I decided to buy this small brush knot exclusively for travelling as synthetic fiber is IMHO better suited for this purposes. I own number of excellent shaving brushes, including boar, horse, finest and silvertip badger. As this was my first synthetics, I was rather skeptical at first and I had no idea what to expect performance-wise. After fitting the knot to a separately bought travelling handle (using epoxy glue), the resulting compact combo looked simply great. For my first testing shave, I have used a Speick shaving stick which is my primary travelling soap. Instant explosions of creamy and very thick lather on my face have convinced me that my I was completely wrong thinking the knot might probably be too tiny. The fibers are extremely fine and pleasant to touch (but maybe not retaining as much water as natural materials) while building excellent quality lather very quickly. The shaving experience was so amazing that I now will be using this travelling brush at home within my regular brush rotation. I highly recommend this brush knot to everyone who either plans to build his own compact but effective shaving brush or simply wants to try something different. The service provided by Maggards was brilliant as always and I so appreciate the cost-effective international shipping charges. Thank you!