Fan Vs Bulb

[Kypros Christodoulides]

Hello gents,
I always wondered what is the difference between a fan shaped knot and a bulb shaped one. I only have bulb ones as the other kind seems to be rather scarce.
Thank you.

 

[JayGee]

Keeping the knot diameter the same
Fan feels bigger on the face, less scrub
Bulb, more backbone and feels a lot smaller.

On a really dense badger brush (shavemac, cadman etc.) bulb shape sticks to your face as you face lather, it almost creates a vacuum in the middle of the knot.
The fan knot doesn't do this, but feels softer & possibly builds a faster lather on the face.
The fan has better flow through.

Both are nice.
The dominant factor in the way the knot feels, I think, is the hair quality & how well the knot is constructed.
The bulb/fan shape is like a garnish, it can enhance the character of the basic dish but, won't change it that much.

I hope that helps.

 

[PLANofMAN]

Fan shapes make for a better performing brush, but they don't look as nice as a bulb shape, which is why I've been a long time advocate of the hybrid knot shape.

The hybrid is a fan knot, but the edges of the knot have been hand formed to look like a bulb...Basically a fan knot that superficially looks like a bulb.

Lee Sabini of Rooney/Morris and Forndran is about the only person I know who will custom make a hybrid knot. Otherwise, it's luck of the draw to get a bulbish fan, or a fan-like bulb.

Oddly enough, many synthetic knots have a more or less hybrid knot shape.

 

[Kypros Christodoulides]

Thank you Gents, now I know.

 

[wayne_m]

Fan shapes make for a better performing brush, but they don't look as nice as a bulb shape, which is why I've been a long time advocate of the hybrid knot shape.

The hybrid is a fan knot, but the edges of the knot have been hand formed to look like a bulb...Basically a fan knot that superficially looks like a bulb.

Lee Sabini of Rooney/Morris and Forndran is about the only person I know who will custom make a hybrid knot. Otherwise, it's luck of the draw to get a bulbish fan, or a fan-like bulb.

Oddly enough, many synthetic knots have a more or less hybrid knot shape.

So do the TGN 2 band finest. I can never tell if they are a bulb or a fan. They have a mind of their own shape wise. Great knots though all the same.

 

[Jel999]

Of all the brushes in my collection, i've only bought one new - a Romera Manchurian which I chose in a fan shape. I've since ordered another Romera, again in a fan shape. Hopefully it'll turn up this year. ( Gustavo is typically " Spanish." ) His brushes are sublime though, especially with the 25% discount he was recently offering.

 

[Merkurologist]

Fan shapes make for a better performing brush, but they don't look as nice as bulb shape

In your eyes fan shapes don't look as nice as bulb shaped knots I persomally like the look of fan and flat shapes a lot.

They have a different feel on the face, in my experience I get a better scrub if you like. I think I read somewhere that fan are preferred by people that do face lather.

Interesting what you said about hybrid knots..... I didn't know of their existence.

 

[Rufus]

Keeping the knot diameter the same
Fan feels bigger on the face, less scrub
Bulb, more backbone and feels a lot smaller.

On a really dense badger brush (shavemac, cadman etc.) bulb shape sticks to your face as you face lather, it almost creates a vacuum in the middle of the knot.
The fan knot doesn't do this, but feels softer & possibly builds a faster lather on the face.
The fan has better flow through.

Both are nice.
The dominant factor in the way the knot feels, I think, is the hair quality & how well the knot is constructed.
The bulb/fan shape is like a garnish, it can enhance the character of the basic dish but, won't change it that much.

I hope that helps.

I couldn't have put it better. I prefer fan-shaped knots for smaller knots (<24mm) and bulb-shaped knots for larger knots (>26mm).

 

[halvor]

Borrowed a photo off of Nishy here, just to show the gradual transition from extreme flat, via fan to bulb. Hybrids would be those in between the fan and the bulb, but loft setting and density also has an effect on how knots bloom, that is, what shape they end up with after a good few uses.

Compare the left one in the first photo below with the one in the third. Both are technically fans, but they have taken on vastly different shapes after use.

The one on the left here is an Elite Manchurian 26/51

This one is @wayne mattison's Unique two band knot from Shavemac, 26/54, I believe. (Same loft setting as the bulb version in the snowman on the right above - these two also give an interesting comparison.)

Beyond looks, feel is pretty well covered above. For me, a tight hybrid fan is the optimal shape, as it doesn't have the pointiness of bulbs but the same precision, as it were, i.e. It doesn't give the wide face feel a fan may give.

 

[Kypros Christodoulides]

Thank you for the info. So I'll try a hybrid with a synthetic knot if I can find one.

 

[wayne_m]

Thank you @halvor for showing my Shavemac. Here is a better photo showing my two unique Fan knots and my two TGN so called bulb shaped knots. I do not consider them bulbs. They are more hybrid shapes in my book. I'm still after a real classic bulb.

 

[halvor]

Thank you @halvor for showing my Shavemac. Here is a better photo showing my two unique Fan knots and my two TGN so called bulb shaped knots. I do not consider them bulbs. They are more hybrid shapes in my book. I'm still after a real classic bulb.

Hope you didn't mind, Wayne. Perhaps I should have asked before posting. You did say thank you, but one never knows. So my apologies for any wrongdoings. It's a cool photo, though!

 

[wayne_m]

Hope you didn't mind, Wayne. Perhaps I should have asked before posting. You did say thank you, but one never knows. So my apologies for any wrongdoings. It's a cool photo, though!

Absolutely not my friend, in fact I'm flattered you thought it was worth using. No apology needed. I was delighted to see it.

 

[PLANofMAN]

Borrowed a photo off of Nishy here, just to show the gradual transition from extreme flat, via fan to bulb. Hybrids would be those in between the fan and the bulb, but loft setting and density also has an effect on how knots bloom, that is, what shape they end up with after a good few uses.

Compare the left one in the first photo below with the one in the third. Both are technically fans, but they have taken on vastly different shapes after use.

The one on the left here is an Elite Manchurian 26/51

This one is @wayne mattison's Unique two band knot from Shavemac, 26/54, I believe. (Same loft setting as the bulb version in the snowman on the right above - these two also give an interesting comparison.)

Beyond looks, feel is pretty well covered above. For me, a tight hybrid fan is the optimal shape, as it doesn't have the pointiness of bulbs but the same precision, as it were, i.e. It doesn't give the wide face feel a fan may give.

The style of the first brush on the left in your pictures is often called a 'flattop' knot. It's technically a fan knot, as you pointed out. Flattops are arguably the best brush knot design for shaving, but boy they sure are ugly (IMO).

 

[halvor]

The style of the first brush on the left in your pictures is often called a 'flattop' knot. It's technically a fan knot, as you pointed out. Flattops are arguably the best brush knot design for shaving, but boy they sure are ugly (IMO).

It's perhaps an acquired taste, but acquisition seems central in this hobby of ours, doesn't it? It's actually growing on me and I could see myself trying one in the not so distant future. (They are referred to interchangeably as flattop, extreme flat, flat shaped.)

 

[DamianJ]

Thank you @halvor for showing my Shavemac. Here is a better photo showing my two unique Fan knots and my two TGN so called bulb shaped knots. I do not consider them bulbs. They are more hybrid shapes in my book. I'm still after a real classic bulb.

Liking the look of the one on the right. What is it? if you don't mind me asking.