Fan versus Bulb knots

Hello Eric. As others have already mentioned, fan knots splay out more and feel bigger. That’s clearly the biggest difference. Bulbs stay tight and focused. Both bring a different experience and personality I enjoy both equally. On the brush making front, I will say that badger fan knots out sell bulbs on most artisan brushes.

Hey Paul! This is a great piece of information. I love the Manchurian knot you sell and figured I should use a fan knot in a vintage handle. So my confirmation bias is being met!

Hope all is well with you and your family!

I tend to use bulbs when I load/lather from a bowl. The bulb shape better matches the shape of the bowl than does a fan. Most of my face is flat, so the fan works great for face lathering. Then there are hybrid knots, which might be the best of both worlds. It's not like you can't face lather with a bulb or bowl lather with a fan, but it seems like the respective shapes are optimized for those tasks.

Also depends on the soap or cream base.  Some are just a lot easier to lather and for those a fan is great.

For some hard to lather soaps - a bulb and a bowl are ideal.

If all were hybrid shaped there would be no discussion. Somehow Simpsons had it right for years and no one complained.

If all were hybrid shaped there would be no discussion. Somehow Simpsons had it right for years and no one complained.

Not exactly sure what your saying here but I personally won't even entertain a Simpsons brush just for the reason they only only sell knots that are bulbs and I just don't get along with bulb knots... All my brushes are fan shaped...

In terms of 3 band silvertip badger, a few quick notes. A more bulb shaped knot should have a higher loft and for me personally, these shapes are nice for using circles while face lathering and give the right amount of exfoliation. For a knot that is hybrid or like a rounded fan, these tend to splay more and feel softer on the face. These offer a bit more flow through and lend more to side to side painting strokes. If I have enough beard, 3 days or more, I decide on using a badger over synthetic and then depending on how much exfoliation I want, I'll choose a stiffer or a more pointed bulb shape knot. In my time of exploring smaller knots, 22-26mm 3 band silvertip knot, most fall in the category of being a hybrid shape, rounded fan shape. I do have a handful that more bulbish and I really enjoy those again for the face feel and how they do with circles. I tend to prefer a medium density and higher loft than most people so that should be considered relating to what I describe a brush/knot may feel like.

Your preference in knot shape is likely to be based primarily upon your lathering method.

If you like to lather hard soaps in a mug and then apply the lather to your face, you might prefer a brush with a long handle and a very flat top knot. Many boar brushes fit this description.

If you like to load your brush from a tub of softer soap and then build your lather on your face, you might prefer to use a fan shaped brush as they have a fairly large contact area.

If you like to load your brush from a tub of softer soap and then build your lather in a lather bowl and paint the lather on your face with the side of the brush, then you might prefer a bulb-shaped brush. That is my preferred lathering method. The bulb shape fits the inside of my lather bowl well.

Although your lathering method might influence your knot preference, you can use any brush with any lathering method. There are no rules.