So I've now got a small variety of Tony's TGN knots so thought I'd do a quick comparison that might help a few of the restorers ( and a quick way to show off my "stable" 
)
All 20mm set at approx 43-45mm loft ( guess what my favourite size knot and loft is )
Note: I am 100% face latherer and most of the time with shavesticks.
UK Super Fan ( Mammoth ) |Super Fan ( Simms ) |Finest Fan ( Fuller ) |Finest Bulb( Kent KS7) |Silvertip Bulb ( Everrready 200 )
Extra stuffed
The Super, Finest Bulb and Silvertip are all marked as extra stuffed.
Knot Size
With all the Chinese knots, the knot just above the yellow plastic holder is about 2-3mms wide than the holder. So an advertised 20mm knot has a bulge above it about 22-23mm. You need to allow for this when sizing up your knot. So for a 22mm knot hole you're probably best to go with a 20mm knot. The UK knot 20mm is 17mm on the bottom and gently tapers quickly to 20mm. This will fit into a 20mm hole.
I'd be using the UK brushes in a brush where you can't or don't want to have to change the knot hole size (width ) or don't want to go down a knot size .
Softness
Probably subjective a bit but my grading would be :
Super | Finest| UK Super | Silvertip.
The difference between the first 3 is minimal and I might well be imagining it. The Silvertip is scritchy. Not a bad thing but certainly worth noting.
Bloom/Density
The Finest fan appears to bloom slightly bigger than the other knots (because it's not extra stuffed ? Or maybe the knot hole is slightly bigger than the rest. I'm not good at methodical measurements etc? )
There is no issue at all with the density of any of these knots ( at least at this size and loft )
It's interesting to note that the UK super has the same density as the bigger extra stuffed knots even though it has nowhere near the amount of bloom. I think this is because you're putting a 20mm knot into a 20mm hole which tightens the bristled compared with putting a 20mm knot into a 22mm hole with extra hair. Pretty much equal I'd say.
Conclusion?
In my humble opinion, the Finest Knots are the best value for money in terms of softness, backbone etc.. The Super is slightly softer and maybe a bit less backbone than the Finest ( same price as the Grade A too ) The UK Super wasn't the "WOW" knot I hoped it would be ( famous UK manufacturer, hand tied etc ) and hopefully will soften up a bit, but at this stage ( and because of the price "premium" ) I'd only be using in situations where you can't/won't change your knot hole width and don't want to go down a size of knot ( e.g. 20mm hole to 18mm knot ) The Silvertip...too scritchy for me .
In the end the Super, Finest and UK Super all put a nice lather on the face and feel good and to me that's probably the important thing
Really shouldn't overanalyse this stuff but then again this post shows that I do
Glaring ommission here is the Silvertip Grade A. I've sworn off brush restores ( again ), so who knows maybe there'll be an addendum to this or maybe there won't ....
And of course the standard B&B disclaimer..... YMMV !!!!!
)All 20mm set at approx 43-45mm loft ( guess what my favourite size knot and loft is
) Note: I am 100% face latherer and most of the time with shavesticks.
UK Super Fan ( Mammoth ) |Super Fan ( Simms ) |Finest Fan ( Fuller ) |Finest Bulb( Kent KS7) |Silvertip Bulb ( Everrready 200 )
Extra stuffed
The Super, Finest Bulb and Silvertip are all marked as extra stuffed.
Knot Size
With all the Chinese knots, the knot just above the yellow plastic holder is about 2-3mms wide than the holder. So an advertised 20mm knot has a bulge above it about 22-23mm. You need to allow for this when sizing up your knot. So for a 22mm knot hole you're probably best to go with a 20mm knot. The UK knot 20mm is 17mm on the bottom and gently tapers quickly to 20mm. This will fit into a 20mm hole.
I'd be using the UK brushes in a brush where you can't or don't want to have to change the knot hole size (width ) or don't want to go down a knot size .
Softness
Probably subjective a bit but my grading would be :
Super | Finest| UK Super | Silvertip.
The difference between the first 3 is minimal and I might well be imagining it. The Silvertip is scritchy. Not a bad thing but certainly worth noting.
Bloom/Density
The Finest fan appears to bloom slightly bigger than the other knots (because it's not extra stuffed ? Or maybe the knot hole is slightly bigger than the rest. I'm not good at methodical measurements etc? )
There is no issue at all with the density of any of these knots ( at least at this size and loft )
It's interesting to note that the UK super has the same density as the bigger extra stuffed knots even though it has nowhere near the amount of bloom. I think this is because you're putting a 20mm knot into a 20mm hole which tightens the bristled compared with putting a 20mm knot into a 22mm hole with extra hair. Pretty much equal I'd say.
Conclusion?
In my humble opinion, the Finest Knots are the best value for money in terms of softness, backbone etc.. The Super is slightly softer and maybe a bit less backbone than the Finest ( same price as the Grade A too ) The UK Super wasn't the "WOW" knot I hoped it would be ( famous UK manufacturer, hand tied etc ) and hopefully will soften up a bit, but at this stage ( and because of the price "premium" ) I'd only be using in situations where you can't/won't change your knot hole width and don't want to go down a size of knot ( e.g. 20mm hole to 18mm knot ) The Silvertip...too scritchy for me .
In the end the Super, Finest and UK Super all put a nice lather on the face and feel good and to me that's probably the important thing
Really shouldn't overanalyse this stuff but then again this post shows that I do
Glaring ommission here is the Silvertip Grade A. I've sworn off brush restores ( again ), so who knows maybe there'll be an addendum to this or maybe there won't ....
And of course the standard B&B disclaimer..... YMMV !!!!!
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