interesting discussion! I prefer the 'manchurian' type badger as others said, which is meaning to me the big base diameter tapering and whitening to the tip, soft tip like a silvertip but because their bottom half is so thick and springy I find their knots better combine scrub, soft, and not stealing all the lather. Have never had much success with super soft silvertips that are similarly sized as the manchurian knot, they have to be taller or more height vs width, to give up the lather (and that makes them move around a lot more under load). Doesn't seem like this hair is very common for sale new anymore vs 10-20yrs ago?