Paladin Shaving

I was lucky enough to score a cobalt PK-47 with a 2CSND3 knot. I will be interested to see the difference from my Falstaff with a 2CLND3.

Congrats everyone who got a brush.

Those who didn't find their perfect one, I know it will be yours soon!

Got me a 26 mm Falstaff in Jade.

I was lucky enough to score a cobalt PK-47 with a 2CSND3 knot. I will be interested to see the difference from my Falstaff with a 2CLND3.

Yours looks like a pretty nice brush. The 2CS knots we received in the first two orders (12/15 or L2 and 4/16 or D3) should (and appear to) be made from the same sort of hair. The L2 knot I tested, however, caused a bit of scritch for me, although another respected TSN member who tried the same brush experienced none, which goes to the point that mileage varies.

I expected the second-order 2CSs to be the same as the first, but I noticed an objective difference as soon as I started unpacking them. The knots were a little taller, and more important (though undoubtedly related) they had about 2 mm more of free loft on average (45-46 vs. 47-48). That can be enough to make a noticeable subjective difference in use.

I'd expect your Falstaff to be a little less scrubby, more "plush". And I won't be surprised if you report that the S knot lathers a little more efficiently.

I any case, I'll be interested in your comparison also.

I was lucky enough to score a cobalt PK-47 with a 2CSND3 knot. I will be interested to see the difference from my Falstaff with a 2CLND3.

Yours looks like a pretty nice brush. The 2CS knots we received in the first two orders (12/15 or L2 and 4/16 or D3) should (and appear to) be made from the same sort of hair. The D3 knot I tested, however, caused a bit of scritch for me, although another respected TSN member who tried the same brush experienced none, which goes to the point that mileage varies.

I expected the second-order 2CSs to be the same as the first, but I noticed an objective difference as soon as I started unpacking them. The knots were a little taller, and more important (though undoubtedly related) they had about 2 mm more of free loft on average (45-46 vs. 47-48). That can be enough to make a noticeable subjective difference in use.

I'd expect your Falstaff to be a little less scrubby, more "plush". And I won't be surprised if you report that the S knot lathers a little more efficiently.

I any case, I'll be interested in your comparison also.

Plush is exactly how I would describe my Falstaff. It's very soft but still has plenty of presence (backbone). I enjoy it very much.

-Mark

Those who didn't find their perfect one, I know it will be yours soon!

Paladin has been both my Waterloo and my huckleberry. Ken knows what I mean. As for the releases, the brush I'm after hasn't shown up in any of them so far but has to eventually. In the meanwhile I take solace in the fact that quality and consistency have remained intact in every release, so expect it will be worth any wait.

Plush is exactly how I would describe my Falstaff.  It's very soft but still has plenty of presence (backbone). I enjoy it very much.

-Mark

I just corrected a typo in my earlier reply. I had said the "D3" had a bit of scritch. I meant the L2 (first order) S knot.

I'd expect the difference between your D3 L and your (new) D3 S to be more subtle than if would be with an L2 S. Hope that makes sense.

Congrats to all who got theirs and thank you again, Ken.

I definitely would like to get a Chief or a Sherlock in Jade or Lemon Drop, but no luck on those being available for the past few releases. Any possibility of those being available sometime early next year? I will be out of the country this Saturday through the end of December.

Those who didn't find their perfect one, I know it will be yours soon!

Paladin has been both my Waterloo and my huckleberry. Ken knows what I mean. As for the releases, the brush I'm after hasn't shown up in any of them so far but has to eventually. In the meanwhile I take solace in the fact that quality and consistency have remained intact in every release, so expect it will be worth any wait.

It's funny, kind of. I don't remember what handle you want. But I smiled at the Butterscotch PK-47 that stood alone over about the last five minutes of the release. It probably would have been one of my top picks. Nice D3 S knot, 50.5 loft with 48 mm free loft. Might have looked a little small, but that's just because it had closed back up more than some of the others. And even closed the top shape was spherical (like an ice-cream scoop). That's not better or worse than any of the others. Just happens to be a combination I really like.

That's why I like to offer variety, but don't like to pick brushes for others.

It's also why I don't like to make custom brushes to others' knot specs. It's easy to set a knot at a particular loft. We can consistently dial that in to within a half mm by our method of measurement. But loft by itself doesn't tell enough of the story. And if you said you wanted a knot with 48 mm free loft set at 51.5 mm overall loft, I might have to try out half a dozen or more before I struck that combination and thought it looked right (to my eye) in the handle you wanted. It's much more efficient just to match knots to handles, make them right by our eyes, and then offer them with good photographic representation, reliable specs, and a fair return policy.

Someone on another board observed that someone else who runs a big company is very accommodating (with the implication that we are not, which is probably true in some respects). But that company doesn't post front and back photos of every brush it offers, and it doesn't measure and provide loft and free loft for every brush it offers. That takes a lot of time.

I trust your eye.