I have owned a Pre-Vulfix Simpsons Chubby 1 for several years. It is my favorite brush. I have spent the last month and a half with two new 2-band Vulfix Simpsons, an Emperor 3 and a Tulip 2. These brushes are outstanding. Buy Vulfix Simpsons with confidence.
Caveat - My first Tulip 2 was a massive shedder. I bought from a reputable vendor (West Coast Shaving) who exchanged it for a new one with no hassle. I did have to wait a bit for new stock to arrive as these things are getting snapped up very quickly. Always buy from a reputable vendor - the usual suspects that get good words from members here at B&B. Note that the Emperor and new Tulip have not shed a single hair with over a month and a half of daily use (have been swapping between the two but using the E3 a bit more).
Here are some pics and random commentary throughout.....
Emperor 3, Tulip 2, Chubby 1 (Pre Vulfix) and B&B 08 LE
Note: To level set the brushes I soaked them all in warm water for a few minutes, shook them out well and let them stand upright for several hours. I notice a big difference in the shape of a brush that has thoroughly dried several days in between uses.
Just the three Simpons
Obligatory top view. It's really hard to get much from these top views. The brushes are of different heights so comparing the bloom is a bit tricky. Once you go out from the center of the camera focus point, perspective starts to do funny things to the view making it hard to compare density (IMHO but I am not a camera expert by any means!). But here it is.....
It's hard to tell from the photos but the bloom diameter on the Chubbby is the largest, second is the Emperor and smallest is the Tulip.Some notes:
- I am pretty much a soap only, face lather guy in terms of how I use brushes.
- I have only owned Simpsons 2-band, never Super in three band or Best so I have a fairly restricted lens on the Simpsons product line.
- My Chubby is several years old and very well broken in. It still has that Simpsons 2-band "scritch" that I love but feels much softer and less springy than the new Vulfix models. That is likely due to age but the new hair might just be springier. I'll let you know in a few years when the E3 and T2 are well worn in.
- The Chubby is the densest of the four pictured. The B&B LE is second, the Tulip close to the LE and the Emperor is the least dense of these four. This is from feeling the top of the brush. If I grab the knot at the base the E3 and the T2 feel more tightly packed than my Chubby.
- The Emperor and the Tulip are very springy. I like this.
- While I say the Emperor is the least dense of the three it is still a soap monster and I would not consider it floppy at all.
- I am reaching for the Emperor the most these days. I really like the handle. I grip it at the base. It feels like a big, long handled brush (it is), some might think it too much. When you compare it to the B&B LE the handle height is nearly identical. The curvature of the base is very different from the LE and makes it feel like a much larger brush.
- Note the less pronounced bulb shape of the Pre Vulfix Chubby. I prefer this brush shape a bit more to the more bulbous Vulfix Simpsons.
- John (letterk) at West Coast mentioned in some thread kicking around here that the dimensions of the new Vulfix Simpsons are coming in different from the older brushes (longer lofts, shorter lofts, hard to predict). The loft on my Tulip 2 is quite long (5mm over spec posted at EM's place which is the older dimensions). The loft height is as tall as the emperor, and 5 millimeters taller than the Chubby. The knot size is smaller than either the Emperor or the Chubby. Yet this is still one very dense, springy brush that doesn't have a huge bloom. If I had my druthers I would prefer a slightly shorter loft on the T2 to give it a bit more density & even smaller bloom. I also think it would balance out the appearance of the brush a bit more (the loft is as long as the handle). But again, this is one dense scrubby brush that I thoroughly enjoy using. If dense is what you want the T2 is still a go. They must do something with these Tulips to have the small knot and long loft still be so springy and dense - glued further into the handle? Any brush geeks in the know?
- Stickers and Lamp Black: It's been well discussed; Simpsons stickers of old falling off (I let mine) and the lamp black fading over time. I can barely see the lettering on my Chubby. Sure that is quirky. The new labels haven't fallen off yet but they don't feel permanent either. Personally I don't care too much either way in terms of what the stickers do or if the lettering fades. For me these brushes are all about the performance. The aesthetics I think about when I look at a brush are the color, and overall handle and brush shape.
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