My New Acquisition

[Tzar]

This is my new acquisition. It's my second brush, so far I had only a Crabtree & Evelyn Pure Badger Brush.

The Simpson arrived in the mail today. Can't wait to try it tomorrow morning

Handle height: 54 mm
Bristle loft: 50 mm
Knot diameter (at base): 22 mm

 

[jsrdrnr]

Awesomness!!!

 

[Darjeeling Express]

Absolutely beautiful. Please let us know your impressions. Enjoy.

 

[Tzar]

So I got the Simpson KH3 to work this morning. I did my usual routine of letting the brush soak in hot tap water while I shower and then I lathered in my bowl by first loading up the brush with my current go-to product, the Proraso Green Tea soap. First thing I noticed is this brush is much denser than my C&E Pure Badger and it’s also new, so I could not mash it as much on the soap. I added water by dipping the tip of the brush in the sink to pick up water but somehow I probably picked up too much water compared to the C&E brush and my lather got a bit runny. I had to go back to the soap to pick up more product to balance things out. I then got a satisfactory lather, although not as good as I can get on my best days.

The feel on the skin of the brush was much more pleasant and soft than the C&E. I now understand why people say best badger is higher quality and smoother on the skin. I painted my face longer than usual on every pass just to enjoy that feeling. I can also say that I appreciate the longer handle of this brush and its keyhole form. Easy to manipulate and hold in the hand. So for a first try, I’m happy and I think I will like this brush. Tomorrow I’ll try a cream instead of a soap.

I wonder though: do you think I will have to adjust my water ratio compared to my C&E Pure Badger brush (which incidentally as a smaller knot and bristle) ? I guess dipping the Simpson in water might make that denser and larger brush more loaded with water than I’m used to, so that could explain why my lather was runny at first?

 

[andrew98]

You'll definitely have to alter the amount of water you use. It'll just take a little experimentation. Nice looking brush. I've always liked the keyhole handle.

-Andy

 

[RCC]

very nice brush.
FWIW - When I started using different brushes, soaps and creams I got into the habit of practicing my lather-making in a sort of test/experiment format. Luckily, I live alone right now so I didn't have to explain or share.
In the evenings I took a brush and generated many bowls of lather using different ratios of cream or soap or water or brushes. I intentionally did things I knew would fail as well as those I thought would be successful.
This provided me with an experience base I wouldn't have gotten just taking my morning shot at producing a decent lather one day at a time.
The theory is that Michael Jordan didn't get to be "Michael Jordan" by shooting one freethrow a day but concentrating really hard.
Does anyone else do this?

 

[cfriend]

Nice brush! I find I like ridges and rings in my handles (see: 1/1, 3/1, PL8, etc) but now I find I may be pulled towards bulges as well! The top half of the Keyhole reminds me of the 3/1. I too was surprised to find Simpsons on the dense side, even in brushes not renowned for their density. Keep us informed and lets see some of those post-bloom pics after you've broken her in!

 

[dpmtherrien]

Nice brush. You'll really enjoy it.

 

[beginish]

Very nice brush. You don't see the keyholes get the same kind of attention that the chubbies, stubbies and PJ's get. The dense brushes hold a lot of water, so you will have to play around with ratios a bit.

 

[alabamalawyer]

Great looking brush!

 

[mdunn]

very nice.

ive always like the KH profile, very cool and retro

 

[Tzar]

The brush in bloom after 2 shaves:

 

[Tzar]

Very nice brush. You don't see the keyholes get the same kind of attention that the chubbies, stubbies and PJ's get.

Indeed, you barely find any mention of the Keyholes when doing a search on B&B. That's one of the reasons I got attracted to it. Couldn't see why more people were not interested, especially in my case since I prefer longer than shorter handles.

After 2 shaves, I can say I really like this brush, and I am getting better judging the amount of water it soaks up since I succeeded having enough lather for my usual 4 passes and touchups this morning.