Chubby 3 & Omega 6213

[OldSaw]

I bought an Omega 6213 in Barcelona two years ago and it has been my favorite brush. A year ago I finally caved in and bought a Simpson Chubby 3, thinking that it would be the new leader of the pack. Sadly, it was not and only recently has been getting more use. I was almost ready to sell it when it began to grow on me a bit more lately.



First off, there’s something about the Persian jar shaped handle of the Omega that I prefer. I never felt a good bond with the Chubby handle.

The knot on the Chubby is slightly larger, 3-4 mm I believe. The Chubby is also more densely packed. So the Chubby should be kicking butt, right?

I think the Omega is either Super or Silvertip. It was fantastic from the beginning. It quickly bloomed out and holds large billowing clouds of lather. So how has it held top position against the Chubby for a year?

I’m thinking that the Chubby has a much longer break in period. Plus the difference in handle shape is a tough hurdle to overcome when you have a clear ergonomic preference.

Lately, I only shave a couple times a week. When I’m on the road working there just isn’t much time and I’m not sacrificing sleep just to shave. So the handle preference has lead me to grab the Omega most of the time. This combined with the longer break in of the Chubby has negatively affected my bias against the Chubby.

I also felt that the Chubby wasn’t producing lather as readily as the Omega and the lather that it did make wasn’t as easily extracted from the brush. I’m thinking the greater density of the Chubby versus the more open and bloomed out Omega is the reason for this. Perhaps this is why I’m finally warming up to the Chubby after all this time because it’s a late bloomer maybe?

The cost difference is no small matter either. There’s about $100 difference between the two with the Chubby commanding the higher price. I think the large outlay in cash has caused me to hold out hope for the Chubby.

Anyway, these are my musings on these two brushes. Who knows, maybe the Chubby will earn its keep and maybe even take the crown. Curious about other’s opinions.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I owned a Chubby 3 in super for about a year and it never became a go to brush for me. The handle felt too large in my hand, the knot was not scrubby enough for my taste and it was simply way too large for me. I like to face lather with rotational and lateral brush movement on the face and using the Chubby this was simply not possible. With the slightest movement of the brush I could lather both cheeks and one ear simultaneously. Something important was thus lost from the shaving experience for me. I see videos of people using the Chubby 3 and I don't know how they do it. Difficult to use as a travel brush I would think due to the drying time, 48 hours for me in the UK. The trend now for even larger brushes is totally lost on me. There is no doubt however that the Chubby is a quality brush but denser and bigger does not a better brush make, for me anyway. YMMV.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Persian Jar style brush handles are for me, not only the most classic, but also one of the most ergonomic ones!! Never got used to the Chubby style; I used to have severe Carpal tunnel and this was the style I dropped a lot.
For me the PJ, Tulip, Keyhole, AS3M, beehive etc are the ones that I can highly recommend if someone has issues with holding a brush - and, believe me, there are a lot of guys that have these problems.

 

[OldSaw]

...Difficult to use as a travel brush...

Meet Chubby 0.3, my travel brush.

 

[OldSaw]

Persian Jar style brush handles are for me, not only the most classic, but also one of the most ergonomic ones!! Never got used to the Chubby style; I used to have severe Carpal tunnel and this was the style I dropped a lot.
For me the PJ, Tulip, Keyhole, AS3M, beehive etc are the ones that I can highly recommend if someone has issues with holding a brush - and, believe me, there are a lot of guys that have these problems.

Agree.

 

[BigJ]

Interesting thread!

My preference is towards smaller/medium sized brushes. So the Ch3 is simply too large.

In terms of specific brushes I love variety!!! I really like my Ch1 and Cl2, especially with hard soaps. Other days I go for more statuesque brushes like my Tulip 2 or Rudy Vey B+B brush.

 

[Roy]

Mine took a month of shaves before it was broken in. Then it was a luxurious brush, Very wonderful for face lathering. Keep going, then one day it will suddenly surpass your expectations.

 

[OldSaw]

Mine took a month of shaves before it was broken in. Then it was a luxurious brush, Very wonderful for face lathering. Keep going, then one day it will suddenly surpass your expectations.

Thanks for confirming my suspicions. I think I'm going to keep it.

 

[MrSmith83]

Chubby 1 in super might be the best brush I've ever used. When scaled up there's just too much hair imo.

 

[Rosseforp]

Thanks for confirming my suspicions. I think I'm going to keep it.

I'm even more confused now, I have been trying to decide between an Omega 622 and a Simpson Persian Jar 2 PJ2 Silver Tip Badger.
The Badger that I have now was a gift, and is very soft and builds a great lather, but won't hold the lather. I don't know if it still needs more time to break-in or if it is just an inexpensive Best Badger that is best left on the shelf.

I am leaning toward the Omega 622 mainly because it is very similar in size to my Omega 10066 and I want to add a Silver Tip to my brush collection. Of course I could just get both of them and see which one I like the best........


My Acca Kappa Badger and Omega 10066 boar for size comparison.