I got a Wee Scott!

[Facial Blood Donor]

My Wee Scott arrived today from WCS(great service from them always, BTW). I've never seen a photo of the WS compared to a "regular" sized brush, so I took one.

This is my first badger, so I have some questions. I tested it on 5 soaps(soaked it in hot water for about 5 minutes before each test, like I do for my boars)and I followed the directions that came with the brush which state in general, no circular "scrubbing" action to load the brush or apply the lather to the face. During the testing, I found that using the "painting" technique recommended by Simpson did not produce copious amounts of lather that I had become accustomed to with my boars, and the Mystic Water soap produced a very thin bubbly lather that dissipated very quickly. During the first 3 tests, I lost a total of about 5 hairs from the brush, then it stopped, which I find acceptable. Is the lather problem typical of this brush, or is it just the "painting" technique? Should I scrap the painting technique and scrub away until the brush needs to be replaced? On the plus side, it seems this brush brings out the scent of the soap much more than the boars, which might be my imagination but I don't think so. I'm going to shave with it right now so I'll get back with a report in a few.

 

[martym]

I load mine just the same way as my other brushes.
It does a great job!
Nice choice

 

[RVshave]

I use mine mostly for sticks, works great, but I did laugh when I first opened it up

 

[gwgrooms]

I bought a Simpson Colonel and it came with the same directions. I use circular motions anyway. If I can't use the thing to make a nice lather then what's the point. Don't get me wrong, I am careful with it, but I am not going to restrict my use to just painting motions. I think they are probably just trying to protect themselves from people who mistreat the brushes and then complain and demand a replacement or a refund.

By the way, I love my Simpson. It is by far my favorite badger brush and I don't see needing a different one. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't buy another brush anyway.

 

[Henrik]

Most of my "high end" brushes are Simpsons and like you I have taken their instructions accordingly. Well- when I start lathering away I go circular I guess (I face lather all of the time). Just to whip the lather up a bit.
However I have one exception. My Wee Scot. I go circular all of the time with that one. I can´t get the work otherwise. It´s a small brush and not that densely packed so.. I had mine for years (used when travelling). I have had zero problems so far. Great brush by the way. I also chuckled when I saw it for the first time. (Mind you there was even a smaller version of the Wee Scot way back in time).

 

[Facial Blood Donor]

Thank you to all! I just finished my first full shave with the wee scott, and as I was lathering , I remembered a job that I had about 10 years ago. I used to paint high-end yachts and sports fishermen. You know, those huge boats with the flying bridge and tuna towers? These boats cost millions of dollars apiece, and we did all the painting and varnishing the bright work with brushes, we would even brush out the hull if the boat was smaller than about 75 feet. Some of the paint systems that we used on these boats cost upwards of $400 a gallon! Any time that we had to use this expensive paint, we would always use a badger brush. Badger paintbrushes are also very expensive, some costing over $30 apiece for a 2 inch wide paintbrush. But there is a reason why we used a badger brush. It applies a smooth, even coat of paint and does not leave brush marks. If we were using less expensive paint on parts of the boat that were not readily visible (like the bilges and in some engineering spaces)guess what we used? If you said a boar bristle brush, you would be correct. So what I was witnessing in the mirror was what I now believe to be the reason we use badger brushes: a smooth even coat of lather, with no brush marks! Of course, I did modify the technique a little bit and went circular before finishing off with the paint strokes, but there was no scrubbing like I do with my boar brushes. The result was regretfully, having to throw away some lovely excess Proraso Green lather, but getting an extremely close and comfortable shave. I'm really starting to love this little brush. Oh, by the way, they evidentially ship all the brushes in the same size box, so before I opened the box, I was thinking, what's the big deal about this brush being so small? When I opened the box, I too had a good long laugh!

 

[Henrik]

Great- thanks for sharing- and hey many good years ahead with your terrific brush!

 

[CanuckShaver]

I just received my Wee Scot this afternoon, it is a very small brush but seems to perform very well when I did a test lather.

 

[JeffOlson]

Wee Scots make me smile!

 

[Chadao]

Simpson's brushes are packed.