Thread: TGN premium silvertip grades

Originally Posted by kwlfca

There's got to be a difference between these grades, otherwise they wouldn't have them. Maybe I'll just buy one of each

There are diffs for sure,make yourself a test handle with a deep bore,use wine corks and set the knots with a tiny dab of clear sillicone so you can try differant lofts,they will pull out.let us know the results.

Great idea pixel. I just may try that with my knot.

Is really not Rocket science,set any knot at 48/52mm,they all work the same IMO

I have the 26mm premium and 24mm mountain and prefer the larger size - so to answer your question as to whether the premium for a mountain is worth it I would have to say no. Having said that, TGN silvertip knots are very soft anyway in my opinion and I have quite a few silvertip brushes to compare with.

Like you, I was confused by the different descriptions at the same price point but I just order whatever is in stock at the time, knowing it's going to be good.

I tend to set knots at about 53mm if that helps.

+High Mountain White- Top of the line, badger hair, very soft tips well packed, strong backbone
Premium Silvertip Bader Hair
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
Super badger is 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 Badger
+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.

I have\had brushes that I used on my rotation with the knots marked with a +. Most of them are 24mm, some 20mm. The super badger tip knot is collecting dust at this time. IMO they are very very soft tip with no back bone. They would pickup and lather soft creams or soaps apply to the face, IMO. When wet it limb more than the others. It needed to be seated deeper IMO to be workable. As it stand, at this point the brush is very limb and the least favorite of the lot! The bristle are almost as soft to the face as their silver tip grade "A" I have.

I like the sylvertip grade "A" for creams and if I had to do it over I would buy a bigger knot (28mm or 30mm) and seat it deeper to get the stiffness I like.

Best Badger is an in between the stiffness of "finest" with softness of silver tip grade "A"(only silver tip I have to compare), but IMO, doesn't do well on either. Had two, kept one for rotation and comparison.

The "finest" IMHO are the best value, specially the new F2, but even the regular Finest 2 band. They have back bone, you don't need to seat them deep and they bloom in a beautiful mushroom that yield lots of hair surface for a quick and nice lather. And the tips are soft but you can feel them on your face.

The best and favorite of mine are the "High Mountain White". They are an absolute cloud on your face but with enough back bone to pick any soap and no limpness to collapse on the face (like my "best badger"). Have two, one build by Pixelfix and the other by me (both 24mm). On was set lower than the other and I can't tell the difference on the stiffness of both. The only difference is how they bloom. I prefer the big mushroom type blooming that you get from a higher sitting knot.

I hope this helps you some on your decision. I know you where asking about the silvertip and not the others, but maybe you can interpolate and come up with a better inform decision.

P.S. When I set a knot, I set it on the brush and study its stiffness (push it with the palm of my hand and on the face) and make an educated guess to how deep to set it. If the stiffness is lacking I set it lower than when is stiffer. That's why with softer silver tips types knots, I would get bigger knots (28mm). So I can set them a little deeper and still end up with a nice mushroom and acceptable stiffness (for me), after breaking. If the hole is too deep I use washers to prop it up, if the hole is too shallow, I use a sanding dremmel or a drill bit, depending how deep I need to go. The choke is another factor on how is going to bloom, and how stiff is going to be. I don't claim to be an expert, since I haven't made enough brushes to consider myself knowledgable. But this is what I use and sometimes it works and some times it doesn't. Definitely need to experiment more with it.

Double O

TGN finally emailed back after I sent a second email. He said that the Grade A and the Super silvertip are very similar, while the newer premium silvertip is softer than the other two and with "less backbone". I put that in quotes because anyone who knows about brushes, knows that backbone is determined by loft setting. I'm a 48mm man myself...just works better than higher lofts-IMO-no matter what kind of lathering your doing...soap, cream, bowl, face. I don't think I've heard of anyone using anything lower than that, although I'm sure Bill's tried it at some point!

I'm going to make a brush for my brother for christmas (to upgrade his $8 ebay low quality best badger)...and probable another for myself

I do like my knot from TGN however I have found that the higher end silver tip knots aren't as soft as some from other vendors. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my brush that I made with my knot from TGN (probably my favorite brush I have), but there are softer knots available if that is something you're looking for.

Originally Posted by Double0757

I hope this helps you some on your decision. I know you where asking about the silvertip and not the others, but maybe you can interpolate and come up with a better inform decision.

Best review on TGN badger loft ever read.
Very very helpful.
Thank You.

Thanks for the info!!

Ray