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Chubby 2 Synthetic knot issue?

Hey guys, I recently got my Chubby 2 synthetic and I've used it about 5 times. I love the brush and it works great, but I've noticed the knot doesn't seem as dense as my Trafalgar T3 or my APShaveCo brushes. I can actually pull the knot away from the edges of the handle and see almost to the base of the knot. There also appears to be some fibers glued to the sides of the plug, is the entire outside of the knot meant to be glued directly to the plug walls? I'm hoping that my knot isn't coming unglued and all my other brushes are firmly seated and can't be moved. Anyone have any similar experience with theirs?
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EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
That does not look right to me. Simpson warranty and after sales is excellent but in the first instance I would contact your supplier and request a replacement. Please let us know how you get on.
 
The knot reaches about 2/3rds down the handle and is glued at the bottom. It shouldn't be glued to the walls as such, not to the top anyway. This pic is from a recent post by a Forum member who broke his handle...


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Your brush looks fine to me. I can pull the fibres away from the sides on mine so I'll say...
They all do that Sir.
 
Well I contacted Maggards and they said that the other ones they have in stock are the same way. At this point I'm not going to worry about it, but I guess I'll just keep an eye on it. They said that because the Chubby is handmade, there is more variance and the hole is larger than the knot compared to a machine made brush.
 
Well I contacted Maggards and they said that the other ones they have in stock are the same way. At this point I'm not going to worry about it, but I guess I'll just keep an eye on it. They said that because the Chubby is handmade, there is more variance and the hole is larger than the knot compared to a machine made brush.

I’d still contact Simpson’s. That is NOT normal. I get tired of vendors (plural) heralding the “handmade” Simpson catch all... If anything handmade should mean better quality not less!
 
Well I contacted Maggards and they said that the other ones they have in stock are the same way. At this point I'm not going to worry about it, but I guess I'll just keep an eye on it. They said that because the Chubby is handmade, there is more variance and the hole is larger than the knot compared to a machine made brush.
For what it’s worth, when I saw this post I checked my Chubby 2 synth. Mine too is the same way. I don’t think my brush is defective; in fact it’s a stellar performer. I’m not sure I’d have ever noticed the fiber not fully filling the handle; it certainly has the backbone of a Chubby 2, but in a synthetic kind of way, if that makes sense. If it were any denser, given its loft, it would likely be difficult to use.

But certainly does beg the question of why the hole is drilled so wide. The one other synthetic I have with me in the quarantine bunker (a Yaqi Timberwolf) doesn’t seem to share this characteristic.
 
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EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
A difficult thing to photograph one handed but here are mine. There is little or no gap on the Chubby and maybe a very slight gap on the Colonel but that is a much less dense knot. There is no glue at all at the sides of either plug as in the OPs images. The knots are not glued at the sides at all. To me his brush looks to have slipped through quality control and Simpson should replace it.

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I just checked my Chubby 2 synthetic and there is a small gap on the sides, but none of the fibers are glued to the sides.

Regarding the denseness, my Chubby 2 seems a more dense than my Trafalgar T3. With that said, since they are both quite dense, it's a bit subjective trying to determine which is more dense given that they are a different fiber and not the exact same specs.
 
I emailed Simpson shortly after lunch, so I'm assuming I will hear from them tomorrow. It's just odd that I can basically see the base of the knot down the sides of the knot, that's what bothers me. Still, maybe it's within their specs, the brush works great.
 
I emailed Simpson shortly after lunch, so I'm assuming I will hear from them tomorrow. It's just odd that I can basically see the base of the knot down the sides of the knot, that's what bothers me. Still, maybe it's within their specs, the brush works great.

That does sound off. I can push the fibres away from the handle, creating a small gap but there's no way I can see down inside the handle on any of mine. The handle is so deep It doesn't sound even possible.
 
Well Simpson emailed me back saying that it's normal and the synthetics need some room to move, otherwise the knot would be too stiff. They said to let them know if I have any issues, so I guess I'm good to go.
 
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EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
Well Simpson emailed me back saying that it's normal and the synthetics need some room to move, otherwise the knot would be too stiff. They said to let them know if I have any issues, so I guess I'm good to go.
I am very surprised indeed. The gap I can accept although there is almost none on my example, but the glue at parts of the side of the knot I cannot accept. To me that is a clear flaw, either the entire knot is glued at the sides or none of it is.
 
Well Simpson emailed me back saying that it's normal and the synthetics need some room to move, otherwise the knot would be too stiff. They said to let them know if I have any issues, so I guess I'm good to go.

Thanks. Very helpful. Have you been using it? What do you think of how it performs?
 
2 observations here, first is that its not surprising that there is glue that seeps up around the knot just watching the video above which just looks messy for a company like Simpson and second is I believe its standard in the industry now that for any particular sized or type of knot the handle is recommended to be at least 2mm larger diameter than the base of the knot and that is to allow room for the knot to bloom or expand and also allow it room to move so its not so stiff...
 
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