Favorite Knot Size?

[Marco]

For badgers my favourite knot size is 22/24 mm, while for synthetics it's 24/26 mm.

 

[BigJ]

22-24 mm (more or less) is my sweet spot!!

 

[albsat]

Boar brushes = 24-28mm
Synthetic /badger brushes = 26 mm

 

[RenoRichard]

Badgers- 21-24 mm; I face lather mostly
Boars- 25-27; the Omega Jade is my favorite and I think that's 27
Synthetics- not yet a fan

 

[Rudy Vey]

So, I finally broke down and measured my brushes in the rotation I have right now.
These are 17 brushes with a size from 20 mm (Sambar stag antler with Shavemac D01 two-band flattop) to 31 mm (Black Eagle Christmas brush). The average size is 24.8 mm.
Shapes are b=bulb, f=fan, ft=flattop

diameter loft shape RV Lotus hand tied 29 53 b RV CH lime 27 50 b RV Alpolina 25 48 f Shavemac Tribute 26 50 b Tulip 3 Manchurian 24 51 f RV GB two-tone 26 46 f Varlet 25 49 f RV Oumo 26 51 b OKU 26 50 f RV Small Commodore 2bst 23 47 f RV real Ivory BH D01-3 20 46 f B&B LE 2012 D01-2 23 48 f Favorite 28 52 b Black Eagle 31 52 b RV maple Duke 2bst 22 47 b RV Sambar flattop 20 41 ft M6 Manchurian 21 46 f

[Noodles]

21-24 mm for badgers. 24 mm for synthetic.

 

[ackvil]

26 -28 mm. Here is one I like.

 

[Peterv1]

+1 for 24mm

 

[MaineYooper]

I have 24mm up to 30mm. I find for daily use I tend to be 26mm to 28mm.
All synthetics, and I face lather.

 

[Owen Bawn]

22-24mm for me. I have a few 26mm Paladins and a 26mm fan of yours, Brad, but I reach for the smaller brushes most often. Was saddened to learn that not only do you not offer smaller knots but that you will no longer be offering 26mm fans.

So long as the smaller, more reasonably priced luxury brush makers like Paladin and Brad Sears don't offer smaller 2 band knots, Simpsons can continue to charge over $300 for an Eagle 3 or a Duke 3 in SiLVERTiP or Manchurian. Our recent Beagle group buy illustrated that there is clearly still a market for reasonably priced smaller 2 band brushes- despite only giving less than one day's notice to the board that the group buy was coming we sold 41 brushes in 36 hours and closed the group buy at 47 after 6 days. That should get your attention, Brad.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

22-24mm for me. I have a few 26mm Paladins and a 26mm fan of yours, Brad, but I reach for the smaller brushes most often. Was saddened to learn that not only do you not offer smaller knots but that you will no longer be offering 26mm fans.

So long as the smaller, more reasonably priced luxury brush makers like Paladin and Brad Sears don't offer smaller 2 band knots, Simpsons can continue to charge over $300 for an Eagle 3 or a Duke 3 in SiLVERTiP or Manchurian. Our recent Beagle group buy illustrated that there is clearly still a market for reasonably priced smaller 2 band brushes- despite only giving less than one day's notice to the board that the group buy was coming we sold 43 brushes in 36 hours and closed the group buy at 51 after 6 days. That should get your attention, Brad.

I could not agree more. I assumed the reason was that the majority of the profit was in the knot and not in the handle. The bigger the knot, the bigger the profit. A top post Owen

 

[Bad Badger]

If I had to pick one, 26mm

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

It's been a while since I've seen this question come up for discussion. So, I thought it might be worth raising again. FWIW, I started out with a 24 mm brush, but soon fell to the siren song of a 30 mm. A few years later, I switched to 28's, which has been my preferred size for past seven or eight. Recently however, I added a 25 mm to my rotation. And while I still enjoy my 28's, the 25 seems to work just as well while using less soap. (Not that I'm cheap or anything. )

Your thoughts?

I'm pretty much with you.

A 24 mm might be okay. In the Semogue SOC Mistura it is certainly more than okay, but I'd still prefer it to be larger.

I really prefer 28 mm, 30 mm, 26 mm, and occasionally 25 mm.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Ky K]

Since I’m a head shaver too I’ve come to like the 28 most. I have brushes from a NOS 16mm Ever-Ready 500 PBT to 30mm Brad Sears with a Lee bulb Knot.
My 25mm as pointed out is a really functional brush IMO.
BUT 28 is what I grab the most often.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Balthier]

I haven't tried larger than 24mm for badger but it's a good size I am not sure I would like 26mm since they splay easily. 26mm for synthetic is a nice size and 27-28mm for boar.

 

[SterFry]

Using knot diameter alone as the only data point simply doesn't work.

Knot diameter alone is just one factor in how much surface area a brush takes up on your face. Loft, trim (bulb/fan/flat), density, bloom and other factors all contribute. I have a 24mm Zenith B17 boar that feels like my second smallest brush despite being tied for second largest on terms of knot diameter.

All of my 22mm and 21mm brushes feel larger in that they contact more of my face at any given time, than my 24mm Zenith.

My 22mm especially Vulfix literally feels twice as big.

 

[old_school]

Using knot diameter alone as the only data point simply doesn't work....

Good point, it's true and a lot of posts recognize that. Many folks you'll notice specified boar/badger/plastic, fan/bulb, face or bowl, etc... RV, another fine brush maker, got just as curious as Brad and measured his rotation for the man. What a great crowd of folks.

 

[karacha]

I have a Parker silvertip that's around 22mm, but the bloom is so big that it seems very, very big, and it feels big on the face too.

But on average, I'd say anything from 22-24mm is great. I have a tiny 18mm Shavemac knot in a vintage Avon handle that is also great and it's fun to use. Always makes good lather.

 

[Whilliam]

24, 25 and 26--all synths. Anything larger seems a bit much.

 

[tyoung]

30mm (synthetic) is my favorite, but also still use 26 and 28 a lot. I am also a head shaver, and I do like the larger knots for that, but use them on the face as well.