Poll brush

[Airportcopper]

Out of curiosity thought I would post a poll about what type of knot and loft heights u guys use and like..

1. BAdger
2. finest badger
3. super badger
4. silvertip
5. synthetic
6. loft heights
7. 40-48
8. 53 or higher

[pixelfixed]

Silvertip hands down.Lofts? far to many variables to pick one.

[Birnando]

There are so many good ones out there.

My favorites are:

Old Rooney's Finest
Plisson's High Mountain White
Simpson's Manchurian Badger
Simpson's 2-band. for larger brushes
Thäter's 2-band Silver-tip

Lofts depend on knot size and type of badger

[thebigspendur]

The only problem is there are no real standards in the industry as far as badger is concerned. Super is not a grade at all and Silvertip can come in two band which is a variation. Some outfits call one grade one thing and others call the same thing something else. Only the pure badger is pretty standard stuff.

[Airportcopper]

What exactly is a super badger golden nib lists it as a treated silvertip? Treated with what and y? Its also 20 bucks more than a silvertip standard

[pixelfixed]

The only problem is there are no real standards in the industry as far as badger is concerned. Super is not a grade at all and Silvertip can come in two band which is a variation. Some outfits call one grade one thing and others call the same thing something else. Only the pure badger is pretty standard stuff.

The Industry is miniscule,thus no set standards,I have bought hundreds of knots over the years Enc the so called best hand tied knots from some of the great british firms (are no longer available) TGN has attempted a grading system that for the most part works well,you get what you pay for with them.
Treated knots are I belive bleached some how to lighten the color and make them look more like the best silvertips.
I only use the grade A knots unless the customer wants something else,Why? because they are over hand stuffed and hand trimmed and are truley the finest badger hair money can buy.
True silvertip is in class of it's own.It is harvested from prime winter pelts and the best comes from the neck area of the animal.
That hair is hollow to afford heat retention that keeps the animals brainbox warm in winter (in extream conditions badgers will hibernate)
The hollow true silvertip hair also retains water, which for our use is optimal

[JimmyHAD]

The Industry is miniscule,thus no set standards,

Add to that, from what I've heard the brush mfgs, like pipe makers, batch grade their new stock. IOW, the 'best' in the batch will be the highest grade but that may vary from batch to batch.

Plisson calls their high end HMW for High Mountain White. Next grade down is European White. Rooney used to call their high end "Finest" and their Super was a step down. Not sure what the pecking order is now. They say they can no longer get the Finest quality knots. Simpson called their high end Super and the next grade Best.

Some guys preferred the Best. I always liked the scritchy feel of the Super. They also made a limited run of Super Super and 'Manchurian'. I believe the Vulfix outfit that bought Simpson has reintroduced the Manchurian but not sure how it compares to the Somerset made brushes.

[Mvcrash]

I would have to say Silver tip since most of the brushes I buy are made by folks on the SRP. The last three I received were TGN Grade A and I can attest to their quality.

[BobH]

Oddly enough the badger brushes that I have, 3, are all silver tips of one version or another with lofts varying by knot size. By version I mean a Muhle silver tip, a SOC 2 band and a Simpsons Manchurian. All feel slightly different but great all the same.

Bob

[ScottGoodman]

I'm not one to worry about loft height as long as it has backbone...can't stand a floppy brush. After that, as long as it's a soft badger I don't care.