Final Badger Purchase - Help!

[ChesterPulley]

Badger brushes are just riddix expensive, it seems like, once you've broken in a boar. I want to get one last Badger to put in my rotation and try to keep the rotation for at least a year. I am a face latherer, I use a gravy boat brush scuttle, I prefer soaps but I dabble in creams here and there, and I shave straight if that makes a difference for some reason.

I currently own and use regularly:
Vulfix 660's super with 20mm knot and 52mm loft. That info was taken off a website so its approximate I'm sure.
Edwin Jagger (from Crabtree & Evelyn.. Not sure of the dimensions but bigger than the Vulfix on both knot and loft.)

Semogue 830 boar... glorious.

I have an AOS pure badger that leaves my face feeling more scathed when lathering then after my shave... That would be my contribution to TSA should they pilfer my kit whilst traveling.


Anyone out there have a chubby 3? Im interested to hear if that giant knot just decimates your face with glorious lather. I think I may go the Chubby route but not sure if I want to get into a 2 band or 3 band or best or super or silver tip. There are just so many options....

 

[mattiow]

Have got a huge vulfix 41 that is a fantastic face latherer. Have just ordered a frank shaving 26mm chubby in manchurian off eBay to round out my brush collection - looks really good and for a third of the price of a Simpsons chubby

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=170950332563

 

[Mick]

Badger brushes are just riddix expensive,

Anyone out there have a chubby 3? Im interested to hear if that giant knot just decimates your face with glorious lather. I think I may go the Chubby route but not sure if I want to get into a 2 band or 3 band or best or super or silver tip. There are just so many options....

Whoa talk about polar opposites

The words Chubby and inexpensive are hard to spit out in the same context.

If you are looking for the one killer face lathering badger brush, set your sights a little lower down to a Duke 2. Far less expensive than any of the Chubbies and just as good at face lathering.

I bought a Chubby 1 because I thought it would replace my Duke 2 as they are similar in size and loft (density and pack of hair is different) and I always wanted to try a Chubby.

I did a head to head comparison with both brushes and after the lather settled, the new owner of the Chubby really likes it

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/285366-Duke-2-vs-Chubby-1-Face-lathering-title-bout

This is NOT to say that the Chubby is not a good brush. Just the opposite, it is a GREAT brush but so is the Duke 2

If you want a monster face lathering brush then by all means get a Chubby 3 or a Rooney 3XL. Everyone needs at least one brush that can slop lather on your collar and in your eyes on the same pass

 

[ChesterPulley]

Haha! Yeah Chubbies aren't cheap huh? I'm not looking to break $200 on this but want something super duper soft as thats kind of what I'm missing I think. I liked your write up and am now very interested in the Duke 2.. Does it feel like a best badger? Or is it pretty darn soft? I also just stumbled onto some Thater brushes online... anyone have experience with those? I'm liking the look of this bad boy.
http://www.royalshave.com/p/411-140...bby-white-silvertip-badger-shaving-brush.html

It just looks soooo softtttt

 

[Mick]

Haha! Yeah Chubbies aren't cheap huh? I'm not looking to break $200 on this but want something super duper soft as thats kind of what I'm missing I think. I liked your write up and am now very interested in the Duke 2.. Does it feel like a best badger? Or is it pretty darn soft? I also just stumbled onto some Thater brushes online... anyone have experience with those? I'm liking the look of this bad boy.
http://www.royalshave.com/p/411-140...bby-white-silvertip-badger-shaving-brush.html

It just looks soooo softtttt

My Duke 2 is solid as a rock. Extremely firm on the face yet very soft feeling.

I used it a little while ago for today's shave. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/178785-What-s-Your-Brush-Today?p=4716259#post4716259

It is still my go to brush when I face lather and I have a fair choice in face lathering brushes to choose from. I just added a Duke 3 so I have the complete Duke "set" (Duke 1, 2, and 3). All of them are fantastic but the Duke 2 seems to be the "Goldilocks porridge" of the Duke clan (at least for me anyway)

 

[ChesterPulley]

My Duke 2 is solid as a rock. Extremely firm on the face yet very soft feeling.

I used it a little while ago for today's shave. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/178785-What-s-Your-Brush-Today?p=4716259#post4716259

It is still my go to brush when I face lather and I have a fair choice in face lathering brushes to choose from. I just added a Duke 3 so I have the complete Duke "set" (Duke 1, 2, and 3). All of them are fantastic but the Duke 2 seems to be the "Goldilocks porridge" of the Duke clan (at least for me anyway)

Yeah, for some reason the Duke 2 seems to be the most revered of all the Dukes for some reason! Uhho... I think I'll end up buying at least 2 more brushes now haha! You've convinced me on the Duke 2... thats a for sure, but I also may get that that Thater with the 28mm knot just to have something large. I seem to like the largest of my badgers the most even though it has a lower hair quality (Best vs. Super being my highest quality)

 

[Mick]

If you have your mind set on a Chubby 3 please get that brush.

There is nothing worse than "settling" for something else and always wondering whether you made the right decision

Buck up and put a WTB in the BST for a Chubby 3 (when your post count rises and you have been on B&B for the required 45 days). that is the only way that you will know for sure. If you find that you don't like it (which I doubt) or that you don't use it enough to warrant keeping it, it will be a very easy re-sale for you as everyone wants to know what a Chubby 3 is really like.

I almost traded my Rooney 3xl off on a Polo 10 in finest because I didn't seem to be using it as much as I wanted to (it's pretty darn big). I used it one last time just to make sure I could let it go and there is NO WAY that I will ever part with that monster.

 

[ChesterPulley]

Wasn't set on the Chubby 3, just was looking online today and decided it was the size of half my face haha. I'm going Duke 2 like I said and then I'll make WTB posts or just splurge on something giant.

I think I read your post about that last shave with your Rooney and not wanting to part with it a week or so ago... maybe thats why I have huge brushes on my brain. Haha!

 

[mblakele]

I had a CH-1 two-band super a couple of years ago. The knot was too pointy for enjoyable face lathering, even after 20-40 uses. That may have been down to poor QC: my Classic 2 in best is much nicer.

If softness is the goal, consider buying a TGN Finest XH knot and setting it into a handle. Recently I set a 22-mm fan-shaped into a spare handle, at about 46-mm. The two-band hair has hooked tips, which can feel deceptively rough when dry but are absurdly soft when wet. In this way it is the opposite of the old Rooney Finest hair. It is easily the softest brush I have used, much softer than my examples of Simpson best. My Classic 2 and Rooney Finest are a little denser, but this TGN is dense enough for good backbone and has excellent flow-through.

 

[Mick]

Wasn't set on the Chubby 3, just was looking online today and decided it was the size of half my face haha. I'm going Duke 2 like I said and then I'll make WTB posts or just splurge on something giant.

I think I read your post about that last shave with your Rooney and not wanting to part with it a week or so ago... maybe thats why I have huge brushes on my brain. Haha!

Good choice on the Duke 2. I think you will enjoy it and if you don't they sell very quickly on BST.

A BIG brush is fun on days you hate your soap and want to go through a LOT of it with one shave

 

[ChesterPulley]

Can anyone reading this school me up on Manchurian hair? And then tell me what other hair is common? It seems I read a lot about manchurian but almost nothing else. I tried doing a quick search but didn't find any adequate explanations.

I have serious SBAD which is strange because I would've thought I would've gotten it more with straights.

 

[Elder Scrolls]

Turtle, how would you compare the Chubby 1 handle to the Duke 2 handle ? Not much difference? Too wide? Too short?

 

[djh]

Turtle, how would you compare the Chubby 1 handle to the Duke 2 handle ? Not much difference? Too wide? Too short?

Here is a shot of the two of them side-by-side. They are quite similar with the Chubby being just a little wider.

​

 

[Mick]

Turtle, how would you compare the Chubby 1 handle to the Duke 2 handle ? Not much difference? Too wide? Too short?

I have the size of both brushes, along with pics of both Duke 2 and Chubby 1 side by side dry, lathered, and in bloom in the review

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/285366-Duke-2-vs-Chubby-1-Face-lathering-title-bout

EDIT: Did not see that David had answered and posted a pic.

The Chubby I had was more of a super badger 2 band bulb knot rather than the best badger 3 band modified fan bulb in David's photo

Interesting to see the same brush look so different (pic below from the review page).

 

[Elder Scrolls]

Thanks for the photos guys........both handles look very similar in size...Chubby just a little bit wider and shorter.......my Duke 2 fits just nice on my hands so I guess the Chubby 1 handle wont be a problem to me.....

 

[Amzimbo]

Your instinct to go with a Thater for softness is spot on.

 

[njpaddy]

The only brush on my 2013 purchase list is a Simpson 57. It's likely that one or both my Thaters will get sold to pay for it. I prefer my Simpsons in Best over 2 or 3 band Thater. Density trumps softness for me.

 

[ChiefBroom]

I have a Chubby 1 in Super 3-band. Nice little brush, but I wouldn't call it a great face lathering brush. It's a little too small for my taste.

I also have a Chubby 2 in Best that I picked up on BST for $100-110. It absolutely wonderful knot, and I love the brush. If I had to describe it, I'd say it falls somewhere between (if maybe a little off the side) of 3-band Super and 2-band. The tips aren't quite as soft as 3-band, but it is NOT a scritchy brush at all, just nice scrub. On the other hand, I don't think the hair is quite as springy as most of my 2-bands. I don't have a Chubby in 2-band.

If you ca get a Chubby 2 in Best at a nice price, I think that would be a good choice.