Developer/stop/fixer to buy for black & white portraits?

Since I'm scanning and sharpening my negatives myself, sharpness is not a huge concern for me. However, I would love to hear some recommendations on which chemicals to use for fine grain and smooth tonal gradation. I'm shooting only portraits and retaining detail across the highlights/shadows is important for me. Also, I'll be doing this at home so I won't have very fine temperature control (can use ice or hot water though, of course).

I shoot T-MAX and TRI-X. Having a tough time deciding between D76, XTOL and HC-110 (not HC-100 haha)*.

Also, does a rapid fixer like Photographers' Formulary TF-4 (which also doubles as a stop bath) or Ilford Rapid Fixer have any downsides like loss of detail, contrast, speed or grain? I couldn't find any information on this. Is there any benefit to using a stop bath and a fixer separately?

I've been really happy with formulary TF-4. I mainly shoot Tmax. I use water for stop bath and with t grain films I increase my fixing time in TF-4 to about double the recommended time on the bottle. I get good fine grain and solid contrast.

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I assume you mean HC-110, not HC-100 (is that a low cost variant ?).

In which case, all three of your listed choices will give excellent results. You may find the convenience and flexibility and long life of HC-110 advantageous. Alternatively, you may prefer X-Tol's low environmental impact and ease of use in a replenishment regime. Finally, you may like the fact that there is so much information available on D-76.

Fixers, when used properly, should have no meaningful affect on pictorial aspects like detail, contrast, speed or grain.

If you use a stop bath, your development timing will be more carefully controlled, because stop baths stop development almost instantly. With the films you shoot, however, the biggest benefit may be that you will maximize the use of your fixer, and may make your film washing more efficient. I use and recommend a stop bath for modern films, but am happy to acknowledge that many people obtain excellent results using just a running water rinse between developer and fixer.

And by the way, the type of "sharpening" you achieve when processing a file obtained by scanning negatives is very different than the "sharpness" one can adjust by changing films or developers. Your three choices of developers will each balance well the sharpness, grain and speed you are able to achieve with your two films.

I use HC-110 in a replenishment regime, because I still have some (unfortunately discontinued) HC-110 replenisher. When I run out of the replenisher, I may switch to HC-110 one-shot, or may may switch to T-Max RS in a replenishment regime, or may switch to X-Tol in a replenishment regime. YMMV

I always used a stop bath. Then I ran out one day and used tap water, and the negs looked exactly the same. So, it's one less thing to deal with. D76 is not necessarily the sharpest developer, but to me it gives the most beautiful tones w/ Tri-X. T-max, HC 110, and Xtol I have never used, so not much help there. If you try Mic-X or Rodinal you can get quite a bit more sharpness that the D76 w/ your Tri-X, but whether or not that results in better negs is a hard call. Acufine will give you hyper sharp, almost grainless negs w/ Tri-X, but the look is a little odd, so I stopped doing that. It looked too digital, if you know what I mean. Well, this is what I mean. Too strangely sharp, and this was with a $40 flatbed scanner! If you click on the horse twice and use the magnifier, the hoofs look painted on because the edges are so sharp.

Try Perceptol, Microdol X or one of the off-brand versions of these. They will give you fine grain and - if diluted - a wide tonal range. At stock strength they aren´t as sharp but very fine grained, so you may want to apply some sharpening later. Or use 1+1-1+3 for better sharpness and better compensating effect.

D-76 1:1 has been my mainstay lo these 50 years or so.

But whatever you choose, stick with that one and learn it -- your greatest success comes from learning how best to use one chemical/film combo rather than flailing around, being always impressed by some new thing and then getting frustrated.

Hi Moodlover. Dont overthink the choice of chemistry as it is all good in one way or another. Pick one and stick with it for a while. I use HC-110 simply because it is perfect for me. It is a good place to start as it is economical, long lived and sharp with lovely gradation when used correctly. It can be diluted to taste and is extremely versatile depending on how you want it to be. It can be used to push film, or at high dilution, as a compensating developer. I use it with HP5+ for portraits and like it very much !

My Mother at 90. by John Bragg, on Flickr

I switched from HC-110 to XTOL and have been very pleased. My main film has been HP4+ and am very pleased with the results.

I'm a fan of Xtol 1:1 for portraits.