TGN 2-band finest or Silvertip

[tvldatsi]

I am in a quandary. I don't know if getting a bunch of conflicting opinions will help or make it worse but if anyone happens to have experience with either of these two knots, or any of the other grades of silvertip that tgn/penworks carries I would love to hear about your experience. To date I have only used a synthetic brush; it whips up a great lather in no time, but it doesn't splay properly on my face and ends up just wiping lather off more often then applying it neatly.

That said, I am looking for a brush that will lather soaps well, and coat my face evenly without me having to scoop up a massive glob of lather on the very tip of my brush and dab it on like I've been doing. Price doesn't matter too much, as they are all within about $20 of each other

Thanks gents

 

[Loric]

If you want a soap brush with excellent backgone go with a 24mm Finest extra stuffed set at ~50MM. If you would prefer something soft with out a bit of scritch at the tips go with a 22mm Super Silvertip (not to be confused with the Super Badger) set at 45mm. The Super Silvertip wont have quite the backbone or density of the Finest, but it will be a very very soft brush and if you set the loft low it will simulate plenty of backbone and density for it.

 

[paules]

I have both the TGN Finest and Silvertip Grade A knots, both 22mm.

I have the Finest set at 44mm and the Silvertip at around 50mm. Both are excellent brushes but I find the Finest to be better with soaps. It whips up a great lather with little effort even on my hardest to lather soaps. And it feels very soft on the face.

 

[Kentos]

Any experience with the super badger? I am in the same boat with the OP, with 2 handles slated for a rebuild. I have read the silvertip is scritchy but your experience seems to differ. I guess I just need to try them out myself. The finest extra stuffed does have a lot of fans tho

 

[tvldatsi]

I have both the TGN Finest and Silvertip Grade A knots, both 22mm.

I have the Finest set at 44mm and the Silvertip at around 50mm. Both are excellent brushes but I find the Finest to be better with soaps. It whips up a great lather with little effort even on my hardest to lather soaps. And it feels very soft on the face.

My only concern is that the finest (which I am leaning towards) will be like the brush I'm using now, have too much backbone to splay easily and push the lather around on my face. dispel my fears if you can.

Go eagles btw

 

[Loric]

Any experience with the super badger? I am in the same boat with the OP, with 2 handles slated for a rebuild. I have read the silvertip is scritchy but your experience seems to differ. I guess I just need to try them out myself. The finest extra stuffed does have a lot of fans tho

Super Badger was reported to be slightly less soft than the Silvertip Grade A but softer than the vanilla Silvertip. You just have to be careful you differentiate between the 3 grades they offer "Silvertip", Silvertip Grade A, and Super Silvertip. The vanilla silvertip is kind of scritchy not a very luxurious grade, it will break in over time and loose most of the scritcy but it never fades compleatly. The Silvertip Grade A is soft enough. The Silvertip Grade A is very very soft. I have had one of each of these knots and would say that out of my brushes the silvertip was the most dense, with the other two being kind of a medium~medium high density. I still wound up setting both knots rather low and tight to boost up the backbone/density.

My only concern is that the finest (which I am leaning towards) will be like the brush I'm using now, have too much backbone to splay easily and push the lather around on my face. dispel my fears if you can.

I have not noticed this, the Finest is a face lathering machine IMO However if you are really worried get the Super silvertip, you absolutely wont have the shoveling problem with it.

 

[prophetic_joe]

Finest is the best bang for your buck knot TGN offers. Great backbone and produces a great lather. You can't go wrong with it.

 

[paules]

My only concern is that the finest (which I am leaning towards) will be like the brush I'm using now, have too much backbone to splay easily and push the lather around on my face. dispel my fears if you can.

Go eagles btw

I have not had that problem with the Finest. On the contrary it is a fantastic face lathering brush. What is the loft of your current brush? If you are worried about similarity you could set the loft differently.

The Silvertip Grade A is a very nice knot too and a great all rounder. Not as soft on the face as the Finest and not as good for face lathering IMO.

In relation to your footy reference, I am a Dockers man myself.

 

[mr. s]

2-band. I really love it. Plenty of backbone, but very soft on the face. I think TGN does a great job on them.

 

[alabamalawyer]

I have tried both the Silvertip and Finest from TGN. Both are excellent knots for the price. I prefer the 2-band Finest. It has good backbone, does not splay and works wonderfully with soaps.

 

[tvldatsi]

I have not had that problem with the Finest. On the contrary it is a fantastic face lathering brush. What is the loft of your current brush? If you are worried about similarity you could set the loft differently.

The Silvertip Grade A is a very nice knot too and a great all rounder. Not as soft on the face as the Finest and not as good for face lathering IMO.

In relation to your footy reference, I am a Dockers man myself.

yikes, my fault.. go dockers I have no real loyalty, I went to a handful of games when I was doing an internship in fremantle, I couldn't resist being a "yank" and supporting the underdog at the derby to the chagrin of my new friends. I suppose that's precisely why this section of the forum should stay exclusively shave-related.

And on that note thank you all for the wonderful advice, without B&B I would be lost! my finest should be here in a couple of days!

 

[Jethro1984]

My only concern is that the finest (which I am leaning towards) will be like the brush I'm using now, have too much backbone to splay easily and push the lather around on my face. dispel my fears if you can.

I seem to sort of have this problem with my extra stuffed finest, at least right now. It's a 22mm knot set at 50mm. It seems to put down a very thin lather where the breech is and squirt big hunks of lather out the sides that run onto my fingers so I have to scoop and paint to finish each lathering.

It's new though, not broken in, and i've been bowl lathering with it.

Are any of you guys without this problem able to tell me if I might be doing something wrong with this brush?

 

[_MementoMori_]

The TGN Finest knot is infused with black magic, I swear it. It is absolutely one of the best performing knots you can get anywhere.

 

[mblakele]

I seem to sort of have this problem with my extra stuffed finest, at least right now. It's a 22mm knot set at 50mm. It seems to put down a very thin lather where the breech is and squirt big hunks of lather out the sides that run onto my fingers so I have to scoop and paint to finish each lathering.

It's new though, not broken in, and i've been bowl lathering with it.

I think you're on the right track: it probably needs breaking-in. Have you done the dishsoap cleaning and overnight lather soak routine? I find that it helps.

After that, you might use a bowl or the palm of your hand to work up a few practice lathers.

 

[filedog]

I have a TGN 22mm finest w/extra hair I set @ 47mm. I'll second the others comments, really nice brush. Mine is a great face latherer, but splays just fine, and is nice and soft when wet. I recently got a Simfix Grosvenor, which is a apparently made with Simpsons 2-band super hair, and aside from the loft, (the Grosvenor is close to 50mm), the brushes feel very similar. I'm no expert, but to me, the silvertips are just lathering machines. My Rooney 3/1 makes MOUNDS of lather, and delivers it with a VERY soft touch. The 2-bands have more backbone, not quite as soft as silvertip, and make a bit less lather.