The Golden Nib- Which is the most luxurious knot? It's very confusing!

Hello Guys,

I am not new here but have been away for many years enjoying my Edwin Jager Silver tip brush.

I want to build something a bit bigger and dense and yet have the softest tips possible.

Could someone point me in the right direction. I was thinking to get High Mountain White but they only come in 24mm max and then thought that Silvertip from TGN would be the best one to get in the biggest knot possible. But I hear people saying that the tips can be scratchy etc, which to be is the opposite of what silvertip to me means.

Hence I just wanted to know if money was not an option which one should I get (BY that I don't mean spending $220 from the wetshavingproducts.com either!!!) ???


Regards,
Param.

PS: I have been searching the forums but I keep getting conflicting ideas!

Geez those typos!! sorry about that guys (/girls!?)

I have a 22mm Grade A Silvertip. Soft and floppy, little to no backbone. Didn't set it very deep, probably the problem.

Welcome Param! Each brush maker has a different idea what the labels mean. For The Golden Nib: I have tried the HMW, Silvertip Grade A, and Finest and are good knots. Their Best and Regular Silvertip (IMO) are scratchy.

TGN descriptions
High Mountain White- Top of the line, badger hair, very soft tips well packed, strong backbone
Premium Silvertip- Top of the line silvertip, very soft natural tips, well packed, great for face lathering, A little less backbone than Super & Grade A. NEW
Super Silvertip - Top of the line, soft creamy white natural tips well packed.
Silvertip Grade A - Top of the line soft creamy white natural tips, well packed.
Silvertip- Standard grade, not as soft as the above knots, greyish silver tips very well packed, good backbone, great value.
Super badger -treated silvertip. This makes the tips whiter and softer. Very high quality knot, soft tips well packed available in Bulb or Fan shapes.
Best Badger - Flexible and soft bristles with a bit of stiffness; great for massaging and exfoliation. Blend of dark and light badger hair to create a gray look.
Finest F2 - This is our new Higher grade finest Badger hair, taken from the Manchurian badger, slightly longer & softer tips than our standard finest. A great premium knot.
Finest Badger- Creamy white tips that fade to black, sometimes referred to as two band. Fairly soft tips well packed, good with soaps and creams. Available in fan & bulb shapes
Pure Badger - Coarse dark hair with firm bristles, good for scrubbing and exfoliating, Value knot.
Boar -Coarse hair with firm bristles.
Nylon -Synthetic hair extremely soft tips with the look of badger.

The Finest is my favorite.

I've restored a number of brushes and have used just about every TGN knot from Boar to HMW, because I wanted to experience them all, and I have to say that I haven't been disappointed in any one of them. They do offer different characteristics, though, and of course YMMV

Some random thoughts:
- I like a little scritch for the exfoliation it offers, so I never consider that a negative, but I also love the luxurious feeling of a Silvertip or a HMW - mood of the morning determines which brush I grab. I do have a Regular Silvertip in the rack right now, and I don't find this particular knot to be scritchy, at all.
- As Bill notes above, depth will greatly influence backbone, but since I find the TGN knots to be incredibly dense (and that's a GOOD thing!), setting a knot too deep can create a lather hog. Set your knots temporarily to find the sweet spot for your specific knot - no one can give you a magic depth, despite all the threads to the contrary.
- Sounds like you want a monster brush, and I understand - I have a 24mm Super Badger Fan mounted in a restored Rubberset 200-5 that is killer! Any bigger spread and I could lather my entire face in one swoosh.
- I don't know if it is possible to get everything I want in a single brush, which is why I have so many - or that's what I tell my wife, anyway <grin>

Looking forward to your updates....

I have not had direct experience with TGN knots, but I have brushes I have made from knots from several sources and I think I can add a little to the already excellent contributions.

As was noted, there is no fully universal grading system. There does seem to be some general conforming to grading, but each brush company seems to apply their own rules. There are four general grades, Pure, Best, Finest, and Silvertip. There seems to be many sub-grades within these groups so overall quality and characteristics can vary greatly.

I'm generally not too happy with Pure. All it means is that there is no other bristle in the mix. My grandfather's brush was originally a Pure, it is was a much better brush than any of the current Pures I have tried. Today, most Pures have had their tips trimmed, making them very harsh.

Best tends to be a firm and scrubby brush. Those in the higher end of Best can be great, especially if you like scrubby brush.

Finest tends to still have a lot of backbone but also has reasonably soft tips. The face feel approaches that of Silvertip. Some (many) prefer this grade because of its backbone. I have gained more appreciation for this grade in the last few months, especially when used with a hard soap. I have two Finest that I often call my "Goldilocks" brushes because everything about them is just perfect.

Silvertip is the softest. It is the rarest, coming from the collar area of the animal. Only about 15% of the pelt is considered Silvertip. Sometimes it is also very floppy, but some sub-grades maintain a reasonable level of backbone. This is my favorite as it has the softest face feel, providing the most luxurious shaving experience.

Other grades exist, some of which are more marketing than actually showing any true difference.

A somewhat common term is Super. It is usually applied to Silvertip. It may mean different things to different brush makers, but the common use is a bleach treatment to the tips to make them somewhat whiter and allegedly softer. Super is sometimes used by itself and when it is it still usually means treated Silvertip. Super is most usually used with Silvertip, as in Super Silvertip. My most luxurious feeling brush is a Super Silvertip.

From TGN's own descriptions and reports from users here, their Super and Super Silvertips get the highest praise of their Silvertips.

TGN's Finest often gets their highest praise because of the nice backbone.

High Mountain White is another matter altogether, and was not part of the original question so I'll leave that discussion for another time.

So, from what the OP said he is looking for within TGN's listings, I would go for either their Super or Super Silvertip.

Thank you so much for the replies guys. I was advised by TNG that they have Silvertip premium 28mm in stock. This is the link
http://thegoldennib.com/wet-shaving...tip-premium-knots/28mm-silvertip-premium.html

What Do guys think about it? I can mount it in a Nice handle, of which I will also need suggestions please.

Do you think that the quality of this brush would nd good? How different would this be from a HMW?

G'day Big Jim thanks for your reply. I would love to get your insight on the HMW if possible please? I have been told by TNG that this is in stock http://thegoldennib.com/wet-shaving...tip-premium-knots/28mm-silvertip-premium.html
How would you consider this again the HMW from them.

Thanks again
Param.

Greekgod said:

G'day Big Jim thanks for your reply. I would love to get your insight on the HMW if possible please? I have been told by TNG that this is in stock http://thegoldennib.com/wet-shaving...tip-premium-knots/28mm-silvertip-premium.html
How would you consider this again the HMW from them.

Thanks again
Param.

Click to expand...

The story goes that badger from the High Mountains of Asia produce a heavier coat. Some say that it is actually a slightly different variety of Badger. Some say it is just a marketing term. Another name for this Badger with larger shaft hair is Manchurian. The claim is that this is more rare and thus more expensive.

As in other Badger hair, it too is graded. It seems that most of what is exported is Finest, and it is easy to understand why because of the very firm backbone. I have several brushes that are simply High Mountain. The seller even referred to them as a type of Finest. I very much enjoy them.

I have not had any experience with High Mountain White. From the reports from other Badger and Blade members, it makes a wonderful knot. As to how it compares to Silvertip, I don't know for sure. I have the impression that it is not quite as soft as Silvertip, but it does have a lot of backbone and still provides a great face feel. It is pricier than I'm willing to stretch to.

Perhaps someone that has a High Mountain White will speak up with their experience.

Well looks like everyone has covered it. Brushes can be pretty subjective some like super soft some like a bit more backbone and a lil scritch. The grade a silver tip and the hmw are great. Another factor is price. If I was making my first brush I'd start off with a cheaper knot just invade something g were to go wrong. Knots can always be replaced but not returned!

Personally I find my silvertip grade a to have softer tips, but the HMW has higher density and cushion (with nuances of prickliness).

The density of the HMW makes it a little harder to lather and kind of a light lather hog, so I tend to reach for the Grade A much more often.

I reach for their finest knots the most though. All 6 that I've used have had softer tips than either my STA or HMW.