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Rooney Stubby 2 v/s Simpson Duke 3

Ok, so I am thinking about getting a Stubby 2 while they are still in stock. I already have a Duke 3, and I wonder if the Stubby 2 is even worth trying. I dont want to get a new brush if its not worth it. Any suggestions on that?
 

johnniegold

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The Duke 3 may very well be my favorite Simpson brush. I have never tried a Stubby 2 so I cannot render a comparision but as for trying it out, it's a no harm-no foul proposition because if you like the brush: great. If you don't I'm sure a Stubby 2 wouldn't last very long in the BST.

Btw, I think Vintage was sold out of the Stubby 1 and Stubby 2 range.
 
I've had both. Here are my observations:

My Duke was a later Simfix one, after they finally got the knot right. I've seen pics of some people's early Simfix Dukes and they had knots that were way too tall for a Duke (~50mm). The loft on mine was around 46mm - which would make mine feel completely different. Nice and short and compact. It's almost the same knot as the Chubby 1 in Best, i.e. very dense, but not quite as dense as the Chubby. It's as dense as most people would want. I found the Chubby 1 too dense.

My Stubby 2s were the old three-band hair. I had two copies, and like as above, there are sample variations.

The Heritage hair was wonderful, really soft and velvety and incredibly dense. My second one felt like a bigger brush as it bloomed more, however the knots were the same measurements. I'm not sure why one would bloom more than the other. The density seemed to be the same, as did the hair grade. They were both lather hogs.

I don't know how the new hair would compare with the Duke's Best. The Stubby 2 is however a much bigger brush than the Duke, something to bear in mind.

Hope this helps!

John
 
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Is the Stubby and the Chubby the same brush? Just curious because I'm looking at the Simpson broshure trying to decide between a Chubby 2 and Duke 3 and there's no Stubby listed.
 
I had a Stubby 2 in the new Two-band Heritage hair and I really did not like it at all. Too tall loft, not much backbone, not very dense.
(For a reference point, I also have a Duke 2 in Best and it was much denser, had much more backbone, and was all around a much better brush in my opinion - for half the price!)

If you're aching to try out the new Rooney Heritage, I would recommend a Stubby 1 or a Stubby 1XL. I think the shorter lofts could really improve the performance of the hair.
 
I had a stubby 1 the old three band. It was a sad little brush, even with the short loft the characteristic of the hair was very soft and flexible.

It was like a little fluff ball trying to be tough.
 
Thanks...speaking of Rooney, how does the Rooney 3/2 Super compare to the Duke 3?

The 3/2 is bigger, as I remember it. The 3/2 loft is longer than the D3 loft, and the knot isn't quite as dense - the handle is also is larger... The 3/2 is nice if you like bigger brushes. For me, it was too big and I sold it off.

I think the D3 is more easily compared to the Rooney 3/1, with a thicker more substantial handle and a slightly larger, more densely packed knot.
 
The 3/2 is bigger, as I remember it. The 3/2 loft is longer than the D3 loft, and the knot isn't quite as dense - the handle is also is larger... The 3/2 is nice if you like bigger brushes. For me, it was too big and I sold it off.

I think the D3 is more easily compared to the Rooney 3/1, with a thicker more substantial handle and a slightly larger, more densely packed knot.

I think most people do Handle first then size with rooneys. So a Large style 1 is called 1/3.
 
Ok, so I am thinking about getting a Stubby 2 while they are still in stock. I already have a Duke 3, and I wonder if the Stubby 2 is even worth trying. I dont want to get a new brush if its not worth it. Any suggestions on that?

OK, bringing this back to OP's original question, here is a picture of both a new two-band Stubby 2 (with a few days of break-in) and a Duke 3 in best:

View attachment 132662

As you can see, they are very similar in size, and not too far apart in shape, the main difference being the more fan-like shape of the Stubby. The Stubby has very soft tips and decent backbone, although not quite the backbone of a Simpson two-band. If you like the size of the Duke 3 but want something a bit different, the two-band Stubby 2 is a nice option.

Also, for what it's worth, I had some shedding at the start with the Duke and still shed a hair here, but so far no shedding at all from the Stubby.
 
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The 3/2 is bigger, as I remember it. The 3/2 loft is longer than the D3 loft, and the knot isn't quite as dense - the handle is also is larger... The 3/2 is nice if you like bigger brushes. For me, it was too big and I sold it off.

I think the D3 is more easily compared to the Rooney 3/1, with a thicker more substantial handle and a slightly larger, more densely packed knot.

Thanks...great info!
 
Thanks guys! I think I am going to hold off on the stubby 2, and try to wait and snag a XL or a 2XL off the BST once people start getting them in. It seems more like what I'm looking for from other posts I've read.
 
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