Konad vs fauxnad

Hey kids! I won't have a new mani until tomorrow- maybe. I'm feeling a bit unmotivated- still wearing SH Bronze Pink Prism. Remarkably, it is still going strong with nary any tip wear.-One of the perks of having acrylics!

Before I move on to my topic, I want to apologize to a certain blogger- ykwya. Must have been combing my hair with a hammer that day-duh!!!

Soooo ya- Konad vs fauxnad. I don't think this has been done yet, and with the soon to be released 8 new Konad plates I think it's time to do some comparison. I have 20 Konad plates and the entire fauxnad large plate series found here.
Side by side comparison- As you can see, the fauxnad plate I have is much larger. Small fauxnad plates are available. When handling both plates, the first thing I notice is the difference in weight. Konad plates have a backing...not sure if it's a waxed paper or if it's plastic. My fauxnad plates have no backing. I believe that the backing on Konad plates serves 2 purposes- #1-labeling and #2-protection from the rough edges around the plate.
This backing on the Konad plates sometimes gets in the way of my stamping. I don't use the pink, plastic plate holder included with some Konad Kits. I place my plates on a folded paper towel. When I scrape a Konad plate, the slickness of the backing makes the plate slide across the towel...it sort of gets away from me.

My "backless" fauxnad plates have rough edges, but they do not bother me. In fact, I rather like them as it helps the plate "grip" on to my paper towel. Some of my fauxnad plates have edge dings and flaws...while not attractive, these flaws do not impact the quality of the image.

Fauxnad



Konad

<-edge ding fauxnad





While Konad is definitely a better quality plate "feel" wise, it has less to offer "image" wise. The full nail images on my fauxnad plates are *almost* twice as large as Konad full images. The tip images on fauxnad are also *much* larger, making it sweet for those of us who have long nails.
Because my nails are wide and long, I have to multiple stamp full nail Konad images. This is ok- *only* when my image choice is abstract, like the cheetah stamp on M57. If I choose the fishnet image from the same Konad plate, I am in trouble. First of all, I'm going to have to flip the Konad fishnnet image horizontal to try to span the width of my nail...will it cover it? Let's see...

Horizontal Konad Fishnet- as you can see, it doesn't quite span the width of my Flipper Finger, which is the widest nail after my thumb. I should have aligned this image better with my cuticle, ah well, you still get the idea.

Double stamped on the horizontal- you can see- if I had aligned this better, I'd have to stamp a third time to get full coverage on my nail, instead of 2. Aligning this linear image with the previous took some doing. I did a pretty good job at getting this somewhat straight, however, we all know that an acceptable stamp, first try, doesn't always happen. I've used the black Konad special polish for stamping. If I make a mistake, a bit of alcohol on some cotton swiped on the image would remove it. I don't usually use the special polishes, so if the linear alignment wasn't straight, I'd be sol and have to remove it all.
Now for a fishnet fauxnad stamp, really more of a "pothole" net than fishnet...

Well, that didn't turn out well- did it? No fault of the image- my application. I can't remove this one, because the Konad special polish is too thick for the finer lines of this fauxnad image, I used regular polish. I used this fauxnad image upright because it *is* wide enough to span the width of my nail. In fact- it is *wider* than the width of my nail! As you can see, I have about 1/3 left to stamp length-wise. I also want to mention that the full nail fauxnad images are longer than the large end of Konads dual end stamper. If my stamp head had been longer, this fauxnad image would have covered my nail almost an 1/8" more!

This would have looked great if I had spent as much time with alignment  as I did for the previous Konad stamp. I make my posts in real time- not in advance. I'm watching the clock, and am pressed for time because I have to work today.




While I like the look of the Konad fishnet over the fauxnad pothole stamp, I don't like the time and effort it takes to triple stamp Konad. I also don't like the fact that even stamping Konad on the horizontal, I have gaps at my sidewalls empty of an image.

The other side is worse, but this is my damaged right hand- it's semi fused, and I can't twist it around to view the other side.

Why does Konad do this? One size does not fit all. Better to have a larger full nail stamp than a too small one. I think the 8 new Konad plates set to be released are really boring compared to THESE plates...tic the "A series" for the new fauxnad plates available through that vendor. I purchased 8 plates @ $60.60 USD- shipping included! Check out my 2 favorites A18 and A20...those leaf vein tips are amazing!!! I should mention here that I am not affiliated with any vendor or brand. I have no codes, no loyalties. My opinions here are from my experience with the Konad and fauxnad plates I purchased. There are other fauxnad plates available through Ebay and Amazon, but I can't give an opinion on them. I believe a search with "nail stamping" will give you those options.

All in all, I love my fauxnad plates better than my Konads. The volume of image choices are greater in addition to them being very original, interesting and workable with each-other. Some fauxnad images stamp better than others, so testing is a must. Sometimes using a regular polish works better than using a stamping polish.

Having said all that, if someone were to ask me; "Should I get Konad or fauxnad?"...Surprise! - I would recommend purchasing a small Konad Kit...(a few plates, stamper, a couple of special  polishes). Konad is a bit easier to work with. If you find that stamping is "your thing" and want better creative options, invest in some awesome fauxnad plates.

Well, I think that's all! I've run out of time for posting and doing something with my mani. I'm going to work with my previous Prisms mani on 7 nails and sloppy fishnet stamps on 2, and a spare nude nail. By the way, for the example stamps, I slopped on 1 coat of Borghese, Biscotto Beige over SH Bronze Pink Prism. It almost went on full coverage with 1 coat. The brush is interesting as well...shorter wand than I'm used to- but dang- I had awesome control with it.