The Green Ray | 24mm Hybrid Tribble Synthetic Brush | Retro Shave Tech!
"KABLAM!" The much anticipated Green Ray is Finally Here Folks!
Thank you all for your patience with this one, but know, I had to get this brush right before its release! This sure is one special piece of shave tech and a fitting baby brother to its predecessor, The Atomic Rocket!
Love that brush! I never thought I'd find anything that beats the Hi Brush knot (by Omega) but this takes the cake! ~ Jeff Lundstrom, Customer
The Green Ray, just like the Atomic Rocket, is also based on a rare, classic Ever-Ready brush from waaaaaaay back in the day (see image below). I tried to stay even truer to this one too. I wanted the same feel as the original but an acknowledgment or tip of the hat to the retro aspect.
Find the ENTIRE Phoenix Shaving Brush Collection Here!
That said, rather than do the resin handle in green and ivory like the original was, I opted to give the ivory part a patina type finish. This is actually the same state the color now is on the original in my collection. It really, REALLY adds to the weight of history you automatically feel when holding this bad boy!
As for the Hybrid Tribble Synth Knot, I put an equal amount of time into it, if not more! In researching this brush I knew I wanted a high quality synthetic knot that would deliver but you would not need to baby. I mean, The Green Ray is a looker, you are gonna want to take this with you everywhere and by using a durable synthetic knot you are able to do this worry free...but once again, I am getting ahead of myself!
It's pretty safe to say that Synth knots have really come a long way and have really made some strides in their overall feel and performance in the past few years. There are so many great options now available. Truly it is a shave new world in that respect. But I wanted The BEST and knew I would have to dig...so I bought one of all the market had to offer and took many a poll in the forums. [Some of you may have seen these polls and even participated. If so thanks, your feedback was excellent!]
I mounted each of these different synth knots in ferrules for my Switchback 400 and hung with each one for a few days. Whenever anyone visited the shop I'd whip out the knots and ask for their opinion as well.
Test knots consisted of bulbs and fans. Eventually I stumbled upon two of the Tribble Synth specimens, one Fan & one Bulb. It was a tough call, so much so I reached out to the manufacturer and asked that they create a hybrid of the two for me to test.
BOOM, best of both worlds! The new hybrid rated higher than all the other knots by a huge margin. In short, it checked all the boxes: Super Soft tips, just the right amount of backbone, a fanning splay yet retained some punchiness, reminiscent of a horse hair knot but didn't tangle, great face latherer and great in a bowl or scuttle.
A really classy, bitch'n piece of shave tech for sure!
Approx. Specs:
Complete Length: 4.25"
Width at Widest point: 1.75" (44.45 mm)
Weight: 2.72 oz (77 grams)
Knot: 24mm
Loft Ht: 2.25"
BPA-free, phthalate-free, PVC-free and lead-free