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Oumo ST-3 Test Brush 002
First impression:
What strikes me most about the ST-3 hairs is the color difference compared to the ST-1 and ST-2. The ST-3 has more beige shades that are similar to the synthetic 2-band knot and also go closer to a badger hair brush.
You can immediately recognize the shape by the bulb shape, which is also my preference. The knot looks compact but is a bit small when you compare it to the ST-1 and ST-2.
The hairs feel very soft just like the ST-2 but I immediately notice that the backbone of the ST-3 is higher and the hairs move almost to their original place. For me personally that was a big loss with the ST-2 so I am very curious how the ST-3 will feel while loading the soap and using it on the face.
The knot of the ST-3 test brush has a diameter of 25mm and the loft is 50mm. The ST-1 has a loft of 53mm and the ST-2 48mm. So the ST-3 is between the two and I immediately noticed that by going through the knot by hand and feeling the elasticity.
My choice for the first use for the brush goes to the hard shaving soap from Martin De Candre Original. These hard soaps are very easy to foam up and do not need a lot of water to get a nice foam. I proceeded as follows. Take the brush and wet it under the tap with hot water and go through the hairs well with your fingers in such a way that the water is well absorbed. Then shake the brush a few times until all the excess water is out of the brush. I saw that the knot is completely taped shut by the water, you can also see this with gel tips badger brushes. Then I loaded the brush into the pot of the shaving soap. I noticed that there was still a lot of water in the brush so I had to change tactics. I had planned to work on the face but because the brush can absorb water very well I decided to continue in a shaving bowl to see how it evolves further. I was bothered that the knot is quite small and that made me feel less familiar with the other brushes I have. I also noticed that I was going to hold the handle differently. Much higher and further away from the knot. In the end I got the result of a good foam. The brush performed well, took more than enough water and soap and gave it back well in the shaving bowl. While applying the foam to the face, the hair felt really soft. With paintbrush strokes, I applied the foam evenly to the face. It is clear that this brush involves a learning curve, with particular emphasis on water retention.
For the second test I use the same products as yesterday. My only change in approach is that I will wring out the brush by hand after wetting. This is to be able to load the soap better with a drier brush than yesterday. Martin De Candre's hard soap foams up very easily and smoothly. So I proceeded carefully, with circular movements the brush picked up the soap nicely. Instead of continuing in the bowl I now continue on the face. With paintbrush strokes I applied the soap. The hair feels very soft just like the ST-2. With my atomizer I applied some more water mist and continued to foam on the face. The ST-3 opens easily and has noticeably more backbone than the ST-2. In that respect, it is clear that Oumo took the knowledge of the ST-1 and ST-2 to realize the ST-3 and their goal is clear to combine these two. The result is immediately noticeable. There was enough foam in the brush for three rounds and that is a must for every shaver. At the end I was able to squeeze out a little extra myself.
Same as yesterday I loaded the brush on the soap. This time it is a Stirling soap and it can take a sip of water so I don't expect any problems that I have to pay extra attention to the brush to squeeze out the water. The brush is loaded slowly although I have to admit that I sometimes doubt whether I have loaded it long enough but when I see that the knot is full of soap I continue to work on the face. Again the soft hairs that massage the contours of the face well and the soap foams up quickly. This time I could have made just enough foam for three courses. On the third course, the foam was on the thin side but just enough to finish the shave without any problems.
To give an impression of how well this knot holds the water, it takes more than 8 hours for it to be completely dry. I must honestly admit that I have never experienced this before. At the end of the test phase I will take a closer look at this and see how much water this brush effectively absorbs and how much time it takes with a hair dryer until it is completely dry.
For the fourth shave I take the shaving cream from Moon Soaps Tobacco Flower and a shaving bowl. The shaving cream has a thicker texture but can be easily foamed. The brush met all the criteria to transform the shaving cream into a beautifully full thick foam. Like the first test, I notice again that I was going to grab the handle higher again. Because the knot opens easily and is a bit smaller compared to the ST-1, it sinks deeper into the shaving bowl and I compensate for that by taking the handle higher. So for me this handle is not ideal. Although I have to say that the overall picture of the brush is correct. A thicker and shorter handle would not be nice. The matte finish of the handle reminds me of the Frosted series.
After shaving, I took the hair dryer and set it to the middle setting in terms of heat and to the highest setting for powerful blowing. I went very close to the knot and went back and forth with short movements and in 5 minutes the knot was dry.
What I haven't mentioned yet is that I've already lost 5 hairs out of the bun during the testing process. That is not usual for a synthetic brush. With badger hair you can have this more often. A few hairs are not dramatic but if it prevents every shave this is worrying.
For the fifth shave I resorted to a hard soap but this time from Saponificio Varesino. The brush was wet and squeezed out well again so as not to start with a brush that is too wet. The brush turned around in the jar for a few seconds until it was well filled and then continued on the face. The velvety hairs are a caress for the skin and the knot is easy to open. Thus, the foam can transform beautifully into a full thick foam with the occasional addition of a mist of water. Again enough foam for three courses. This time I can note that there is no hair loss.
Water retention test:
The ST-3 dry weighs 86 grams with handle. I dipped the brush completely in water until all the air bubbles were gone. Then held the brush down until all the water had dripped out. To then put it back on the scale. Total weight wet was 104 grams. This means that the knot could hold 18 grams of water.
To make a comparison I took my ST-1 brush with handle and applied the same method. The ST-1 knot could hold 10 grams of water. So the difference is remarkable, the ST-3 can hold almost twice as much water. During the past few days I had already noticed that there was a big difference in this and the drying time also took a very long time.
Conclusion after the general test phase that the ST-3 just like the ST-2 has very soft hairs that feel velvety soft on the skin. The knot opens easily but provides that little more backbone and elasticity compared to its predecessor. The ST-3 absorbs the water very well. For the hard soaps, you should be a little more careful than the soft soaps and shaving creams. Both on the face or in the shaving bowl you could work very well and with systematically adding water the brush gave the desired result. A small personal downside is the size of the knot, which could be bigger for me. If I compare with all my other 25-26mm buttons from the collection, this one is really the smallest. The drying time of the knot is significantly longer but you only shave once a day so the next day it is ready for use again.
I would like to express my gratitude once again to the entire Oumo team for making this possible!
