Knot suppliers and quality?

Been looking at making my own brush for a while now.  Turning a handle won't be a problem for me, but I'm having a royal headache deciding on a knot supplier.  Options and reviews I've found:

Frank Shaving (iantang on eBay): Cheap but quality can be a bit iffy at times.

The Golden Nib: Basically the go-to for a fair number of customs.  Usually of good quality although I've heard that the quality of their 2-band finest has been spotty of late?  Don't know if specific to that grade of hair or not.

Ace Shaving Products (eBay): Some grades good, others not so good.

Shave Revolution: Haven't actually heard anything about their badgers, their synthetics seem to be fairly good though.

Wet Shaving Products: Heard everything from great to overhyped, and seen a few arguments along the way.  

Shavemac: Top quality, and prices to match.

But of course, some reviews might be from 2-3 years back and a lot can change since then.

There're also a couple of artisans that I've found that sell knots by themselves (presumably screened for quality) but who are unfortunately unable to ship outside the US.  Are there any good options I've missed or observations on quality?  

In case anyone's curious about specifics I'm looking for something around the 18-20 mm mark with a fair amount of backbone and soft tips.  Not limited to badger, if it's got those characteristics but is synthetic I'll still be happy with it.

Sounds like Shavemac is the best choice for badger. As for synthetic there are several great options. I like Plisson style and Ubersoft/Whipped Dog. There are also Sunrise knots on Etsy at Amack that get rave reviews but I haven't used one yet.

I have created two brushes with the Sunrise 24mm knot from Amack. It is very nice synthetic knot. Soft, fair amount of backbone, and relatively easy to splay. Whips up a nice lather fast. Would like to see one in about 26mm.

Monte

Thanks for the pointers guys, am taking a look now.

momor, looks like Amack doesn't sell outside the US for some reason. I'm looking around to see if there's another vendor, but from my results I'm guessing they're the only one?

Thanks for the pointers guys, am taking a look now.

momor, looks like Amack doesn't sell outside the US for some reason.  I'm looking around to see if there's another vendor, but from my results I'm guessing they're the only one?

In that case Whipped Dog is your best bet imo for a synthetic. He ships to overseas for only $2.00 extra for knots, $3.00 extra for complete brushes to Canada, and $5.00 for complete brushes to other international. I have two WD brushes, a 24mm and a 30mm and they are excellent knots. I have two Plisson style knots and they are also excellent. It's a toss up for me but I seem to use the WD more. If you like more backbone the WD offers it if comparing to a Plisson.

One of my brushes is made with whipped dog handle. The service is great. Probably going to order a brush from him soon.

Thanks all, great info there. Looks like the Whipped Dog is also cheap enough that I won't lose out on much if I buy it and don't like it. Time to place an order!

One of my brushes is made with whipped dog handle. The service is great. Probably going to order a brush from him soon.

Thanks all, great info there.  Looks like the Whipped Dog is also cheap enough that I won't lose out on much if I buy it and don't like it.  Time to place an order!

Larry is one of the nicest guys to deal with and his brushes are very good quality.

I believe Nathan Clark (envyshave) also has knots on his site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/EnvyShave?sect..._leftnav_2

Thanks for the pointer Andrew! Pity Nathan doesn't ship the badger knots overseas though, looks like he's had great reviews on the various forums.

This probably won't be a surprise to anyone, but Larry is fast! Just got an email confirming my order about 6 hours ago, well into Christmas Eve (actually, Christmas itself here in Aus).