Black Eagle HT2 Comparisons

Hi everyone,

I know this is a highly requested topic for many, as these are hard to come by.   My goal is to compare the Black Eagle HT2 (28mm) to the other Elite-Tier knots (Mozingo, Declaration, Rhodium, and Varlet).   This will take some time to complete and will probably also evolve with time as I use these knots more.

I will try posting side by side pics whenever possible so you guys get a better idea of what I say or describe.

To try to make it more easy to read and also easier on myself, I will use the following criteria and scales:

1. Knot Density (1 - Lowest to 10 - Highest)

2. Backbone (1 - Lowest to 10 - Highest)

3. Splay (1 - Hardest to Splay to 10 - Easiest to Splay)

4. Tips Softness (1 - Scritchy to 10 - Softest)

5. Gelling (0 - No Gelling to 10 Super Gelly Tips).  Please bear in mind neither 0 or 10 is best on this criteria,  many like myself like both types of tips and so do many others.

6. Face Feel (1 to 10 - Most Luxurious).  I know this is very subjective but couldnt leave it this category as its very important to most high-end knot users.

7. Lather Release (1- Lather Hogger to 10 - Easiest Release)



First one will be HT2 vs Mozingo ZT3 initial comparison, which I will post in second post below.

Black Eagle HT2 vs Mozingo ZT3 

(bear in mind this is just the 3rd lather with the HT2, so can update in the future if anything changes significantly)

1. Knot Density:   
HT2  - 10 
ZT3 -  9.6

Comment: These 2 are very similar in regards to knot density.  The HT2 its a tad denser, but not more than 5% I would say. They are both in another level when it comes to density (in comparison DG B9a would probably be a 7)

2. Backbone
[font=Roboto, sans-serif]HT2  - 10 (have never used a fan knot  with this much backbone)[/font]
[font=Roboto, sans-serif]ZT3 - 9.0 (superb backbone, just a bit less than the HT2, but more backbone than anything else I have tried)[/font]


3. Splay 
HT2 - 9
ZT3 - 9.5

This could be because I have used the ZT3 various times but it splay just a tad easier, but the HT2 still splays like butter,  no pressure needed.

4. Tip Softness/Face feel 
HT2 - 9.5 -  When wet the HT2 is super soft with 0 scrub,  probably due to the gelling that occurred immediately after its first lather.
ZT3 9 -   ZT3 is also super soft and feels extremely similar to HT2, less than a 10% difference I would say

5. Gelling
HT2 - 9 (Instant Gelling and most hairs are bunched together and dries crunchy on the tips (i guess, bleaching).  Only my Paladin gels more than this.  But the Paladin is way too much gelling.
ZZ3 -  5  - ZT3 has mild gelling tendencies in some hairs and I love the feeling of this.  Very nice balance of gelling/softness without being real damaged hair. This one doesn't dry crunchy but still, the tips clump together moderately when wet.

6. Face Feel 
HT2 - 10 - My most luxurious feeling knot right off the bat,  it has the Wall of Badger effect at extreme levels.
ZT3 9.5 - If I hadn't tried the HT2, I would have given this a 10, is that good.  Same Wall of Badger effect, just a tad less luxurious, which I attribute to the mega backbone the HT2 have (which i love)

7. Lather Release
HT2 and ZT3 -  8.5 tie -   I am not gonna lie here and say this would be easy to a newcomer to lather,  but any experienced wet shaver won't have any trouble with these ones, albeit they're both extremely dense knots.   As easy to load as the less dense Paladin, Declaration, etc but cant give it a ten (thats reserved to synthetic)


Overall:   I would say the HT2 is a complete mystery/paradox to me.  How can a brush have this much backbone and yet have the softest tips I have tried?   I guess this could be a similar experience to what other says about DG b6? (i havent tried that myself).   I wish I could say otherwise (since its almost impossible to obtain and will be almost impossible to another one), but the HT2 has climbed to my num 1 spot overall for brushes.

Having said that, the ZT3 is SO CLOSE to it, and is the closest thing you will ever get in the current market, to a Black Eagle (too bad Brett has temp closed down his waitlist too) and the best USA Knot at the moment.

Here some pics (forgot to take pics of the wet knots, but I will do that tomorrow)




Black Eagle HT2



Mozingo ZT3





Black Eagle HT2 on the left,  Mozingo ZT3 on the right

Neat to see the side by side photos. The tips show the difference in the hairs for certain. Thanks man.

Neat to see the side by side photos. The tips show the difference in the hairs for certain. Thanks man.

Awesome and thank you!  Will do B9a comparison in the weekend,  cant wait to get my rhodium and varlet to do those as well.

Appreciate the effort put into this. To be honest, I think I will prefer the ZT3 over the HT2 based on your scoring
I've learned that I hate very gelly knots and don't like too much backbone either.

It is a very nice comparison. Thanks a lot.
Actually you can open a thread to compare the different knots with your grading method.
Oumo and Maseto are very good knots, too.

Appreciate the effort put into this. To be honest, I think I will prefer the ZT3 over the HT2 based on your scoring
I've learned that I hate very gelly knots and don't like too much backbone either.

There is no wrong choice among these 2!! Love them both!

The upcoming rhodium and varlet have to be really good, since the bar is set very high.

It is a very nice comparison. Thanks a lot.
Actually you can open a thread to compare the different knots with your grading method.
Oumo and Maseto are very good knots, too.

Yes sir! Feel free to compare any knots you have! That would be nice.

Not all Paladin brushes have gel knots. In fact, most don’t (from my experience).

It is a very nice comparison. Thanks a lot.
Actually you can open a thread to compare the different knots with your grading method.
Oumo and Maseto are very good knots, too.

Yes sir!  Feel free to compare any knots you have!  That would be nice.

I was thinking you gonna compare, I am gonna read. Lol!