Questions on knot choices

[twitch182]

I have a few questions about knots. I'm planning on ordering two custom brushes in the near future, one badger and one boar with handles made from the same wood. I'm having a little trouble deciding on exactly what knots to use in the brushes.

Starting with the boar:

I love my Omega pro 48. I love the loft and once it broke in, it quickly became my favorite face lathering brush. I'm leaning towards this same knot, but I keep hearing that SOC boars are much better. Is that true? I know it might up end up being one of those YMMV things, but I figure that I'll ask anyway. Are there other boar knots that I should consider?

As for the badger...

I HATED my Duke 3 in best once I used it for about a month. It made decent lather, but I didn't like how it felt on my face. It had a ton of scritch and I felt like I couldn't flatten it out like I can with my boar. I ended up giving it to my wife who loved it for her legs.

I'd like to user a larger knot that performs close to the way a boar brush does. Any suggestions? I'm thinking I may end up with a two band of one kind or another.

Thanks for the help!

 

[mblakele]

If I understand your experience with the Duke correctly, you did not like its backbone and wanted it to splay more easily. It may not be so good for a badger knot to "flatten it out". This makes me think of the saying "lather with the tips, not the handle". But it is your brush.

A two-band may not be what you want. Any two-band will likely have just as much backbone as the Duke 3, if not more. And two-bands are sometimes a bit scritchy.

So you want soft tips and easy splay? At the high end a Kent might suit you, but they do not sell knots as far as I know. For a custom brush, maybe a TGN Silvertip Grade A? Or their new Premium Silvertip? Either should have soft tips, and probably less backbone than your Duke.

 

[Porsche912]

You may also want to get a true fan shaped knot. I believe the Duke is a hybrid.