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A Quick TGN Knot Comparison

The final chapter..the missing link.....: :biggrin1:

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The very dark Butterscotch Kent on the far right has the 20mm Silvertip Grade A ( pretend the Vintage Vulfix Hyde Park with original Boar and Omega 21047 with mixed bristle ( 3 and 4 ) don't exist in the photo since this is a restore thread :tongue_sm )

Because I didn't want to do too much to this very vintage handle, the knot was put about 2-3 mm higher ( 48-49mm ) than I normally would and you can see the difference in bloom compared to my other restores set at around 43-45 mm. If I O-ring it to the same loft , the bloom looks pretty much the same as the other knots.

So , the Silvertip Grade A is another nice knot. The bristles themselves are definitley not as stiff as say the finest. Softer and floppier when fullly loaded with water.

Face lathered with it this morning and even at the higher loft not a problem in the world. Bigger bloom ( because of higher loft ) than I'm used to but still enough backbone for me.

So in conclusion IMHO, if you gave me a blind test with the same handle with the Finest, Super and Silvertip Grade A set at the same loft I think I'd be pretty hard pressed to be able tell them apart. They each have some minor and subtle differences in terms of bristle and tip quality but again not enough for me to really tell.

If you want a floppier knot go the Silvertip grade A
If you want a not so floppy but firmer go the Super
If you want a firmer go the Finest.
If you want a scritchier brush the Silvertip is the way to go.

Again stressing...to me the difference is minor ( except in the case of the noticeably scritchier Silvertip ) . I really love all the top three and they do their job of feeling nice and putting lather on me face.

I'm still finding it hard to work out where the UK Super fits in , again with the premium I'd only be using were you really want a x cm knot in a x cm knot hole. It may soften up with usage but it's stiffer and scritchier than the others "out of the box" though definitely not as scritchy as the Silvertip.

Any of these make an excellent restore.

Maybe one day I'll be able to amend this with a comparison with a high end manufacturers brush but since one top ender would probably cost me as much as half my current stable...don't hold your breath.

Hope this helps !!! :biggrin1:

( Oh and standard disclaimer YMMV :tongue_sm)
 
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Thanks for this, Ian, and for the other "reviews" also.
This informative series enabled me to build my perfect brush, a 22mm finest set at a high (57mm) loft.
Absolute heaven, thank you very much.:thumbup1:
 
Ian, thank you - very nicely done.

I'm having great fun with restorations - how high one sets the loft makes such a difference! In my first butterscotch restoration I set the most expensive TGN knot (hand-tied English) too damned high - and I have an unfortunately floppy brush as a result. But I've learned....

I enjoy using my restorations and the old brushes with original hair fully as much as I enjoy my high-end new brushes... it's all good, isn't it?
 
Thanks for taking the time to review all of the knots in such detail! I'm sitting on 12 or so brushes that I plan on restoring, but I didn't know what type of know I was going to put in them. This was a big help!
 
Thanks very much for the time and effort spent on this post. I'm considering my first restore, and every time I read something like this, I get excited again.
Great pics, great report, great post.
Thanks again,
Scott
(SjhC)
 
Quick Addendum here:

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YMMV !!! :lol:

( There's also a copy of the quick ref chart above ( pricing is still current ) and this ranking next to each other in my wiki page ( see sig ) )

Hope this helps :001_smile
 
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Here's my impression after about 20 TGN knots.

Softness: (Worst to best)

Black / UK Black / (Speculate Pure) / Finest / Best / (Speculate Super) / UK Super / Silvertip / Grade A / Short Loft Silvertip / UK Silvertip / Synthetic Badger


Individual hair spine (backbone without density... usually also causes prickliness): (Most to least)

UK Black / Black / (Speculate Pure) / Best / Finest / Short loft Silvertip / Grade A / (Speculate Super) / UK Super / Uk Silvertip / Synth Badger (No backbone for first 1/4 of hairs, then lots)

Density: (Most to least)

UK Super / Short loft Silvertip / Xtra stuffed Finest / Synth badger / Grade A / Finest / (Speculate Super) / UK Super / Black / Best / (Speculate Pure) / UK Black


Overall I'd say UK Silvertip is a very nice knot for the money. Short loft silvertip is pretty close to the quality for a LOT less money. Grade A's are the way to go if you don't want such a dense brush. If you want a little more spine and will take a good bit less softness to get it then both the finest and best are great options. The blacks are good quality black badgers. You know blacks, lots of backbone and prickle. If that's what you want, that's what they do. I still haven't tried the Pure or China Super.
 
Here's my impression after about 20 TGN knots.

Softness: (Worst to best)

Black / UK Black / (Speculate Pure) / Finest / Best / (Speculate Super) / UK Super / Silvertip / Grade A / Short Loft Silvertip / UK Silvertip / Synthetic Badger


Individual hair spine (backbone without density... usually also causes prickliness): (Most to least)

UK Black / Black / (Speculate Pure) / Best / Finest / Short loft Silvertip / Grade A / (Speculate Super) / UK Super / Uk Silvertip / Synth Badger (No backbone for first 1/4 of hairs, then lots)

Density: (Most to least)

UK Super / Short loft Silvertip / Xtra stuffed Finest / Synth badger / Grade A / Finest / (Speculate Super) / UK Super / Black / Best / (Speculate Pure) / UK Black


Overall I'd say UK Silvertip is a very nice knot for the money. Short loft silvertip is pretty close to the quality for a LOT less money. Grade A's are the way to go if you don't want such a dense brush. If you want a little more spine and will take a good bit less softness to get it then both the finest and best are great options. The blacks are good quality black badgers. You know blacks, lots of backbone and prickle. If that's what you want, that's what they do. I still haven't tried the Pure or China Super.


In terms of the blacks, which do you think is better. The UK or china one? Or are they fairly comparable.
 
Here's my impression after about 20 TGN knots.

Thanks Ian, it's always nice to have a second opinion as in this case YMMV for quite a number of reasons ( loft, personal preference, individual knot etc. )
And I've only concentrated on a smaller selection of knots than yourself !
:thumbup
 
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In terms of the blacks, which do you think is better. The UK or china one? Or are they fairly comparable.

I prefer the UK black, but they are very different. The China black has a lot more hair and blooms up pretty big. The UK black is MUCH looser packed, doesn't really bloom at all and relies on the spine of the black hairs to work. I find it a little less prickly than the China (which is really impressive, because the thicker packing of the china should make prickliness less obvious), and it has enough hair to still lather great. I also think it looks a lot better. But really the main choice between them is size. The China black looks like an ~24mm bulb after it blooms. The UK black looks like an ~16mm fan.


Yeah, Ian, Loft is a big player with these knots, especially the softer ones. The UK Supers are floppy as hell with a big loft (because they start at something crazy like 70mm) but when you set them down they become a lot firmer, and you actually start to notice a little bit of prickle. So at two different lofts they are VERY different knots.
 
Yeah, Ian, Loft is a big player with these knots, especially the softer ones. The UK Supers are floppy as hell with a big loft (because they start at something crazy like 70mm) but when you set them down they become a lot firmer, and you actually start to notice a little bit of prickle. So at two different lofts they are VERY different knots.

Wonder if that's why I'm not impressed with my UK Super. It's a 20mm set at 45mm. When shaving I find it prickly. Weirdly when it's drying on the stand it feels really soft when it's still wet........... :001_huh:
 
Frankly the UK super is kind of a miss for me (for TGN where every knot is a winner). I find the new short loft Silvertip better (and cheaper), and the UK silvertip is also better (with similar loft options as the Supers, unlike the short Silvertip) for not too much more money. I think I paid $33 for my 23mm UK Super and $46 for the 24mm UK Silvertip. The Silvertip has softer tips and is denser... both of which are improvements in my opinion on a knot of this quality.

I'd take the Grade A or Short loft Silvertip again before I'd spring for the UK Super, unless I was overly concerned with looks, as the UK knots do have the look of higher quality hair than the others (Lighter tips, more defined band). And if I could fit a 24mm Silvertip in the brush, I'd definitely get the UK Silvertip over the UK Super. I just hope they expand the "short loft Silvertip" to include smaller knot diameters soon, as that knot is a real steal.
 
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I prefer the UK black, but they are very different. The China black has a lot more hair and blooms up pretty big. The UK black is MUCH looser packed, doesn't really bloom at all and relies on the spine of the black hairs to work. I find it a little less prickly than the China (which is really impressive, because the thicker packing of the china should make prickliness less obvious), and it has enough hair to still lather great. I also think it looks a lot better. But really the main choice between them is size. The China black looks like an ~24mm bulb after it blooms. The UK black looks like an ~16mm fan.


Yeah, Ian, Loft is a big player with these knots, especially the softer ones. The UK Supers are floppy as hell with a big loft (because they start at something crazy like 70mm) but when you set them down they become a lot firmer, and you actually start to notice a little bit of prickle. So at two different lofts they are VERY different knots.


I was kind of leaning towards the UK Black for one of my restores, but now you have solidly convinced me that is the way to go. I have an EJ Black Badger that I really like and want to do a restore with one of the TGN knots to compare. Sounds like the UK is the way to go.
 
New addition....

TGN Best 16mm. Note that the holder is around 15mm and then grows from there.

Here it is against Super, Finest , Silvertip A, first two @ 45mm, Silvertip @ 48mm but note that the Best is a 16mm knot while the rest are 20mm.

The knot isn't anywhere as dense as the Finest Extra , in fact it's the least dense knot of the lot but to me is still very scrubbie and scritchie

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