10-14-2017, 09:08 AM
Like everyone I have my favorites restaurants, though the years I've had hundreds of favorite restaurants as my taste and desires change, the same goes for cars and shoes. Another thing is I've always been a collector of items that interest me starting when I was a teenager, it's ingrained in my nature.
It was about 18 months ago that I picked up my first Paladin that offered their own knots (actually my first Paladin was a Lee/Blonde). After a few Paladins my opinion was they made the best handle/finished handle in all of wet shaving. So when Ken put out his knot code I read it thoroughly realizing that most their brushes would have their own shaving characteristics, meaning I would not be buying the same 2 band knot like I do with other companies or Artisans in a different size, loft and handle (by the way consistency is good in a brands knots).
I started to purchase a few brushes over the next 4 months with different lofts, knot sizes in bulb and fan along with different handles, I also began to trade brushes to obtain knots, lofts that were in handles I liked. As Paladin offered new knots and I continued to purchase, I was able to evaluate which brushes provide me with soft, medium and strong backbone, soft tips or the feel of tip presence also there is a difference in L and S knots. Now with all these different eattributes Paladin creates and offers a unique variety of brushes. One such combination is a brush with soft backbone, nicely dense knot (no flop), excellent flow through that provides me with the best 3 band silvertip lathering I've ever used and I have pretty much not touched a 3 band in the last 6-7 years. Or a bulb brush that has strong backbone that provides an incredible scrub with soft tips, if the same brush was a fan the scrub feel would be altered.
So as it stands my rotation again has changed over the last 18 months (it has been evolving for the last 55 years) as I slowly began putting away M&F's Elites, Thaters, Simpsons, Wiborgs, Declaration, etc I replaced them with Paladins that gave me more of a variety of superb lathering experiences (my rotation at the moment stands at 13). There is one characteristic that is the same through out, excellent density.
Yes as you can tell I am very pleased with Paladin but there is one small thing I would like to see changed or added as another choice, this would be a cosmetic change. On a few brushes the engraved wording color blends into the handle color to where the words cannot be read unless your up close (this is just my artistic/marketing opinion). As it is the engraved color wording on most of the handles are excellent making the handles/branding very distinctive accept for the Cobalt (I did have one where the words was in white, I liked that one), Tortoise and Malachite. I believe white worked well on Cobalt, I also believe that the gold that Paladin uses on some of their other handles would work well with the Tortoise and Malachite, again just my opinion..
My thoughts on Paladin knots
2CLNL2 medium backbone soft tips
2CLND3 medium backbone soft tips
2CLNA4 medium backbone very springy tip feel presence (not scitchy)
2CSLE4 strong backbone tip presence softens after 6 lathering's
2CSLD4 strong backbone very soft tips
Head shape characteristics
Fan head spreads out to give a lush lathering
Hybrid gives a plush semi concentrated plush lathering
Firm backbone scrub
El Dorado Ebony 26 53 48 bulb 2CSLD4 firm backbone soft plush tips
Cleo 26 Tigris 52 46 bulb 2CSLE4 very firm/strong backbone mild tip feel which soften after 6 lathering's
Medium backbone
Chief 26 Buttersccotch 52 48 bulb 2CLND3 nice lathering medium backbone very soft plush lathering feel
PK47 26 Ivory 51.7 48 bulb 2CLNL2 nice lathering medium backbone very soft plush lathering feel
El Dorado Malachite 28 55.5 51 bulb 2CSLD4 medium backbone soft full plush tips
El Dorado Summer-set 28 55 52 bulb 2CSLD4 a firm medium backbone with soft full plush tips
PK47 Butterscotch 28 55 51 bulb 2CLND3 medium backbone very soft plush tips
Chief 26 Jade 53 48 fan 2CDLE4 springy medium backbone that at first there was tip presence which soften after 6 lathering's
Medium soft backbone
Tut 26 Lapis 51.5 51 fan 2CSLD4 springy mild medium backbone head spread very lush soft tips
Chief 26 Lapis 51.75 50 fan 2CLNL2 springy mild medium backbone head spread very lush soft tips
El Dorado Ivory 28 56 54 bulb 2CSLD4 medium soft backbone nice spring simi spread with exceptionally soft plush tips giving an luxurious lush lathering
Chief 26 Tortoise 52.7 52 fan 2CLNA4 very spring medium backbone head spread with mild tip sensation
Soft backbone 1 step above a 3 band silvertip
PK47 28 53 53 fan 2CSLD4 if you love 3 band silvertips you will love this brush soft to medium backbone, great head spread extremely soft tips.
![[Image: lra6odl.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/lra6odl.jpg)
PK47 26 Ivory, Chief 26 Butterscotch
Chief 26 Jade, PK47 28 Butterscotch, El Dorado 28 Malachite
Tut 26 Lapis, El Dorado 28 Ivory, El Dorado 28 Summerset, Chief 26 Lapis
El Dorado 26 Jade, El Dorado 26 Ebony, Cleo 26 Tigris
Chief 26 Tortoise
It was about 18 months ago that I picked up my first Paladin that offered their own knots (actually my first Paladin was a Lee/Blonde). After a few Paladins my opinion was they made the best handle/finished handle in all of wet shaving. So when Ken put out his knot code I read it thoroughly realizing that most their brushes would have their own shaving characteristics, meaning I would not be buying the same 2 band knot like I do with other companies or Artisans in a different size, loft and handle (by the way consistency is good in a brands knots).
I started to purchase a few brushes over the next 4 months with different lofts, knot sizes in bulb and fan along with different handles, I also began to trade brushes to obtain knots, lofts that were in handles I liked. As Paladin offered new knots and I continued to purchase, I was able to evaluate which brushes provide me with soft, medium and strong backbone, soft tips or the feel of tip presence also there is a difference in L and S knots. Now with all these different eattributes Paladin creates and offers a unique variety of brushes. One such combination is a brush with soft backbone, nicely dense knot (no flop), excellent flow through that provides me with the best 3 band silvertip lathering I've ever used and I have pretty much not touched a 3 band in the last 6-7 years. Or a bulb brush that has strong backbone that provides an incredible scrub with soft tips, if the same brush was a fan the scrub feel would be altered.
So as it stands my rotation again has changed over the last 18 months (it has been evolving for the last 55 years) as I slowly began putting away M&F's Elites, Thaters, Simpsons, Wiborgs, Declaration, etc I replaced them with Paladins that gave me more of a variety of superb lathering experiences (my rotation at the moment stands at 13). There is one characteristic that is the same through out, excellent density.
Yes as you can tell I am very pleased with Paladin but there is one small thing I would like to see changed or added as another choice, this would be a cosmetic change. On a few brushes the engraved wording color blends into the handle color to where the words cannot be read unless your up close (this is just my artistic/marketing opinion). As it is the engraved color wording on most of the handles are excellent making the handles/branding very distinctive accept for the Cobalt (I did have one where the words was in white, I liked that one), Tortoise and Malachite. I believe white worked well on Cobalt, I also believe that the gold that Paladin uses on some of their other handles would work well with the Tortoise and Malachite, again just my opinion..
My thoughts on Paladin knots
2CLNL2 medium backbone soft tips
2CLND3 medium backbone soft tips
2CLNA4 medium backbone very springy tip feel presence (not scitchy)
2CSLE4 strong backbone tip presence softens after 6 lathering's
2CSLD4 strong backbone very soft tips
Head shape characteristics
Fan head spreads out to give a lush lathering
Hybrid gives a plush semi concentrated plush lathering
Firm backbone scrub
El Dorado Ebony 26 53 48 bulb 2CSLD4 firm backbone soft plush tips
Cleo 26 Tigris 52 46 bulb 2CSLE4 very firm/strong backbone mild tip feel which soften after 6 lathering's
Medium backbone
Chief 26 Buttersccotch 52 48 bulb 2CLND3 nice lathering medium backbone very soft plush lathering feel
PK47 26 Ivory 51.7 48 bulb 2CLNL2 nice lathering medium backbone very soft plush lathering feel
El Dorado Malachite 28 55.5 51 bulb 2CSLD4 medium backbone soft full plush tips
El Dorado Summer-set 28 55 52 bulb 2CSLD4 a firm medium backbone with soft full plush tips
PK47 Butterscotch 28 55 51 bulb 2CLND3 medium backbone very soft plush tips
Chief 26 Jade 53 48 fan 2CDLE4 springy medium backbone that at first there was tip presence which soften after 6 lathering's
Medium soft backbone
Tut 26 Lapis 51.5 51 fan 2CSLD4 springy mild medium backbone head spread very lush soft tips
Chief 26 Lapis 51.75 50 fan 2CLNL2 springy mild medium backbone head spread very lush soft tips
El Dorado Ivory 28 56 54 bulb 2CSLD4 medium soft backbone nice spring simi spread with exceptionally soft plush tips giving an luxurious lush lathering
Chief 26 Tortoise 52.7 52 fan 2CLNA4 very spring medium backbone head spread with mild tip sensation
Soft backbone 1 step above a 3 band silvertip
PK47 28 53 53 fan 2CSLD4 if you love 3 band silvertips you will love this brush soft to medium backbone, great head spread extremely soft tips.
![[Image: lra6odl.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/lra6odl.jpg)
PK47 26 Ivory, Chief 26 Butterscotch
![[Image: qcR3asW.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/qcR3asW.jpg)
![[Image: 1lKidks.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/1lKidks.jpg)
![[Image: 2bF19N0.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/2bF19N0.jpg)
![[Image: 3azYuHl.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/3azYuHl.jpg)
10-14-2017, 11:43 AM
(10-14-2017, 10:59 AM)SCOV Wrote: Nice collection of brushes and comments. I see more Paladin's in my future.Thanks, hopefully what I have learned and written will help others make informed decisions on a Paladin/s. I will continue to read up on the knots and add new ones as they appear. My collection at the moment including the new knot in a PK47 Neptune which I should receive this coming week makes it 20 brushes.
10-14-2017, 01:14 PM
(10-14-2017, 11:56 AM)chazt Wrote: Steven, your OP is a good read. It's chock full of useful information and fascinating insights. I'm sure to reread it many times as I've begun to consider purchasing a Paladin brush. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.
thanks for reading I hope it helps
10-14-2017, 03:13 PM
(10-14-2017, 01:45 PM)Whiskey Sour Wrote: Steven-I am enjoying the Summerset, thank you, but that Cobalt is also a really sweet brush and I very much like the way it looks with the white lettering. Thanks for the trade all the best to ya.
I am enjoying that cobalt El Dorado you wrote about. Hope you are enjoying the somerset El Dorado.
-Mark
10-20-2017, 03:10 PM
Another observation that I did not mention is the L knots (2CL) vs the S knots (2CS). What I've found (again just my opinion) is that the L knots have medium backbone and a little more spring to the hairs/knot, the S knots have stronger backbone and with certain loft configuration will have more scrub or again with a certain loft configuration will have medium/strong backbone. The L knots have not appeared since May and those were the 2CLNA4 that have a tip feel presence. That's it for now I hope all that I've written helps in making an informed decision.
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