The 24 mm synbad fan knot set at 52 mm loft is great for face lathering and can handle bowl lathering with a croap soap . If you use a semi soft Italian type croap in a 4 or 5 OZ. tin or plastic round container the synbad knot should work well for you. I use Cella croap set in a fairly deep ceramic shave bowl . The fan shape gives it extra splay for face lathering and it has enough backbone to be just fine for soft croap bowl or tin lathering . I would say it is slightly firmer than the cashmere knot , but both at 52 mm loft I find the performance of both to be similar . They are both very soft for your babyface , but the synbad is just ever so slightly firmer ..........I think . It's hard to tell when I put them side to side.