tgn knot questions

[mastershake]

i have one as well as a couple more ace knots coming in 24mm high density. im thinking about also getting a couple tgn knots. what would be comparable and what would be better in the tgn knots. i thought the ace a bit scritchy myself when compared to the knot i got from larry (his silvertip) i like a very soft fuller knot with some backbone though which i know has a lot to do with how its set. i even considered the high mountain from tgn but a bit pricey for me right now.

i did read the description on their site but they give most of them the same description or similar. can someone explain the real world differences between them? and how do they compare to the ace knots i have now (24mm high density)?

these are what i was looking at:

Premium Silvertip Bader Hair
Premium Silvertip- Top of the line silvertip, very soft natural tips, well packed, great for face lathering,
Super Silvertip - Top of the line, soft creamy white natural tips well packed.
Silvertip Grade A, - Top of the lineSoft creamy white natural tips, well packed.

Super Badger
Super badger is treated silvertip. This makes the tips whiter and softer. Very high quality knot, soft tips well packed available in Bulb or Fan shapes.

thank you

 

[mattdenicola]

Fair number of posts about this before, though a small wrench gets thrown into that with the release of the new knots.

A nice composite list a few posts in:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/336016-TGN-Finest-vs-TGN-Best

I've tried the Super Silvertip (which at the time was their "top-of-the-line"), the Grade A, Standard Silvertip, the Finest, and the Best.

For me anyway, among the Silvertips:
- Grade A had most backbone, still very soft (softer than the standard) ... can face lather, but not the best for this purpose
- Super Silvertip was the softest, but had very little backbone ... suited for cream and bowl lathering
- Standard Silvertip was rather scritchy ... not really good at much

I don't know exactly when the "Premium Silvertip" came about, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't there when I was purchasing before. Anyway, someone can correct me if they've tried it. But I can't speak to anything about it. While he says it is suitable for face lathering, in my experience, none of TGNs silvertips have the backbone to excel at face lathering. But ...

... To me, hands down, without question, the Finest knot is his most superior knot. The tips are great ... gel-tips that are really soft and still the knot has face lathering backbone. It's the best of both worlds. That said, if I was buying a 24mm knot from them right now, it would be the Super-2-Band-Finest, just because I really want to try it. But you absolutely will not be sorry buying the Finest XH.

I too am curious about the HMW, but I think we're just going to have to wait for a few people to try it and hope to get some consensus.

 

[mastershake]

are they a far better knot then the ace ones? where do they comapre to the tgn knots.

 

[mattdenicola]

Never tried the Ace. I've read mixed things. If I were summarizing what I've read, I would say that people think:

Ace Best > TGN Best
TGN Silvertip > Ace Silvertip
Inconclusive on TGN Finest vs. Ace Finest
Interestingly, some say Ace Best > TGN Silvertip

Please someone chime in and correct me if I'm confabulating. Again, for clarity. 1) I have never tried Ace knots, and am simply stating what my brain thinks it has read, which may be wrong. 2) The new TGN knots might very well be game changers, or maybe just more selection, not sure anyone has used them yet!

 

[catherix]

TGN Finest XH > Everything

YMMV

 

[breitlingman]

I've bought Ace Best and Ace Silvertip Extra Density and they are good value for money, however, they are very floppy and have far less backbone than I expected. Ace Best is much floppier than TGN Best... but softer. Ace Silvertip Extra Density is SUPER soft and dense but is floppy, even at low lofts... but its really very soft and pillowy on the face. Its kind of like TGN Super Badger with less backbone. I haven't tried the new TGN Premium or HMW Knots, but I have found that the Silvertip Grade A to have pretty decent backbone at the right loft. Not as much as the 2-band finest, but quite good. I wouldn't bother with TGN Standard Silvertip... a disappointment.. not very dense, and prickly, and floppy as hell. Its probably the floppiest knot I've ever experienced.