Simpson's Wee Scot

Got this as a travel brush, it’s much smaller than my previous travel brush (an Edwin Jagger), honestly crazy small but very dense and lathers exceptionally well. Also, it is the most precise brush I’ve ever experienced to steer around my face.

Only downside is that the handle is so thin that it get slippery to hold faster than a bigger brush. For everyday use I therefore prefer my wonderful Chubby 1 Best Badger.

Now I need to find a small enough travel container for it. For now I carry it around in the old travel container for my EJ travel brush but that one is way too big for the gorgeous wee Scot

There are so many sizes of brushes and knots that are available. Commercially, it is easy to acquire a 26mm-30mm brush, and to do so at less than a dollar/mm, yet this little brush does cost over $2/mm. It would be easy to dismiss such a brush as a "value", but that is until you actually get one in your hands.
The brush doesn't take too long to soak. It is not a water hog or lather hog, instead it keeps giving back. Scooping out an amount the size of a raisin or even less, I can get more than 3 passes with ToOBS cream. Using hard soap seems even less wasteful, yet equally indulgent.
I like it enough that I might get a second one...

Two things blew my mind about this brush after getting it: (1.) It is SO VERY TINY. Less than half the size of an average brush. And then, when using it, (2.) WOW this little brush lathers hard soaps quickly, and explodes with tons of lather. I'm amazed to be getting two very thick luxurious lathers of WMS from one loading of this little brush that is smaller than my thumb.

I got it for travel, but I now use it regularly at home as well. There's something interesting about being able to fit the entire brush between my upper lip and nose when face lathering. It just works great. Because it's so short, it feels nice and stiff when you're loading up soap. It's very dense and straight. Tips seem relatively soft. Has only shed one hair that I've seen, so far. Some of the hairs around the edge have crinkled easily, not sure how common that is.

When I first saw how silly small this brush was, I was worried that it was a mistake to get it, but as soon as I used it I was more than happy with it.

This is the last Simpson I bought; at D.R.Harris in London.

It is tiny and it almost disappears in my big hands but it is still good to work with as a facelatherer. You will loose it in a bowl though. Thanks to the short loft this small brush still has a decent amount of backbone left. it easily works up your lather and the flow-through is great; you will need only a small amount of soap to create enough lather for 2 or 3 passes.

This brush really works well and far better than you would expect from such a dwarf, it uses soap very economical and is a very affordable and famous brush. Still you do pay a lot extra for the fact that it is famous imo.

Simpson claims that the more you pay, the more badger you will get but this is, in an opposite way, simply not true. For about the same money you can have a Special in best that is much more brush; denser, more knot and a much more comfortable handle. In every aspect twice the brush the Wee Scot is for the same price.

That doesn't make the Wee Scot any less, just a bit on the expensive side.

This was my first Simpson, and it is great!! The Wee Scot, lathers MWF well, and most of you know it's not the easiest to lather. The Wee Scot (Size of your PINKY finger, makes it great for travel. The Simpson "Wee Scot" $35 price tag makes it a great beginner inexpensive, quality brush.

I reposted this review from the Brush Forum. About a month ago, Bob asked a handful of us to give our opinions of this brush and it has generated quite a few interesting opinions and, at times, some friendly but heated debate. Although I use this brush fairly often, since this thread began, I've used the Wee Scot more frequently, and in different ways, than I had ever before. I've used it enough times for me to make a fair assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the brush. I've posted a couple of comments on this thread and will try not to repeat myself. I wanted to make a final assessment of this brush and answer the question posed. "Is it a toy or a serious brush"? Finally, would I recommend it to someone looking to buy a brush?

Going back through my old posts, I was able to count how often I actually shaved with the Wee Scot. Prior to the past month, which skews heavily towards the WS, I had used it for 25 out of 130 shaves. Of those 25, there were probability 10 to 15 days of travel, which means that on those days I don't travel, I choose to shave with the Wee Scot about once a week.

My first instinct was to compare the brush to the two brushes that I use more often. I use a Simpson Eagle G3 in Best most often, followed by a Semogue SOC boar. These are obviously much larger brushes. I almost exclusively face lather soaps and both brushes are great at the task. They are relatively wide, short brushes with stiff backbones which show no mercy on whatever puck of soap happens to get in their way. When stacked against either, the Wee Scot lags behind when up against a puck of soap. As much as I love my MWF, Tabac, Cade and AoS, I also enjoy Arko, Palmolive and Speick shave sticks. When face lathering from a shave stick, the Wee Scot generates every bit as much lather as the Eagle, and is easier to control than the, at times, unwieldy SOC. A few weeks ago, I did break out some TOBS shave cream and gave the Wee Scot a go. While I got an acceptable shave and generated more than enough lather in my scuttle, I would be dishonest if I said this is something I would want to do on a daily basis. A longer, less dense brush would be better suited. In fact, one of my older Vulfix brushes is better suited for this than either the Eagle or SOC as well.

This leads me to my final thoughts on the Wee Scot. Could I pick a single brush to use every day in every situation ?(Impossible to imagine such a ludicrous idea I know, but bear with me here). Even the favorite of all my brushes, the Simpson Eagle, would fall short. It isn't a great travel brush as it is so dense that it takes a couple of days to dry completely. Less expensive, floppier, longer brushes are better for bowl lathering creams. My point is, every brush has its limitations. Which gets to the heart of the matter with the Wee Scot. Out of the brushes I have, none do what they were designed to do better than it does. I could replace my beloved Eagle with a Chubby, a Rooney 3/1 or a Shavemac D01 and have a brush that excel at face lathering pucks of soap. To replace the Wee Scot would require more of a compromise. Whereas something like a Case or Berkeley are decent brushes and, were I to own only one brush, may be a better candidate for that job, I find the Wee Scot exactly suited for the task it was designed for; It is built to be the ideal travel brush for all that entails. It makes outstanding lather when face lathering a shave stick, dries quickly and fits well in the metal containers designed nearly 100 years ago for brushes and shave sticks. In this example, the Case and Berkeley seem to me to be a compromise. I don't find them as large as I like for face lathering pucks of soap, but too large for my ideal travel brush.

Who would I recommend it to? To those who frequently travel, especially if you fly often, it can be an indispensable part of your travel kit. It allows me the pleasure of a good shave while away from home and I enjoy it enough to break it out occasionally when not traveling. Further, it offers something unique to brush collectors. You may have 20 brushes, but the Wee Scot is so different that you're unlikely to have something quite like it. Also, anyone who primarily uses a shave stick. Who isn't it for? As someone who likes the brush, even I couldn't see it as a first or only brush. Unfortunately, someone looking for a first/only brush probably doesn't even know yet whether they will face, bowl or palm lather nor if they will prefer soaps or creams. I don't have the answer for which brush would be the right one, but I feel confident that this isn't it.

In summary, the Wee Scot is definitely not a toy. It is a tool that excels at it's primary function (and isn't that we expect from all our tools?) and is sold at a very reasonable price.

love this brush but was shocked by the size.

I bought the WS on a whim from T&H with their 20% discount. When I opened the box I said to myself 'No Way!'. Today I gave it a try and my oh my, what a suprise. I bowl lather and to my amasement, I filled up the bowl with a rich thick lather. I lost the brush in the bowl. After digging it out, it worked wonderfully on my face. The only downside is I have larger hands and it will take a while to get acustomed to the small size. It's not an every day brush for me but it sure will be alot of fun. All of us should have one just for the enjoyment.

Like others, purchased as a travel brush.......but has become a brush i use regularly. Its not lather greedy like my Kent but then, the lather has no where to hide in a brush this size! I'm glad i bought this brush, its a fine brush. My only observation is that the print ink has completely disappeared, the engraving still apparent so may re-ink at some point if i can be bothered.

This has been my primary brush for the past few months and has thoroughly impressed me every step of the way. While this may not be the best choice for large brush enthusiasts, the W.S. is probably the most versatile, small brush that I have owned. In my opinion, it fits the bill of "if you could only own one brush" and then some. A definite must for quality, feel, and practicality in an economical package.

This brush does get some time to get used to, but I like it more and more every day.

This was my first simpson and it does show why these brushes are so sough after.

The best hair is dense and exceptional all around. It is soft in the face with great backbone. Lathers is great, and I get enough for 3 passes whether I use cream or soap.

My perfect brush would be a bigger brush with the same characteristic of the wee. The search continues, but the wee never dissapoints.

I have compared this brush to 13 others at <http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1991663#post1991663>

I got this little guy a few weeks ago and wanted to give it a fair chance and good breaking in before rating.

Price: I paid all of $35. While that might sound like a lot for 14mm of Best Badger, you get an awful lot of brush for the money. I consider it one of the better deals in shavedom.

Quality: Fantastic. I didn't lose a single hair. As an added bonus, it doesn't have much funk at the beginning and doesn't bloom too much.

Density: Definitely not as dense as my Rooney 1/1 Super or even my Duke 1, but still a damn sight better than the Vulfix I had.

Softness/Stiffness: The small knot can only be so stiff, but it is nice and soft on the face while still massaging.

Ergonomics: This might be a problem for some people with the tiny handle, but I actually like it when bowl lathering as I don't knock my fingers on the edge of the bowl.

Latherability: Couldn't be better. I use soaps mainly and a good swirl with this little guy gives me just the right amount of beautiful lather for 3 passes. As an added bonus, you don't really have to worry about wasting product or getting too much water as it only holds a little bit.

Just got this brush today. With all of the talk about how small it was, I was somewhat disappointed when I opened the package to see how big actually was.
On the other hand, if it were any smaller it would be totally useless. I was very impressed with how well it lathers. I used around a penny size "spot" of proraso, squeezed all of the excess water out of the brush and added around a table spoon of water to the bowl. Instantly it started foaming and lathering quite well. It took around 30 seconds to get a lather I willing to transfer to my face.

The brush is quite stiff, but after scrubbing, the brush was soft enough so I was able to mop the cream around evenly to ensure a full cover.

I used around half of the amount of cream I normally use with my EJ best badger. It was the perfect amount for two passes and a few touchups.

A lot of people face lather with this brush. But I can assure you that it lathers perfectly fine in a bowl.

Given the relatively low price, performance, and frugality with soaps and creams. This will now be my go to brush. No more sending heaps of unused cream down the drain.

Love this little(only in size) performer. I also bought it for travel, and when I first saw it's size, I knew it would be perfect. I would not have believed this little guy could fit inside a pill box, let alone produce such stellar results! Understand that my only other brush for comparison is a Col Conk 1000 badger, which lathers up nicely, but leaves room for comfort for a face latherer like me. My Wee Scott performed superbly on the road with cream, but fast became my brush of choice for getting a great lather on my face at home without much more effort than the Col Conk brush. It's amazing that it's diminuitive size delivers big when it comes to both backbone and a luxurious/soft tip. There is absolutely enough brush to deliver the volume for two passes easily without going back to the puck. I love it!

I just ordered one last week, will review mine eventually. I'm tired of the big bulky soap hogs, personally.

Simpson's Wee Scot is a very small brush. Pulling it out of the box will be a surprise to anyone who orders one. It has a 14mm knot, 36mm loft and overall is only 67mm tall. It is only available in Best hair...and the handle is signed by Alexander Simpson.



It is a tiny dynamo however. I consider it a near ideal tool for face lathering. In my view it has a number of things going for it:

1 Well made
2 Face lathers very well without hogging
3 Has enough backbone for soaps
4 Has soft enough tips for face comfort
5 Precisely scrubs lather where you want it
6 Very conservative of soaps and creams (a little goes a long way)
7 And the best part...it is fun to use

This brush is almost the polar opposite of every other brush to be found in the reviews. Its tiny size makes it look like a toy, but it performs like a champ.

I do not bowl lather much at all, and would likely not recommend this brush to bowl lather aficionados, but for shower shavers like me, this little Wee is a wonder of efficiency, convenience, and pleasure.

For me that "smile factor" alone makes me love this brush. Every time I pluck it out of my soak mug I smile. Then as it works up a great lather on my face with every soap or cream I have used....my smile just gets bigger.

At around $40 this is a bargain in the Simpson's line too.

It is somewhat hard to use the numerical ratings on this brush as my experiences with brushes of all sorts is not diverse, but I think just about anyone could come to love this brush...and not just for travel. I would give this brush a solid 10 for all aspects of the rating scale, but I am sure this small brush is not for everyone.

I purchased my Wee Scot from Gary at Shoebox Shave Shop. I have used it with an assortment of soaps and creams ranging from Williams and TABAC to super soft Clubman Cream. It worked with them all. I can easily get a 2-pass shave with a minimal amount of soap. I do have a near full-beard so my face surface area is much reduced, but I always lather my beard as well as the parts of my face and neck that I shave.

I have a day-by-day exploration of this Wee Scot in the main forum where specific soaps and creams etc are discussed:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=98002

About the best thing I can think to conclude with is that I bought the Wee as a travel brush...I now find it hard to imagine it tucked away for travel alone. It has taken over as my brush of choice.