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Favorite Knot Size

Favorite knot diameter +/- 1 mm

  • 22 mm or less

  • 24 mm

  • 26 mm

  • 28 mm

  • 30 mm or greater


Results are only viewable after voting.
I love my 30mm that I got from Whipped Dog, it's synthetic and it feels like lathering with a big fluffy cloud. I also have a 24mm synthetic that is great with hard soaps.
My first brushes were small around 22-24mm boar and they were ok too ... i guess it's more the knot density loft and material than the knot size.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
It is interesting but perhaps not surprising, that smaller knots are, currently, the most popular in the poll. For some reason, probably to do with profit margins, and knot availability / not tying their own knots, many of the so called high end artisan brush makers seem to offer nothing but high density, behemoth brushes, often with over processed tips; thereby excluding a large part of their target market. Thankfully, Simpson, Semogue, and others offer a range of quality smaller knots.
 
I picked 24 because that is what I am using most lately.

Badgers: 11 are 24 or under mostly fan/hybrid, 7 are 26 or larger and bulbs
Boar: 3 are 24 or under and 3 are 27
Horse: 1 @ 24
Synth: 1 @ 25

I am not a head shaver.
 
I pretty much have every size from a Wee Scot (14 mm) to a Frank Shaving 38 mm and I like them all. Each one is a favorite depending on the soap and the size of the mug. Most of the time I use 22 mm to 26 mm brushes, but my absolute favorite is a 30 mm Silvertip that I use with a very large mug.
 
I'm really surprised by the love for smaller brushes. For me, 28 mm is a sweet spot. I might have to dust off my smaller brushes to see what all the fuss is about.
 
My largest is a 28mm Razorock Monster that I sometimes use for head shaves. My sweet spot is 24-26mm for my face. Anything larger, especially synthetic is too sloppy, and unnecessary.
 
24 mm knot diameter seems to be the size more or less of the brushes I use the most. I have a few 22 mm brushes too that I cherish.
I exclusively face lather, and I usually enjoy reloading the brush, on the puck or in the face, between passes.
 

IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush
This is difficult. My favorite brushes range from 22 to 28. The shape and the loft play a big role as well. My favorite brushes in my collection are Chubby 1s and 2s, and a Morris & Forndran Stubby 2XL. I have a type for sure, though I don’t know that it’s based much on the knot diameter. I voted 22mm because I think I prefer the Chubby 1 right now, but tomorrow I might prefer the 2 again, and back and forth it goes.
 
All 26mm now, two synthetic and one boar. Started with a 22mm synthetic that was just OK. The larger knots make lathering much easier.

@Cino , suspect if you sorted the poll by knot type the synthetics and possibly the boar brushes would skew to larger knot sizes versus badger.
 
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