Im getting ready to do 4 brush restores. Im thinking of doing 1 with a really nice badger knot. What is the best knot you can buy and where to get it? I know all about golden nib. Just seeing if there are any other options. Thanks for your help.
actually I like my ace black badger as well as any. soft as a pillow ok backbone mine hadn't last any hair reasonably priced
Depends on what kind of performance you want. For overall perfection, Shavemac knots are stunning, and will visually look better than 90% of the the knots out there. If you want a knot that will be closest in feel to a boar knot, then 2-Band Finest is the way to go, with good backbone and slight scritch. If you want soft and floppy, go with a Silvertip. If you want soft with a lot of backbone, you will have to order a custom Silvertip knot, overstuffed, with about 30% more hair than normal. A Simpson's Duke is a good example of an overstuffed knot. The Duke line of brushes have more hair for their size than other Simpson's brushes. It's one reason the Dukes are popular face lathering brushes. The Shavemac D01 knots are also overstuffed as well. Those feel like velvet tipped erasers. Splay is virtually non-existant.
Nathan Clark, or EnvyShave on Etsy also sells knots that get really good reviews. (I haven't tried, FWIW, but have bought customs and other knots from him. Great guy.). Just throwing that out there for a middle priced option between TGN and Shavemac.
I already answered earlier, with a Shavemac knot recommendation. That was based on your request for the 'best knot you can buy.' You already know about TGN (The Golden Nib). Rudy Vey Ace Shaving (already mentioned) Heaven Horse (hit or miss with delivery, high quality...if you actually receive something). Blankity Blank (though I'm fairly certain they use the same knots as TGN, at a higher price).
How much is a shavemac knot and do you order them from their site? I didnt see where it showed knots.
I'd put the badger in the top or bottom one. Edit: What's wrong with the top one? It doesn't look like it needs a new knot, just some shampoo.
That 3rd one down has the shape I prefer the most. All 4 are great restore candidates and should clean up great.
If $ is not an issue, Shavemac. Incredible knots. I love thier 2band silvertips. I guess its personal preference on what you are looking for. Backbone, soft tips, etc...... Some folks prefer a scrub to super soft tips. Those are really nice handles. I would be tempted to go 2band badger on all of them.
It looks almost unused. I thought the knot could be saved. I tryed cleaning it and then it started shedding like crazy. So im going to put a new knot in it.
Thanks! I perfer some backbone. Dont really care for floppy knots. I have a restore i did with a tgn 2 band finest. Its a really good knot and has great backbone. Just seeing what other options are out there.
Sometimes the glue fails on those old knots. It's a shame when it happens. I've had it happen to a few of mine. Oddly enough, the wheat paste used in the old English brushes seems to hold up better than the vulcanized rubber used in old American knots. It all comes down to what conditions the knot was stored in, though.
