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Maggard SHD v Shavemac v TurnNShave v Paladin v Thater

Hello B&B friends,

I'm looking to buy a new brush. It has to be badger. I primarily bowl lather soaps and occasionally face lather. I like a dense knot but nothing in the wet-shaving hobby bothers me as much as holding a lather-hog in my hand. So a good balance between knot density and efficient splay is important for me. Longevity matters as well. I prefer to spend a bit more to have a brush that would last me at least a good few years. I have been using only a Simpson Duke 3 in best and an Art of Shaving pure badger.

My first choice would be Maggard SHD 24 or 26 mm given its very competitive cost and nominal shipping fees to Canada. I spent a good couple of days reading review on this forum on Maggard SHD. Reviews were mostly positive. Some complained it lacked backbone. It seems to be a great value for the money.

Now, here is my one million dollar question and I'm sure there might not be a right or wrong answer: how would Maggard SHD, overall, compare to Shavemac, TurnNShave, Paladin, or Thater? Would I be getting better longevity, splay, and performance by pay a bit more to get one of those?

If money is no issue, how would you rank Maggard SHD, Shavemac, TurnNShave, Paladin, Thater?

Thanks all for leaving a comment, I really need some guidance in choosing a brand.
 
Shavemac, Thater, and the Maggard brush are the only 2-band brushes I can comment on. The Maggard is, for my taste, too soft-tipped. It has the gelliest gel tips of any brush I've used. I don't dislike the feel, but it's not really my thing, but some guys love the gel tip feel

Thater and Shavemac are so similar as to be indistinguishable as far as backbone, feel, and flowthrough, assuming similar loft height. I would contend that they are the same. Both come close to my ideal for a badger, allowing for splay and ease of lathering while still having ample spine. Tips are soft but can still be felt and are not gel tips, at least not the way the Maggard tips are. The Shavemac 2-band fan I have at 24/50 is my favorite badger knot at present and could easily be my only brush.

To be clear, the Maggard knot is an unbelievable value. If you like gel tips, I wouldn't hesitate. Backbone is good, it lathers like there's no tomorrow, and it's a well-crafted knot. It is uniformly shaped. Mine has never shed a hair. It's inexpensive and worth twice what I paid for mine.
 
I have owned one Thater, a three band that was a floppy mess but still made good suds, I just sold it on a BST after 2 or 3 uses. I don't like floppy knots, I like springy backbone in a shaving brush.

I've owned 3 Shavemacs--2 3-band and one 2-band, and I really felt they were a step up from the Thater with regard to backbone, they weren't scratchy/scrubby, they're well-made, great brushes, and the knots perform well. I only rid myself of them because they were lather-hogs, but all 3 were 28MM knots or larger.

I've never owned a Turn N Shave, but they seem to have quite a few happy customers.

*With all this said, you can't go wrong with a Paladin. They're well-constructed, ergonomic, aesthetically more appealing than any brush out there, great lather release even with the larger 28MM/30MM knots because if Ken Lynn wouldn't personally shave with the knots they use, then Paladin won't sell a brush to somebody if the knot doesn't meet his standards/expectations.

Paladins are the best 2-band Badger shaving brushes out there, in my honest opinion.

I've only owned one 26MM knot by Maggards and I don't recall if it was an SHD or not, but it was decent for the price I paid--shedded a few hairs every now & then, but the backbone was there and it performed well. Soft tips, too. I gave the brush to a friend that still uses it and he likes it a lot.

Hope this helps, Godspeed.
 
I have used the Thater, the Maggard and the Paladin, and in my humble opinion, you can make great lather out of each (I am a bowl latherer for the record) and I don't necessarily prefer one over the other. Splitting 'badger hairs' if you will! They are all great knots and one major difference to me, is that the thater is a different shape, a 'true' bulb compared to the others.
 
Paladin has really been churning out some incredible knots lately. I have purchased six brushes from them since November and they all have had great knots. Obviously, you get a full brush experience from Paladin and their handle options are incredible, especially the Samurai model.

Of the other options, Shavemac two band is an incredible knot. The Turn n Shave tip knots are very good and Milton is an incredible artisan. I would also check out That Darn Rob and his Fanchurian knots.

The Maggard SHD knot is supposed to be Oumo knots. I have an Oumo two band Manchurian that is off the hook compared to many higher priced brushes in my collection.

I have a Thäter brush, but don't use it very often, so I will not offer any commentary, positive or negative.
 
I like naturally soft tips, or tips on the scritchy side, personally.

I do not normally like gel tips, but it's nice to have at least one brush like that I guess, just for the variety. The way to spot them is the orange, burnt looking band just above the black band and below the top band. If that's not there, chances are, the knot isn't super gelly.

Here's a high quality 2-band that's not super gelly (pictured). This is more akin to Shavemac Unique or DG.

Paladin CLNA6 batch is good, of which there seems to be 2 brushes available. These should not be super gelly - the pics that I've seen, conversations with owners, and their own description confirms this assessment. CLNA7, although there's no description on the website, also looks good (for my preference).

I have a few Oumo "manchuria" gelly knots, 28mm and 30mm and don't care for them at all (not to be confused with Manchurian, the likes of Simpsons and/or Zenith).

I think TDR "fanchurian" is better lately, compared to the previous knots (previously thin and floppy, so not so good, as I've been told) but that's still gelly, so not interesting for me personally... Again, nothing to do with Manchurian.

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I have a couple of shavemac brushes, consistently great quality. A custom brush by RV with a shavemac knot to your specs is hard to beat. It doesn't come cheap but you will most likely enjoy it for the rest of your life. I also have 3 Thäters, one of which is a 2-band and it's on the same level as the shavemacs. A Thäter 3 band is too floppy for my taste but it's still in my rotation. Can't comment on your other options.
Good luck with the decision.
:thumbup1:
 
One remark - the reason I mention Oumo, although you didnt ask, is because Maggard and Oumo are likely the same knots, as stated before. Not 100% sure, but all evidence I've seen so far points to that. Also.. Many of these SHD knots are coming from Oumo, through small makers/turners nowadays. I don't need to mention any names, because they are easy to spot and many of them give it away, too, simply by advertising "SHD" or "super high density". A year ago, you could say with 100% certainty these are all unmistakably Oumo. These days, several other Chinese companies have caught up.

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First, you are looking at some top-quality knots!!

As noted above there is little difference between Thater and Shavemac other than that you can specify the loft for Shavemac. I have not tried a Paladin as their knots are a bit large for my taste.

I am a face-latherer who prefers backbone and smaller/mid-size knots (so take my comments with at least a grain of salt.) My rotation includes one SHD 2-band from Maggards and two Shavemacs. I like the 26 mm SHD, but it is a bit large. For me, the 22-24 mm Shavemac 2-bands are about as sweet as it gets! :a29: :a29:
 

Space_Cadet

I don't have a funny description.
If money is no issue then the choice can be only one - PALADIN. No sense in wasting words.
Thater is expensive but too floppy in my opinion, and not very dense either.
Shavemac has many knot options, but the better ones are quite pricey - close to Paladin prices. So the choice is clear.
 
Of the brands the OP listed, I can heartedly recommend a Shavemac D01 knot. I have that in the Rudy Vey 2012 B&B Brush (#19/100) and have used it regularly in my rotation, since I received the brush. It is, along with a Simpsons Chubby 1, one I use every week. BTW, I'm a face latherer.
 

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