Talk me into a Paladin

[Elliot]

Paladin’s butterscotch is indeed cool!View attachment 1600866View attachment 1600867View attachment 1600868

GORGEOUS. I think it’s that or the ebonite for me. I’m likely to have one Paladin only, as I like variety, which makes it hard to pick “the” one. There’s also an Opal Simpson online but worried the Polo is massive. My daughter’s middle name is Opal so naturally it calls. Simpson also has a butterscotch m7 online that looks fun. Too many options

 

[AG69]

Paladin’s ebonite handles are exquisite. The Simpson’s Polo 10 looks gorgeous too. It is quite large and comparable size-wise to 28mm Paladin Cleo, Chief, and PK-47

 

[Elliot]

Paladin’s ebonite handles are exquisite. The Simpson’s Polo 10 looks gorgeous too. It is quite large and comparable size-wise to 28mm Paladin Cleo, Chief, and PK-47

As someone who seems to have a lot of Paladin, is it really just handle preference? With Simpson, for example, I need to decide on Best, Manchurian, Super, two-band and lord knows which way to go there.

 

[Owen Bawn]

I’m trying to be talked into one as well and simply can’t decide which!! The butterscotch color is super cool imo.

It is very nice...

 

[AG69]

As someone who seems to have a lot of Paladin, is it really just handle preference? With Simpson, for example, I need to decide on Best, Manchurian, Super, two-band and lord knows which way to go there.

I tried many types of knots from Paladin and Simpsons. The early Paladin knots are my favorite, though the latest ones are not bad at all either.

From the Simpsons knots I prefer the two-band SiLVERTiP knots. They are the most consistent among those that I tried and fit my preferences for face lathering - dense, soft tips, healthy scrub, strong backbone, excellent flowthrough. I tried Simpson’s best grade and did not like them from the performance and aesthetic point of view. I like Manchurians, but they are a bit too much to my taste -density and scrub Could be overwhelming for face-lather. If you bowl-lather, the Manchurian knot are hard to beat.

Paladin handles are my most admired handles with the exception for the Sumo and Polo. But I would always do my best to keep in my collection at least one Simpson’s Ch2 and M7.

 

[Dtownvino]

Beautiful brushes for sure. I am a bit more of a knot person. I like Lee Sabini knots, Shavemac knots, and a few others. A 26mm Chief would be my preference. I would go for Satin in many colors, just not butterscotch - but that is a personal thing.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I had a 2CLNL6 Paladin knot and it was heavily gelled and not to my taste although clearly a very high quality product. Other members have Paladin knots which they state are gelled and some which are not gelled at all, so there is clearly wide variety in Paladin knots between batches. This is further evidenced by the knot codes and descriptions provided although these do not seem to have been updated recently. Simpson Best can be variable but for me the biggest issue is their lofting, I have seen brushes lofted at 5mm above specification which makes a huge difference to the face feel, so for me buying a Simpson unseen can be a bit of a gamble, as can I suppose any brush. I exclusively face lather and my Simpson Duke 3 and Chubby 1 in Manchurian are the best I have ever used.

 

[Elliot]

Beautiful brushes for sure. I am a bit more of a knot person. I like Lee Sabini knots, Shavemac knots, and a few others. A 26mm Chief would be my preference. I would go for Satin in many colors, just not butterscotch - but that is a personal thing.

As if I needed another one to muck up my thoughts haha. There seems to be two offerings on the Brad Sears site that have knots by Lee Sabini.

 

[Dtownvino]

On Brad’s Site they are open again to custom orders with M&F Lee Sabini knots. Brad’s knots are also excellent, I prefer a 24-26mm knot and won’t buy a 28 anymore from anyone. My face isn’t that big . The post before this one is correct on gelled tips from what I heard. Too each their own, it’s a subjective thing but I know for the price, it’s really tough to beat what I’ve listed for me. I’ve spent many thousands of dollars to conclude that a Simpsons Manchurian, Lee Sabini or Shavemac 2 band (not D01) knot are tops for me. Mülle for synthetics I assume, waiting for Rudy Vey to heal up and make me one.

If I remember correctly at one time Paladin used Lee’s knots or Lee used Paladin, I don’t know how it goes. None the less, I buy the knot and handle more than the look. Paladin makes awesome handles, I can’t say much about the knots as I don’t have one currently in my rotation.

I do have this guy coming - but the wording is being reprinted in black instead of the pearl color used. Blonde badger, but I like backbone and cracked ice is just perfect for my taste.

You can’t go wrong with a Lee Sabini knot, they are legendary.

 

[Elliot]

If I remember correctly at one time Paladin used Lee’s knots or Lee used Paladin, I don’t know how it goes. None the less, I buy the knot and handle more than the look. Paladin makes awesome handles, I can’t say much about the knots as I don’t have one currently in my rotation.

I do have this guy coming - but the wording is being reprinted in black instead of the pearl color used. Blonde badger, but I like backbone and cracked ice is just perfect for my taste.

You can’t go wrong with a Lee Sabini knot, they are legendary.
View attachment 1600947

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Gorgeous!!! Bit taken aback here. May get one here first before Simpson and Paladin. The antique ivory is my speed.

Apologies for highjacking the thread. Will hush up!

 

[FarmerTan]

A View attachment 1600351View attachment 1600352View attachment 1600354View attachment 1600355View attachment 1600358View attachment 1600363View attachment 1600364View attachment 1600365picture is worth a thousand words…

I doubt I'll ever own a Paladin; no fault of Ken's, I'm just cheap.
I've never even held one in my hand, but I know if I ever did I'd have a hard time being too cheap to buy one!

Those pictures you posted are stunning. His handles are quite simply werks of art.

I wonder if he ever screws any up and throws them away? I mean, even the ones he makes that don't knock my socks off are stunning. The third one down from the top of the pics is just mind blowing.

 

[ChriWilson]

I doubt I'll ever own a Paladin; no fault of Ken's, I'm just cheap.
I've never even held one in my hand, but I know if I ever did I'd have a hard time being too cheap to buy one!

Those pictures you posted are stunning. His handles are quite simply werks of art.

I wonder if he ever screws any up and throws them away? I mean, even the ones he makes that don't knock my socks off are stunning. The third one down from the top of the pics is just mind blowing.

He does have a Seconds page for those slightly blem'd or for Limited Editions that are now overstock.
This time of year, everything costly goes into competition for my offshore gear and trip fees; meaning everything else takes a back seat...