I’m really getting hooked on brushes with SHD Fan knots.Great explanation!
I like dense knots, but only up to a point! For me a chubby 3-band or a Shavemac 2-band is plenty dense!
Any more would be too much.
Who makes the densest knots?
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True. My Super badger from Spiffo is very dense. Amazing brush in any case.
Suprisingly my Razorock 24mm Silvertip Barrel is even more dense. Almost too dense as it barely splays.
It could be that the knot is mounted too deep into the handle making it stiff and inflexible.
Thanks for the info. I was just going by what I saw on Maggard's, but figured there's probably others too.
The Rooney heritage series were pretty dense.
Declaration Grooming
Two band...if you want the absolute densest knot, it’s Black Eagle, but you need to buy a complete brush and that can be challenging (due to limited availability/scarcity). For the densest knot that can be added to an existing handle, the next step is Mozingo Brushworks, followed by Declaration Grooming. For the most dense stand alone knot, your best options are Voigt & Cop and Shavemac. I’m ranking these in order of most to least dense.
Three band...again, Voigt & Cop and Shavemac...the VC01 Super Badger and the D01 three band, respectively. I have used both and I find both to be superbly constructed and probably equally dense, but the V&C knot to be vastly better sorted, with few (if any) of those pokey dark hairs you’ll often find in three band knots, such as the Shavemac D01. I have tried Simpson Super grade, D01, Rooney Heritage Super Badger, etc. and the V&C super badger is the best three band knot I have used to date.
Three band...again, Voigt & Cop and Shavemac...the VC01 Super Badger and the D01 three band, respectively. I have used both and I find both to be superbly constructed and probably equally dense, but the V&C knot to be vastly better sorted, with few (if any) of those pokey dark hairs you’ll often find in three band knots, such as the Shavemac D01. I have tried Simpson Super grade, D01, Rooney Heritage Super Badger, etc. and the V&C super badger is the best three band knot I have used to date.
Superlative adjective. Are you expecting an answer that include another adjective/superlative adjective?
You want the truth? We need numbers not adjectives.
You want the truth? We need numbers not adjectives.
Isn’t there a dense manufacturer “Massacres of the bison” who does a ripper?
For 3band
Simpson’s chubby are ultra dense and readily available. Their polo series is supposed to be very dense also but I’ve never tried one.
VP leonhardy is supposed to be super dense but good luck finding one.
Shavemac’s Do1 is very dense but not at what I would call elite. But are probably the best stand alone knots on the market.
I have a M&F that is wonderfully dense also. Not quite chubby dense but close.
For 2band the densest I’ve tried are
Simpson’s chubby Manchurian. It’s phenomenally dense. More so than the other Manchurians I’ve tried that were very dense themselves
Shavemacs Do1 is no slouch. I don’t own one right now so I can’t do a side by side but as I recall it was top tier.
M&F blond Badger but be careful because they are custom and can very.
I have one that is otherworldly dense and a second that’s only moderately so.
Vielong! Everybody sleeps on vielong but their 2band is dense in the category of special. Their 3band is great also, reminiscent of shavemacs Do1 3band.
Simpson’s chubby are ultra dense and readily available. Their polo series is supposed to be very dense also but I’ve never tried one.
VP leonhardy is supposed to be super dense but good luck finding one.
Shavemac’s Do1 is very dense but not at what I would call elite. But are probably the best stand alone knots on the market.
I have a M&F that is wonderfully dense also. Not quite chubby dense but close.
For 2band the densest I’ve tried are
Simpson’s chubby Manchurian. It’s phenomenally dense. More so than the other Manchurians I’ve tried that were very dense themselves
Shavemacs Do1 is no slouch. I don’t own one right now so I can’t do a side by side but as I recall it was top tier.
M&F blond Badger but be careful because they are custom and can very.
I have one that is otherworldly dense and a second that’s only moderately so.
Vielong! Everybody sleeps on vielong but their 2band is dense in the category of special. Their 3band is great also, reminiscent of shavemacs Do1 3band.
I did a comparison between my Razorock 24mm Silvertip Barrel and my WCS Beacon 24mm Silvertip.
Do you know if Zenith makes the Barrel For Razorock?
I'm not sure, but I was wondering the same thing after using the barrel brush.
Of what I've used (not many of the makers that started in the past decade):
Densest at the top
Rooney Finest
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Chubby 3 band
D01 3 band
early M&F 3 band (Haven't tried any from the past 10 yrs)
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D01 2 band
Rooney Heritage 3 band
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Rooney Heritage 2 band (Stubby XXL's and the like)
Oumo/Maggard SHD and Mixed hair knots
SOME Vintage (Butterscotch era... Pre 80's) Kents
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Other Simpson 3 band
High Density/Premium replacement 3band knots (Oumo, TGN, etc)
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Those are the knots that spring to mind that I would consider Dense.
Densest at the top
Rooney Finest
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Chubby 3 band
D01 3 band
early M&F 3 band (Haven't tried any from the past 10 yrs)
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D01 2 band
Rooney Heritage 3 band
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Rooney Heritage 2 band (Stubby XXL's and the like)
Oumo/Maggard SHD and Mixed hair knots
SOME Vintage (Butterscotch era... Pre 80's) Kents
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Other Simpson 3 band
High Density/Premium replacement 3band knots (Oumo, TGN, etc)
---------------------
Those are the knots that spring to mind that I would consider Dense.
As far as synthetic knots are concerned, my “Frank Shaving“ FS - 28mm G4 Synthetic is the dentist synth in my collection.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I'm know I don't I understand the question entirely. I'm not sure if you're asking about knots available without handles or what, and if you are asking about only badgers. I don't know exactly what you mean by density nor what you value in density.
I think it interesting to notice from experience that a very dense knot can be one you don't like.
I also have only a few badgers compared to many members, and very little experience or none with some of the brushes on the market particularly the super expensive brushes and some of the custom makers. I doubt anyone has tried everything but some gentlemen seem to be vastly more experienced than me because they are.
This Shavemac which is new to me but was acquired from a member is their non-D01 two band. Its hair was "packed extra dense on request to Bernd." I'm not going to go too far overboard in my comments about this new brush. I've not used it enough yet. It might not yet even be broken in. I also admit to liking really big knots. The ergonomics of this handle are stellar. So, my comments might reflect early infatuation. I wouldn't say this is the perfect knot, but I wouldn't argue that it isn't either. Is it a knot which could be reproduced? I have no idea. |
To me, the Shavemac above is clearly more dense than my other Shavemac knot with the exact same hair, but I'm not saying that means it's a better knot or a better brush. Both are great brushes.
I consider my Chubby 2 brushes in Best and Silvertip Badger (two band) very dense as well as my Shavemac DO1 two band (pictured below with the Fatip slant). Are they more dense than the vastly less expensive Maseto extra dense knots? I think not, but who's counting?
Does density to you mean how many individual hairs are packed into the space? If so, gotta go with three band silvertip.
I have a Shavemac Pure. It is by no means dense by any standard, but I like it a lot (and it's not even fully broken in yet). It makes me wonder what the Shavemac Pure knot would be like were the hairs packed very very densely? It also makes me wonder if such a thing is even possible?
These brushes L-R are a beehive MS 30 mm two band (extra dense); a Zenith copper handled Manchurian 28 mm (perfectly dense), a wonderful brush; an AP shave gel which is extremely dense, but which I've decided I don't like much at all probably because of the kinda yucky gel feeling; a Maseto 30 mm three band which is very very dense; and, finally the iconic, and wonderful, and not for everyone Shavemac D01 two band in 26 mm.
I'm trying to make the point that density comes in all sorts of price ranges these days, and also convey that density is only one factor which goes into the make up of a great knot. Others will disagree with me here as I assert that density itself is vastly overrated.
It's not that I don't like density, but it's not the only thing.
I am a huge fan of the Semogue SOC Mistura. I'd like it better if it were 26 mm instead of 24 mm, but, even so, it's a fabulous knot in all respects. Having said that, it is not nearly as dense as some of the other knots mentioned, but that doesn't mean it is lacking or deficient in any way. It's a great brush. Again, density is not the only thing making a knot bad or good. |
I have more comprehensive experience with the better boars.
For a dense, and good boar I'd go with the lower lofted Omegas and the Zeniths, particularly the unbleached Zeniths.
I hope that helps some.
Happy shaves,
Jim
What is the model of Zenith in the last photo?
Lefonque
Even more clueless than you
Billy Goat Brushworks G6 badger is a pretty dense knot.
You can get a CH2 in Manchurian...which is the ultimate solution for densing / backbone/ flow through ..combines Everything
