Which knot for a face lathered?

Discussion in 'The Brush' started by Oasisdave, Jul 11, 2015.

  1. Oasisdave

    Oasisdave Active Member; radioactive

    So I keep hearing how nice the Shavemac 2-band knots are and have also heard good things about the TGN Finest knots. My question is would either of these work well as a face lathering brush? I thinking about ordering one of them in 24mm knot and have it set at 48 loft either through Wolf Whiskers or Pav. This is going to be my first custom brush and really was hoping to get some recommendations from those if you who might have some experience with these knots and also having a custom brush made.

    Thanx for any help guys!
     
    GDCarrington likes this.
  2. david of central florida

    david of central florida Rhubarb Rubber

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  3. Boojum1

    Boojum1 Valet Parking Available Here

    One of my favorite face lathering knots, the TGN Finest knots are excellent for face lathering, especially at 48mm. They are more economical, and are shipped way, way faster. I'm sure @clint64 will offer his two cents too.
     
    Weeper Warrior likes this.
  4. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    Two band badger knots along with certain synthetics rank as my personal favorites. Now Shavemac is one of the top of the line brand of custom knots. They are hand made and therefore the cost will be higher, but there some benefit in the more select hairs used. TGN will be machine knoted and therefore less expensive. Both brands will be good for face lathering especially at 48 mm. Many times you can go for a 50 and even 52 mm and still be able to face lather very well. It depends upon how much splay you want in the knot versus stiffness. Another brand which is a favorite of mine is ACE shaving finest. It is in my opinion a little bit better than TGN but the drawback is that you usually have to buy two knots as in the case of the 24 mm in the link below. The link below is to a BIN listing so it is good to show on the forum.

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Pieces-Of...870?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257b76cf6e

    Now the issue of resale comes up a lot. The cost will generally not be recouped for any custom brush since you made it to your specs and there are a lot of great used brushes on the market. You will pay more for a Shavemac, but the resale could be higher if you feel the need to resell. My stance is if you think there is a 50/50 chance or more to resell, then don't go for the added expense of a custom brush. Buy a solid "off the rack" brush instead.

    Good fortune in your decision.
     
    Redrock likes this.
  5. clint64

    clint64 Blind Squirrel

    I do not have the Shavemac 2 Band Silvertip but I do have the Shavemac Silvertip D01, a Shavemac Finest and 2 brushes with TGN Finest knots. Both the knots you have listed are fantastic for face lathering. In fact they my D01 Silvertip or TGN Finest are my favorite brushes to use for harder soaps and face lathering. The Shavemac knots are much more expensive. Are they better? Whose to say but I can tell the difference. The TGN Finest is the value king with huge bang for the buck.

    Gary gave some excellent advise. If you decide to go with Shavemac I would strongly consider ordering directly from them. With the current exchange rate the prices are very competitive and should you decide to sell the brush you should not loss as much money as with a custom brush. I have one custom Shavemac and one Factory Shavemac. The next one will most likely be a factory one as well.

    If you decide to go the custom route, I will throw one more name out. I have used Rudy Vey for 2 custom brushes. He was a big help to me in figuring out what I wanted in terms of knot specs and explaining the differences between the Shavemac offerings. Good luck with your search.
     
    Redrock likes this.
  6. Malacoda

    Malacoda Active Member

    A little late to the game here, but if you're still looking for insights you may want to list what some of your personal preferences regarding a brush are -- e.g. do you like more dense, or less dense... more scritch, less scritch, or no scritchiness at all... etc.

    Any brush will work just fine for face lathering - but some you will enjoy more than others depending on your preferences...

    For example, many folks who prefer a dense brush with a touch of scritch and lot of backbone - such as the Shavemac 2-band. Others like me prefer a soft, floppy mop with zero scritch - such as a Vulfix silvertip or a VP Leonhardy. (To me, facelathering with a Shavemac - or any 2-band for that matter - feels like rubbing a furry, hard golf ball on my face in comparison to a VP Leonhardy...)

    Guess what I'm trying to say is that asking 'Which knot for face lathering?" without providing some info about what charactersitics you like and dislike is VERY dangerous...

    While there will be a ton of guys who like both Shavemac and TGN -- it may turn out that you'll like neither. If you provide a little more insight about your preferences (or, at the very least, what you think you might like) they'll be able to give you far more valuable insights.

    Good luck with your custom brush adventure!
     
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  7. Oasisdave

    Oasisdave Active Member; radioactive

    When you mention the Shavemac 2-Band are you referring to the d01 2-Band knots or the newer 2-Band knots that aren't the d01 line? The reason I ask is that I from what I have read the non d01 2-band knots are supposed to be very soft yet have a decent backbone.
     
    clint64 likes this.
  8. Jay S

    Jay S Active Member

    I'm in the same boat. I've been using an Omega S-brush as my first and only brush over the past 5 or 6 weeks. I only face lather but would like to try a different synthetic with a bit softer feel. I love the backbone of the S-brush as I can pick up plenty soap in 15 seconds or so to develop 4 passes or more of creamy lather.

    Suggestions under $100? Under $50? Really inexpensive?

    Enjoy the ride,
    Jay
     
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  9. Oasisdave

    Oasisdave Active Member; radioactive

    I just picked up one of the Plisson synthetics as I've heard they are pretty good for a face lather brush.
     
  10. Malacoda

    Malacoda Active Member

    It was a D01 2-band. I also had a Simpsons 2-band tulip a few years back. The tips of the Shavemac were quite soft, but the knot as pretty dense with a lot of backbone... whereas the Simpsons was a fair bit scritchier (to me) than the Shavemac, and was also dense with a lot of backbone. Haven't tried the new Shavemac 2-bands. As I mentioned previously though, I've really come to love the modest backbone, low density combination of the VP Leonhardy's (with Vulfix in a very close second). I'm just one of those rare weirdos who prefers facelathering with soft, floppy mops...
     
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  11. Oasisdave

    Oasisdave Active Member; radioactive

    Whatever works right! That's what I love bout wet shaving, lots of variety
     
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  12. Jayaruh

    Jayaruh The Cackalacky House Pet

    Supporting Vendor
    I got a couple of black pure badger knots for two of my handles. I have done two test latherings with them and they will go into rotation tomorrow. I will let you know how they face lather. That is my preferred method. I think they may a bit floppy based on the bowl latherings.
    DSCF9085.jpg
     
    Redrock likes this.
  13. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    Which is why I say there is no such thing as a "face lathering" brush or a "bowl lathering" brush or a "soap" brush or a "cream", only "personal preference" brushes.
     
  14. Mr. Shaverman

    Mr. Shaverman Well-Known Member

    I like the backbone of cheap VDH boar brushes for face lathering. Call me crazy.
     
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  15. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Crazy...
    [​IMG]
     
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  16. Redrock

    Redrock Well-Known Member

    "Any brush will work just fine for face lathering - but some you will enjoy more than others depending on your preferences..."

    As Malacoda posted. For me, any of my boars work at face lathering (Semogue 620/1305/Cerda). Concerning badgers, I prefer mixed over finest or slivertip. However, if the finest/silvertip have a good backbone they work fine. It boils down to individual preference. Probably not much help but you gotta find what works best for you.

    Also, good reply from Steve.
     
    Malacoda likes this.
  17. Malacoda

    Malacoda Active Member

    Precisely. And very well said.
     

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