Emperor 3 Initial Joy Buried By Shedding

[Intrigued]

My Simpsons 2-banded super badger Emperor 3 arrived yesterday. I eagerly opened the package and began checking out the brush. It looked great and I ran my hand through the knot. It felt wonderful though some hairs came loose. No problem. But as I continued to run my hand back and forth across the knot more loose hairs followed and more and still more. I gathered them up and began to count them 1,2,3,4,..........more then 20....... run my hand some more, over 30. At this point it seemed to stop shedding but I hadn’t even gotten it wet yet! A shampoo in Dawn dish soap and two test lathers later and the number of shed hairs was over 40. After gently squeezing the knot and drying on a towel the knot seemed to have stopped shedding last night, but when I used the brush today 4 more hairs shed.

He sits by me as I write this and when I run my hand across the knot, he is not shedding. I’m hoping that Simpsons just forgot to comb out the loose hair when he was made, but time will tell. Mean while the joy of a new brush has been replaced with worry.

Emperor 3 Pre-bloom & Bloom
View attachment $Emperor Pre-bloom.jpg View attachment 144246

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I have picked up several nice brushes over the last few years and I have never seen anything like this degree of shedding.
View attachment $Brush Group.jpg

 

[AJMiami]

Are the hairs long strands coming from the root, or short hairs?

If it was me, I would be contacting the vendor for a replacement or refund

 

[Scott0079]

My Emperor 2 did exactly this. I sent it back to Simpsons at the end of Dec and expect the replacement any day now. Royal PITA though.
They have got to get their QC under control or they are going to cease to exist if they keep pumping out garbage.

 

[Intrigued]

Are the hairs long strands coming from the root, or short hairs?

If it was me, I would be contacting the vendor for a replacement or refund

A lot of the initial hairs were short. That is what made me hope they just forgot to comb it. I like the brush overall ( the knot shape, density, and loft) if I try and replace it who knows what I'll get.

 

[njpaddy]

My Colonel shed quite a few during 2 break-in lathers and the first 3 or so shaves, but none since. I expected some initial shedding so I didn't count how many.

 

[maxman]

My Rooney shed like you wouldn't believe during the break in period.
It still loses a hair here and there after 2 years.
It's the main brush that I use.
Hopefully it will settle down quickly. It's annoying when it just keeps shedding.

 

[SliceOfLife]

My Berkeley shed about 20 the first use. Probably the most I'd ever seen (of 50+ brushes). But that was the end of it. 10+ uses later, hasn't lost another. I'd give this brush 2 or 3 more uses and if it was still losing hair, I'd return it.

 

[Vlad]

View attachment 144248

Nice picture. Need a bigger shot of the collection...can't zoom in.

 

[Crixus]

I have picked up several nice brushes over the last few years and I have never seen anything like this degree of shedding.
View attachment 144248

Hopefully it will cease. The Emperor is one of the finest looking handles out there.

Nice brushes you have on display. Please tell me what is that short-lofted butterscotch at nine o'clock and what grade hair is on it?

 

[Intrigued]

Nice picture. Need a bigger shot of the collection...can't zoom in.

Any one in particular? How about this one?


Brush porn for Vlad
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[Ignatius]

Sad about the shedding...but wow, look at those brushes...

 

[Vlad]

Any one in particular? How about this one?


Brush porn for Vlad
View attachment 144268 View attachment 144269

Oh man.

 

[Intrigued]

Hopefully it will cease. The Emperor is one of the finest looking handles out there.

Nice brushes you have on display. Please tell me what is that short-lofted butterscotch at nine o'clock and what grade hair is on it?

That is a pure badger Simpsons that Gary Young dated as being from the mid 60s. I don't know what type it is. I haven't found a current handle quite like it.

View attachment 144277

 

[altshaver]

I am sorry to hear about your shedding issue. It really is not fun to have to figure out if your brush is good or not. Sending brushes back to vendors is also a horrible experience.

Out of curiosity, what are the knot dimensions of your Two-Band E3?
Knot Diameter = ?
Knot Loft Height = ?

Nice brush collection by the way. I really like that old Chubby handle. They do not make them like that anymore.

 

[Intrigued]

I am sorry to hear about your shedding issue. It really is not fun to have to figure out if your brush is good or not. Sending brushes back to vendors is also a horrible experience.

Out of curiosity, what are the knot dimensions of your Two-Band E3?
Knot Diameter = ?
Knot Loft Height = ?

Nice brush collection by the way. I really like that old Chubby handle. They do not make them like that anymore.

The knot diameter is 21mm and the loft is 47mm.

 

[AJMiami]

That is a pure badger Simpsons that Gary Young dated as being from the mid 60s. I don't know what type it is. I haven't found a current handle quite like it.

View attachment 144277

that brush reminds me a bit of the current prod Special

 

[altshaver]

The knot diameter is 21mm and the loft is 47mm.

Thanks a lot! This really confirms to me that these are the actual manufacturer's specifications on this line of brushes. In my opinion, that makes them overly expensive due to the amount (lack) of badger hair. They are beautiful handles though.

Good luck with the brush. Keep us updated.

 

[SliceOfLife]

That is a pure badger Simpsons that Gary Young dated as being from the mid 60s. I don't know what type it is. I haven't found a current handle quite like it.

View attachment 144277

Looks like a Chubby 2 and a Special 1 to me.

 

[Crixus]

In my opinion, that makes them overly expensive due to the amount (lack) of badger hair.

I think there are several Simpson models that sell for a premium to the amount/density of hair involved. This is probably due to a combination of handle turning and a panache or prestige factor. It seems the Emperor and the Harvard fall into this category.

I love the Emperor handle but have yet to ever hold one. One thing about the shape--every time I see a photo of the Emperor I automatically glance down to see if the shoulders or lapels of whatever I'm wearing need a quick brushing.

 

[Intrigued]

Looks like a Chubby 2 and a Special 1 to me.

It's a Chubby 3 and I thought the Special 1 (just check the current posted dimensions and they match mine) looked the closest to it also.