I will describe but I will also say where I am coming from, simply because everyone has different preferences which usually leads to different expectations.
In general my main workhorses are Mühle STF 21mm knots.
Their density, flow-through and water retention characteristics are what I look for when I purchase these Chinese (or other) brushes.
DSCosmetic had a couple of nice brushes years back, but he seems to be following the (not proper in my view) trend for short-lofted and relatively very dense brushes.
A trend wrongly (again in my humble opinion) dictated and driven by wet shaving forum communities.
I did purchase a few of his brushes lately but they don't really suit me as much as I'd love to.
This time though, currently living and working in mainland China, I noticed this new model and attempted to contact him so as to try a higher loft custom version (just in case this saves the situation).
I was going to attempt a 56-58mm loft on this, however he initially said this would make the brush "too floppy".
I don't think so, and anyhow this depends on other parameters (don't forget that here we are talking about 26mm and 28mm dia. variants on this handle).
Long story short, we settled for 56mm loft.
He shipped Saturday, but I was in South Korea; I picked up the brush today.
Gave it a test lather and now it is resting to dry.
The knot is dense, and for my taste it could perhaps sit at 57mm height rather comfortably.
But as you can see, people have different perceptions.
Everything I do, I do it with obtaining a brush resembling and exhibiting the performance of a Mühle STF 21mm brush, in an enlarged scale.
How many people here like a brush like this? Very few.
This one has splay, but I'd like a touch even more.
I find the knot quite dense. We do not need it so dense, I feel.
Depends of course how are you loading, what are you loading, you get my drift.
The hair is CN6 but there are fellow members here who have researched about the fibre characteristics much more than me - I simply look at the result and do not read as much about the synthetic hairs any longer.
The handle is nice.
He mentions in the TaoBao listing that the white colour filling in the letters is done by hand, so every brush is different. That's OK.
Also, everything is relative - you buy something and you claim it has value. But everything depends on how much you paid for it.
I paid 20 quid for this, delivered. This is again OK, for me. For others perhaps it is not.
My view is that the Chinese are still learning.
They have yet to possess a truly comprehensive feel of how a shaving brush (and also a razor) should be set up and work.
I give it to them, though, that they listen to the client, they adapt, they work hard, they are inventive, and also they try and try again and again.
