I am a truely a dedicated badger brush user. I have a moderate collection of artisan high end handles with high end badger knots. Today I used for the first time a brush that I made yesterday. It is a in expensive handle purchased on Ali express. The knot is a AP Shaveco G5C synthetic fan 26mm knot. I am totally amazed with the performance of this knot. It is the closet synthetic that I found performs like a badger. Great backbone, great lather flow, and amazingly holds more water than any other synthetic that I have used. This brush will now become my main travel brush, since synthetics dry faster. I welcome any body else's opinion, or experience with this knot. Picture of this morning's shave with the G5C knot