I recently bought a Simpson's Tulip 3 (T3) from Em's Place. All in all, I like the brush quite a lot.
Price: $187.50 (What can you expect for a Simpson's Super Badger brush?)
Quality: I think the quality is first rate. Simpson's has been getting a bad rap recently because users have reported that their brushes tend to lose a lot of bristles. Mine has lost three in about 10 uses. Two of the three occurred during the first use.
Density: The brush is quite dense, but I'm comparing the density of the T3 to the other Simpson's brush I own, namely, the Chubby 3 in Super Badger. The Chubby is as dense as it gets.
Stiffness of Tips: The bristles are 54mm tall. In my opinion, this makes for a scrubby brush that is quite stiff, but great for lathering hard soaps. I find the bristles to be so stiff that it will be hard to create lather directly on one's face.
Softness of Tips: The tips are anything but soft. It feels like the brush is giving me an exfoliation treatment when I paint the lather on my face. (I am saying this not as a criticism, but as a description. Many folks like this harder feeling.)
Ergonomic: The brush is well balanced and feels good in my hand.
Latherability: I have used my T3 with several brands of triple-milled soaps. It makes a large amount of rich lather with all of them; certainly enough for a three-pass shave plus touch-ups.
The T3 is an excellent brush and I use it regularly in my rotation.
Price: $187.50 (What can you expect for a Simpson's Super Badger brush?)
Quality: I think the quality is first rate. Simpson's has been getting a bad rap recently because users have reported that their brushes tend to lose a lot of bristles. Mine has lost three in about 10 uses. Two of the three occurred during the first use.
Density: The brush is quite dense, but I'm comparing the density of the T3 to the other Simpson's brush I own, namely, the Chubby 3 in Super Badger. The Chubby is as dense as it gets.
Stiffness of Tips: The bristles are 54mm tall. In my opinion, this makes for a scrubby brush that is quite stiff, but great for lathering hard soaps. I find the bristles to be so stiff that it will be hard to create lather directly on one's face.
Softness of Tips: The tips are anything but soft. It feels like the brush is giving me an exfoliation treatment when I paint the lather on my face. (I am saying this not as a criticism, but as a description. Many folks like this harder feeling.)
Ergonomic: The brush is well balanced and feels good in my hand.
Latherability: I have used my T3 with several brands of triple-milled soaps. It makes a large amount of rich lather with all of them; certainly enough for a three-pass shave plus touch-ups.
The T3 is an excellent brush and I use it regularly in my rotation.