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Simpson and Kent Synthetic Brushes

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
20210227
Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3 Synthetic
shave 20210227.jpg

The Simpson Trafalgar T3 Synthetic is an interesting brush. Really dense knot. Soft tips. Decent backbone. Paints the lather on fine but I had issues getting it to splay. I'm going to reserve judgement until I use the T3 a few more times - see if it loosens up a bit.
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
20210228
Razor: Blackland Razors Vector SB
Blade: Schick Proline (3)
Brush: Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic
Bowl: Captain's Choice Copper
Lather: Vitos Extra Super Coco
Aftershave: Original Stetson
Fragrance: Original Stetson
20210228_112042~2.jpg

The Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic is an excellent brush. Dense knot. Beautiful soft tips. Splays nicely. Great performance. :thumbup:

Check out the fibres on the Chubby 2 Synthetic and The Duke 3 Synthetic vs. the fibres on the Trafalgar T3 & T2 and the Kent Infinity Plus:
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The Trafalgars and the Kent are good synthetic brushes. The T2 is probably the most balanced of the three. I have more work to do learning the T3. The Kent would edge out the T2 but it has more scritch than I like. Hopefully both the Kent and the T3 will grow on me.....

The Chubby and The Duke are clearly, to my face, a step or two up the ladder. Soft tips, decent backbone, nice splay, decent flow-through and no scritch. They also cost several times as much.

Just my opinion and YMMV. :)
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
20210302
Razor: ATT Mixed Metal Windsor Pro CM1
Blade: Silver Star (2)
Brush: Simpson The Duke 3 Synthetic
Bowl: Captain's Choice Copper
Lather: Martin de Candre Nature
Aftershave/Fragrance: Bootlegger's Lime Bay Rum
20210302_124701~2.jpg

Circling back with my Simpson The Duke 3 Synthetic. The Duke 3 or the Chubby 2.....? Both are quite nice and are pretty much tied. :cool:
 
20210228
Razor: Blackland Razors Vector SB
Blade: Schick Proline (3)
Brush: Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic
Bowl: Captain's Choice Copper
Lather: Vitos Extra Super Coco
Aftershave: Original Stetson
Fragrance: Original Stetson
View attachment 1230120
The Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic is an excellent brush. Dense knot. Beautiful soft tips. Splays nicely. Great performance. :thumbup:

Check out the fibres on the Chubby 2 Synthetic and The Duke 3 Synthetic vs. the fibres on the Trafalgar T3 & T2 and the Kent Infinity Plus:
View attachment 1230121View attachment 1230122
The Trafalgars and the Kent are good synthetic brushes. The T2 is probably the most balanced of the three. I have more work to do learning the T3. The Kent would edge out the T2 but it has more scritch than I like. Hopefully both the Kent and the T3 will grow on me.....

The Chubby and The Duke are clearly, to my face, a step or two up the ladder. Soft tips, decent backbone, nice splay, decent flow-through and no scritch. They also cost several times as much.

Just my opinion and YMMV. :)
Exactly the comparison I was looking for - head to head CH2Synth Vs. T3.

Any significant difference? Splay, backbone, face-feel, face lathering ability?

I love the T3, so curious what CH2Synth has to offer, if anything...
 
Exactly the comparison I was looking for - head to head CH2Synth Vs. T3.

Any significant difference? Splay, backbone, face-feel, face lathering ability?

I love the T3, so curious what CH2Synth has to offer, if anything...

I owned the T3. Love never struck. I used it for 15 shaves then I sold it. No particular flaws, maybe too big for my tastes, it was a decent brush but all around average. I have many other synths I like more even if they were cheaper than the already low priced Simpson Trafalgar line.

I recently bought a Chubby 2 synth. First shave was pretty disappointing. Too stiff, almost unsplayable. By the third use it loosened up and now, after two weeks of continuous use I can already affirm it is my favorite synth ever. The Chubby ousted my Mülhe Silvertip Fibre from its throne.

Being the loft very short (28mmx52mm) it feels much smaller than the T3. The tips are very soft and the knot has a very sustained backbone. I face lather exclusively and I've used it with hard soaps, croaps and creams and it always delivered the best of lathers in no time.
In my experience the difference in price was well worthy.
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
Exactly the comparison I was looking for - head to head CH2Synth Vs. T3.

Any significant difference? Splay, backbone, face-feel, face lathering ability?

I love the T3, so curious what CH2Synth has to offer, if anything...

New T3 vs. Seasoned Chubby 2 Synthetic: I prefer the Chubby 2. The fibres in the Chubby 2 feel more refined and luxurious. Neither brush splays readily (like some of my other synths) but, of the two, the Chubby 2 splays more naturally.

My plan is to put some more shaves on the T3 and see how it develops.
 
I used the Duke 3 synthetic today and really enjoyed the soft tips and good backbone. I also liked that it was more densely packed than some of my other synthetics.

I'm reserving final judgement until I get more time with it, though. I used a new soap and had trouble generating a good lather and what lather I did generate the brush seemed to want to hold onto.

I figure this problem will resolve itself once I get back to a known good performing soap. Thinking I'll use some MdC Agrumes for tomorrow's shave.
 

Fred D

Member of The Illiterati
20210227
Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3 Synthetic
View attachment 1229560
The Simpson Trafalgar T3 Synthetic is an interesting brush. Really dense knot. Soft tips. Decent backbone. Paints the lather on fine but I had issues getting it to splay. I'm going to reserve judgement until I use the T3 a few more times - see if it loosens up a bit.
I have 2 T3 brushes, and my experience with splaying is the same as yours.
 
20210227
Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3 Synthetic
View attachment 1229560
The Simpson Trafalgar T3 Synthetic is an interesting brush. Really dense knot. Soft tips. Decent backbone. Paints the lather on fine but I had issues getting it to splay. I'm going to reserve judgement until I use the T3 a few more times - see if it loosens up a bit.

What is the real knot size of your T3?
I own one, no splay problems, it is different from the splay of a Plissoft or hi brush but it still opens. The real size of my knot is 28mm x 55mm.
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
What is the real knot size of your T3?
I own one, no splay problems, it is different from the splay of a Plissoft or hi brush but it still opens. The real size of my knot is 28mm x 55mm.

Using a digital caliper, my T3 measures ~30mm x ~52mm.

Might account for the difference in how readily the two brushes splay.
 
I took three days off from shaving (blasphemy around here lol) and had my second shave with the Duke 3 synthetic using a known well performing soap. The lathering issues resolved themselves completely and I had a great lather. The Duke 3 has softer tips, yet more backbone than my other synthetics. I really like it a lot. Very good brush.
 
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