I bought one of the last 24 mm UK silvertip knots from TGN. I hadnt been too impressed with the silvertips Ive tried before, too limp and floppy. But top-end silvertips are praised by many here, so I thought Id get one of the best to give it a shot. It occurred to me, and I wish it had before Id restored as many brushes as I have, that I could try this knot at several lofts to decide which one was optimal for me before gluing it in permanently. I sanded the knothole in a nice green catalin Ever Ready 200 handle to make it a firm slip fit for the dry knot. I then inserted it to about 48mm loft, used it for a month to let it bloom and break in, dried it a while and moved it out to about 54 mm and then repeated with a final loft of about 58 mm. I could have pulled it out one more increment I suppose, but 58 was more than enough for me. Once the knot was wet from use it swelled up tightly in the handle and wouldnt budge without a drying period. What follows is my evaluation of the same knot in the same handle at three different lofts. All comparisons were made with AOS sandalwood hard soap. In the photo, from left to right is the knot at 48 mm, 54 mm, and 58 mm.
View attachment 121867
48 mm At 48 mm loft the bloom is well controlled with a very soft and compact, stiff knot with more than adequate spine to lather up hard soap. In fact the spine was too firm and although the brush lathered very well and made a large quantity of dense, thick lather, it felt hard and lifeless and sullen. It was clearly over controlled and did not give up its lather easily. Not the best loft to bring out its potential and not much fun to use.
54 mm This knot likes to be given its head. At 54 mm the brush is springy but firm, lathers like crazy, and yields lather much more easily than at 48. The bloom diameter is over 60mm and it could be called a lather hog like many big knots, but really it supplies lather in spades. Still plenty of spine for lathering the hardest soaps, but soft as can be on the face. On the down side the bloom is huge and borders on sloppy for lather application, with some care needed to keep from filling your ears or nose. But I came to like the big pillow of lather and appreciate the beauty of this profligate brush.
58 mm Badger knots, like children and puppies, need strong guidance or they tend toward extreme and dissolute behavior. At this loft, although the bloom has not increased over the 54 mm position and it still has no trouble picking up soap from a hard puck, the brush is becoming lethargic and unresponsive. The springy cushion that so easily beat up lather on my face was replaced by an indolent, apathetic floppiness that requires almost a slapping motion to distribute the lather. Rather like mopping a floor with a string mop. Not much fun. The sliver tip enthusiasts among you would call me harsh and probably be quite happy with this setup, but this was heading in the wrong direction for me so I didnt bother pulling the knot out to the plug top.
Final evaluation This knot won me over. I was expecting I wouldnt like it and would sell the knot after this exercise. I like an invigorating scrub and I face lather. Scritchy is OK with me and floppy is not. But I will keep this knot and use it in my rotation. It isnt my favorite, but it's right below the finest extra stuffing and 22mm black, my current favorites. Ive come to really enjoy the looks of this big, beautiful knot and the huge cloud of lather it beats up. It is undeniably soft on the face but, at the proper loft, applies the lather with authority and style. Once it dries out enough to insert it to about 54 mm Ill be gluing it in for good.
Although this is an academic exercise since Tony no longer sells these knots, I learned a few things of use to those of you restoring vintage brushes.
You dont have to commit to a loft forever. As long as you pick a diameter knot where the bulge above the plug is a nice firm slip fit, the knot will swell when you use it and stay in place until you let it dry. This way you can test the knot in a given handle and empirically find what loft is best for you. Clearly this will only work for hollow handles that give you the option of several depths.
I used this brush for two months without glue and never got a drop of water inside the hollow handle. You dont really need to fill a handle or worry about using enough glue to make it watertight.
In reference to threads about drying a brush. It took a week or so for the knot to dry enough to be easy to move. I live in a rainforest so your mileage might vary, but this tells me that having several brushes in rotation with a good drying interval in between use is probably a good idea to reduce the chance of knot rot.
Finally, a few millimeters can make a huge difference in how a brush behaves.
View attachment 121867
48 mm At 48 mm loft the bloom is well controlled with a very soft and compact, stiff knot with more than adequate spine to lather up hard soap. In fact the spine was too firm and although the brush lathered very well and made a large quantity of dense, thick lather, it felt hard and lifeless and sullen. It was clearly over controlled and did not give up its lather easily. Not the best loft to bring out its potential and not much fun to use.
54 mm This knot likes to be given its head. At 54 mm the brush is springy but firm, lathers like crazy, and yields lather much more easily than at 48. The bloom diameter is over 60mm and it could be called a lather hog like many big knots, but really it supplies lather in spades. Still plenty of spine for lathering the hardest soaps, but soft as can be on the face. On the down side the bloom is huge and borders on sloppy for lather application, with some care needed to keep from filling your ears or nose. But I came to like the big pillow of lather and appreciate the beauty of this profligate brush.
58 mm Badger knots, like children and puppies, need strong guidance or they tend toward extreme and dissolute behavior. At this loft, although the bloom has not increased over the 54 mm position and it still has no trouble picking up soap from a hard puck, the brush is becoming lethargic and unresponsive. The springy cushion that so easily beat up lather on my face was replaced by an indolent, apathetic floppiness that requires almost a slapping motion to distribute the lather. Rather like mopping a floor with a string mop. Not much fun. The sliver tip enthusiasts among you would call me harsh and probably be quite happy with this setup, but this was heading in the wrong direction for me so I didnt bother pulling the knot out to the plug top.
Final evaluation This knot won me over. I was expecting I wouldnt like it and would sell the knot after this exercise. I like an invigorating scrub and I face lather. Scritchy is OK with me and floppy is not. But I will keep this knot and use it in my rotation. It isnt my favorite, but it's right below the finest extra stuffing and 22mm black, my current favorites. Ive come to really enjoy the looks of this big, beautiful knot and the huge cloud of lather it beats up. It is undeniably soft on the face but, at the proper loft, applies the lather with authority and style. Once it dries out enough to insert it to about 54 mm Ill be gluing it in for good.
Although this is an academic exercise since Tony no longer sells these knots, I learned a few things of use to those of you restoring vintage brushes.
You dont have to commit to a loft forever. As long as you pick a diameter knot where the bulge above the plug is a nice firm slip fit, the knot will swell when you use it and stay in place until you let it dry. This way you can test the knot in a given handle and empirically find what loft is best for you. Clearly this will only work for hollow handles that give you the option of several depths.
I used this brush for two months without glue and never got a drop of water inside the hollow handle. You dont really need to fill a handle or worry about using enough glue to make it watertight.
In reference to threads about drying a brush. It took a week or so for the knot to dry enough to be easy to move. I live in a rainforest so your mileage might vary, but this tells me that having several brushes in rotation with a good drying interval in between use is probably a good idea to reduce the chance of knot rot.
Finally, a few millimeters can make a huge difference in how a brush behaves.
....so you're the one. Mine compares so well to my chubby 2 best, but has has softer tips. I'm actually somewhat convinced it may be the chubby 1 super 3-band knot.
