Thread: Knot Sources Pros Cons

Hello gentleman,
(I hope this is the right spot)
I want to start this thread to get a current appraisal of good sources for quality knots.
I recently purchased a couple knots from one of the sellers on the bay, this seller came recommended on various forums as cheap and good quality. In my experience the knots are cheap though quality debatable.
It is possible my expectations are high because my first experience was with TGN and those knots in my experience are the best "I've seen".
... which leads me to this thread.
I intend on continuing my search even though I have a company to purchase great knots from I would like to know more "current" options as sources, quality, and prices often tend to ebb & flow.

Note: I have not included the name of the lesser seller because I'm not sure about the policy... until someone says its okay I'll keep it to myself.

I have some other names of good suppliers suggested to me and will bring them up as the conversion continues.

Hope to have some good input here, thanks for taking part!

I have not used them but have read that Shavemac knots are highly regarded. Shavemac knots can be ordered direct Shaving Brush KNOTS SELECT 171 - Shavemac .

Bob

Thanks Bob! I'm gonna put that on the order list.
I want to try HMW but have read it can be "moppy".
I've got a very nice Theirs Issard, but as much as its soft... it is a bit too moppy. Searching for the softness WITH backbone.
The extra-packed knots seem too have softness with backbone...

Originally Posted by MikeT

Thanks Bob! I'm gonna put that on the order list.
I want to try HMW but have read it can be "moppy".
I've got a very nice Theirs Issard, but as much as its soft... it is a bit too moppy. Searching for the softness WITH backbone.
The extra-packed knots seem too have softness with backbone...

You are welcome. From my small experience with badger brushes three band silver tips tend to be floppy and if they are densely packed can be lather hogs, just don't want to let the lather flow out of the knot.

You can increase the backbone of a floppy 3 band silver tip knot by setting the loft lower, somewhere around the loft being twice the knot diameter.

A two band badger should naturally have more backbone but the trick is to find one with very soft tips when the loft is set to around twice the knot diameter.

You could try taking your TI brush and putting O rings on the base of the knot to simulate a shorter loft to see if that cures the moppy feeling. That might be a good first step to see if loft height is part of the problem and you can go from there.

Bob

According to the reviews, those guys sell high quality knots.
http://romera.es/en/
I have a 30mm on order, ask and see when they will be taking orders again.

Originally Posted by BobH

You are welcome.
You could try taking your TI brush and putting O rings on the base of the knot to simulate a shorter loft to see if that cures the moppy feeling. That might be a good first step to see if loft height is part of the problem and you can go from there.

Bob

Thanks again! That is some really good info as I'm getting into making of my own brushes and this gives some good perspective. I'm gonna put some thought to this, really get it down. I like this kind of input. The extra packed brushes, now I'm going to need to do some testing..
Put a ring on the Issard, and work with height..

Originally Posted by mainaman

According to the reviews, those guys sell high quality knots.
ArtesanÃa Romera
I have a 30mm on order, ask and see when they will be taking orders again.

Thanks for the tip, I'm putting that one on the list. Am planning on making an order soon, going to break it up among a few suppliers. This is one I didn't know about!

I know a lot of Badger knots come from China. There may be various distributors of various badger knot sizes, but have you ever wondered where those distributors actually source theirs from? As soon as anyone mentions China, many people automatically think 'junk'. Given that so many items of every possible description are made there and then distributed worldwide to be resold, you shouldn't think that. I'm a firm believer that you really shouldn't write anything off until you've either tried it, or know for a fact that it doesn't work. Items such as cars that purport to be 'made in England' aren't. Numerous parts are made in various places all over the world (usually the place that can produced them the cheapest) and then maybe assembled in England. I'm sure the same principles apply in US. Anyway, back to shave stuff. If a brush says made in the US, was the knot actually made in the US? Was it assembled in the US? Just thinking...

Originally Posted by wayne394

I know a lot of Badger knots come from China. There may be various distributors of various badger knot sizes, but have you ever wondered where those distributors actually source theirs from? As soon as anyone mentions China, many people automatically think 'junk'. Given that so many items of every possible description are made there and then distributed worldwide to be resold, you shouldn't think that. I'm a firm believer that you really shouldn't write anything off until you've either tried it, or know for a fact that it doesn't work. Items such as cars that purport to be 'made in England' aren't. Numerous parts are made in various places all over the world (usually the place that can produced them the cheapest) and then maybe assembled in England. I'm sure the same principles apply in US. Anyway, back to shave stuff. If a brush says made in the US, was the knot actually made in the US? Was it assembled in the US? Just thinking...

This is a very good point. From what Ive heard most of the knots come from China.. the high quality and the low quality. There are various suppliers of badger hair and various suppliers of knots made from badger hair. And those sources usually have an array of grades.
The seller that I purchased from off of the Bay (a seller recommended by many), from what Ive seen has both good and not as good quality. The knot that I received was not as good as Ive seen from this same seller......
... This leads me to the point of this thread.. not to bash but to find a current list of suppliers that still uphold strict quality control standards. Because quality control is what it comes down to.
Most of us know that most of the knots come from the same place.. China. This is good because where else would they come from? The prices would be WAY higher without China. Also as I said China produces a great array of products both good bad and in between..

Thanks to all who made suggestions. Im ordering tomorrow and am excited to see what these companies have to offer! If I make a brush, its really hard for me to put a knot in it that I dont know is the among the best available. But thats just my preference..

Good luck with the knot purchase. Remember that some European companies do make their own knots from scratch using loose badger hair. I know Simpsons do and likely others although I don't know who they are. I would guess the loose badger hair is supplied from China though.

I just reknotted 2 vintage Simms handles using 2 different TGN knots. If you want to see the results and my initial impression of the knots you can find it here http://straightrazorpalace.com/brush...o-reknots.html . It looks like I am going to be happy with the TGN knots with the Finest Badger being the initial favourite.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Good luck with the knot purchase. Remember that some European companies do make their own knots from scratch using loose badger hair. I know Simpsons do and likely others although I don't know who they are. I would guess the loose badger hair is supplied from China though.

I just reknotted 2 vintage Simms handles using 2 different TGN knots. If you want to see the results and my initial impression of the knots you can find it here http://straightrazorpalace.com/brush...o-reknots.html . It looks like I am going to be happy with the TGN knots with the Finest Badger being the initial favourite.

Bob

Yes, that is the difference between a shaving brushmaker and shaving brush handle maker. Turning a handle out of driftwood or recycled bowling balls does not a brushmaker make.

The same way making custom scales for a razor doesn't make you a straight razor maker.