M&F brushes. He makes the handles and sends them to Lee for knots, at least mine was done that way.

https://www.bradsearsshaveworks.com/...bowl-lathering

Originally Posted by mainaman

Brad Sears is currently the connection for M&F brushes. He makes the handles and sends them to Lee for knots, at least mine was done that way.

https://www.bradsearsshaveworks.com/...bowl-lathering

Yes, that seems to be the collaboration at the present time for those of us in the US. I don't know if it holds for the U.K..

I waited a long time for this one ...

A Morris & Forndran Alibaba .. 22 x 50mm in Finest. The acrylic is faux Antique Ivory .. Very traditional and beautiful.

New, and after one break in lathering ..

Very nice Druid, how tall is the brush overall? They can be deceptive in the pics haha....

Originally Posted by Phrank

Very nice Druid, how tall is the brush overall? They can be deceptive in the pics haha....

Hi Andrew,

Overall the measurement is 98mm, and upon closer inspection, the loft comes out to 49mm.

Is there a lot of difference between the Palatin and M & F?

Originally Posted by jkatzman

Is there a lot of difference between the Palatin and M & F?

There are two types of Paladin brushes if I'm not mistaken....one's that have a handle with, "Paladin" on it and a Chinese knot.

And the other, the Paladin with a superb Morris & Forndran knot, hand-made by Lee himself....huge difference.

Personally, if you want to pay top dollar for a handle with a name and a Chinese knot, lot's of great choices to be had other than Paladin...you want one with a Lee Sabini knot in it...you either have to find an actual M&F brush, or get a Paladin handle with the M&F knot in it, or there's a link above in the thread to Brad Sears, who has many M&F brushes at reasonable prices.

At least that's the way I understand it, don't know if things have changed however.

Originally Posted by Phrank

There are two types of Paladin brushes if I'm not mistaken....one's that have a handle with, "Paladin" on it and a Chinese knot.

And the other, the Paladin with a superb Morris & Forndran knot, hand-made by Lee himself....huge difference.

Personally, if you want to pay top dollar for a handle with a name and a Chinese knot, lot's of great choices to be had...you want one with a Lee Sabini knot in it...you either have to find an actual M&F brush, or get a Paladin handle with the M&F knot in it.

At least that's the way I understand it, don't know if things have changed however.

I believe this is accurate description. According to the guys that make Paladin brushes the Chinese knots are made to their specifications. I have not done any research to find out how the quality compares to a Lee Sabini knot.

Things haven't changed with the M&F brushes. He has some in stock ready to go and you can custom order. All the prices are steep.

Originally Posted by jkatzman

Is there a lot of difference between the Palatin and M & F?

I have had multiple Paladins, both with M&F Lee Sabini and Paladin Select (Chinese) knots. They are very difficult to compare as the Lee Sabini knots were very different from each other.

I had two "Blonde Badger" Lee Sabini knots. One had really hooked tip with extremely soft gel tips. The other was much scrubbier. No where near as soft and no hooked tips. Both were a pleasure to use.

Of the current offerings, I have only tried the Select "L" knots. I have tried a 28mm Falstaff and a 26mm Chief. Of all of the mentioned brushes I only have the Chief with the Select knot. These "Select" knots were nearly identical to each other. Neither Select knot developed hooked gel tips, but the tips were soft. Softer than the Ivory "scrubby" M&F knot.

I have tried numerous other brushes as well. In my humble opinion the current Select knot is of high quality. Very similar to a Shavemac 2 band. None of the mentioned brushes shed a single hair from the very start.

It is my understating that most badger hair comes from China regardless of who makes/ties the knots. While there is some correlation between quality and price, I have seen some great knots at very affordable prices. The Ever Ready 350 (blk/clear) was restored using a TGN Finest knot. The knot is fantastic!! Dense with very soft hooked gel tips. However, you can tell the difference. This TGN knot is not as perfect as any of the other Paladin/M&F knots mentioned. The TGN knot has some hairs "out of place". It is not as perfectly shaped as the other knots.

Here is a picture of the two Lee Sabini knots I mentioned. The Ivory brush having scrubby tips, the Butterscotch marble brush having the super soft hooked gel tips.

To sum it up, I do not feel I purchased an inferior product when I purchased a Paladin not that did not have a Lee Sabini (M&F) knot. After all, I ended up selling those as I preferred the Select knot currently offered. Just my thoughts, everyone has different tastes.