Simpson, I hate you #SBAD #BAD #MAD

[xiletero]

I have a question regarding Chubby 2.
Just got one in Super Badger, very nice brush BUT the lather vanishes in the brush while I shave.... for then next pass I have to reload.... very strange.... Is this normal , is it some sort of "stuff they" doused the hair with at the fur farm?

I have other badgers including 2 Simpsons, these 2 are in Best and they don't vanish any lather..... nor the other 2 German silver tips.....

I did probably 5 test lathers before shaving w it....

 

[awa54]

I have a question regarding Chubby 2.
Just got one in Super Badger, very nice brush BUT the lather vanishes in the brush while I shave.... for then next pass I have to reload.... very strange.... Is this normal , is it some sort of "stuff they" doused the hair with at the fur farm?

I have other badgers including 2 Simpsons, these 2 are in Best and they don't vanish any lather..... nor the other 2 German silver tips.....

I did probably 5 test lathers before shaving w it....

Once you've lathered it three or four times, it ought to behave pretty much the same from there on... what you may be running in to is the "lather hogging" that large, dense knots often exhibit. You can undoubtedly get three full passes worth of lather out of one loading, it'll just take that much more soap/cream (and water) compared to a smaller knot.

Also, the center of very dense knots like that require extra attention when rinsing, in order to get all the soap out of there.
With my Chubby 1 super, Emperor 1 super and Classic 1 best, I wet and shake out the knot a few times, then fully wet the knot and kind of reverse shake it several times, by holding it tips up (by the handle) and "dropping" it with an abrupt stop at the end, to force clean water down and out of the base of the knot, then I repeat the normal wet/shake until I'm sure that it's fully rinsed. If you fan the damp knot and can hear or see even a tiny amount of soap bubbles, then it needs more rinsing.

 

[drydown]

I have a question regarding Chubby 2.
Just got one in Super Badger, very nice brush BUT the lather vanishes in the brush while I shave....

Congratulations, a Chubby is always a true superstar!

First, a Chubby Super is has finer (thinner) hair and is considerably denser packed. So because of this and the volume of the knot you want to load more soap.

Second, I recommend that after soaking you hold the brush upside down and squeeze out water until it's damp. This with only slight, soft pressure using your forefinger and your thumb in two or three steps towards the tip until it's damp opposed to wet.

Badger hair buffers the water between the hairs opposed to absorbing it like a boar. Of course you will know this from your other brushes, but I say this, as the Chubby 2 has lot's of hair and in 'Super' even more so. And if you leave it wet, the water that's held inside will suckle the lather you built downwards. This surely is why many folks speak of hogging.
Depending on the hardness of your soap you probably want to have the tips more wet than damp, so either don't squeeze the tips (much) or add water to the soap or to the tips again before loading. The last two options provide more control how much water you will have at the tips.
If you face lather, you will add water later while building the lather anyway, it's just that you can load more moistened soap from a hard puck with wet tips in the first place.

Enjoy!

 

[drydown]

Also, the center of very dense knots like that require extra attention when rinsing, in order to get all the soap out of there.
With my Chubby 1 super, Emperor 1 super and Classic 1 best, I wet and shake out the knot a few times, then fully wet the knot and kind of reverse shake it several times, by holding it tips up (by the handle) and "dropping" it with an abrupt stop at the end, to force clean water down and out of the base of the knot, then I repeat the normal wet/shake until I'm sure that it's fully rinsed. If you fan the damp knot and can hear or see even a tiny amount of soap bubbles, then it needs more rinsing.

With my Chubbys (or is it Chubbies?) I rinse them with water with the brush in normal (aka standing) position and squeeze out the water until I don't see anymore soap. Finally turn it upside down and do so one last time and then shake out the excess water as you suggest. I just want to add that I support the loft while shaking with my forefinger at the knot's area above the handle to have less weight/gravity pulling the head.

 

[EMG06]

As this seems like a knowledgeable group, I have a general question. Typically my Simpson brushes in Best come with hair that I love. Twice now I’ve bought brushes in best that are simply too scrubby for me. This first happened to me when I bought a Wee Scot a few years ago, and just happened again this past weekend with the arrival of a X3 Commodore. When I line up the brushes I can see a difference in the appearance of the hair. The brushes pictured below are all “best” grade hair. My Classic and Colonel are both very soft, approaching (but not quite reaching) the feel of my Super Simpson brushes. I used to buy from Superior Shave where you could pick the actual brush you were going to get before they shipped it to you. Nowadays you can’t do that. Does anybody have any advice on how to avoid the Best that looks/feels too scrubby for me?

 

[Jut]

As this seems like a knowledgeable group, I have a general question. Typically my Simpson brushes in Best come with hair that I love. Twice now I’ve bought brushes in best that are simply too scrubby for me. This first happened to me when I bought a Wee Scot a few years ago, and just happened again this past weekend with the arrival of a X3 Commodore. When I line up the brushes I can see a difference in the appearance of the hair. The brushes pictured below are all “best” grade hair. My Classic and Colonel are both very soft, approaching (but not quite reaching) the feel of my Super Simpson brushes. I used to buy from Superior Shave where you could pick the actual brush you were going to get before they shipped it to you. Nowadays you can’t do that. Does anybody have any advice on how to avoid the Best that looks/feels too scrubby for me? View attachment 1220086

Pray.

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[awa54]

I would guess that Simpson requests that their bristle suppliers be as consistent as possible with the properties of the given hair types, but just like wood, meat, wine, etc. there are inherent variations in the end product.

I like how scrubby my recently purchased X3 is.

 

[EMG06]

I would guess that Simpson requests that their bristle suppliers be as consistent as possible with the properties of the given hair types, but just like wood, meat, wine, etc. there are inherent variations in the end product.

I like how scrubby my recently purchased X3 is.

Yes I understand that Simpson variability is part of the fun of the brand . As the happy owner of ~10 of their brushes it’s my most preferred brush maker.

But if I showed you this picture below I think most would assume that I was showing 3 grades of hair

Spoiler

Rather than just 2.

The Colonel was my first shaving brush and I love it. It started my love of the brand. I just think that in an alternative universe, had I gotten a brush with the Best hair found in my new Commodore I probably wouldn’t have gotten another Simpson brush!

So, I’m wondering if anybody has picked up any tricks or tactics to better navigate the variations of Simpson Best-grade hair when looking to make a new brush purchase (besides !). Or should I just let it go, and give in to the love/hate relationship suggested by the thread title

 

[Jut]

All kidding aside, I know of no way, short of actually using the brush. I own quite a few Simpsons in Best. The "soft" ones that come to mind are the Keyhole 1&2, Weescot, 56, Duke 3, and Persian Jar 2. the "not so soft" being a Duke 2, Chubby 2, and Major. For the most part, the bristle in all of the brushes look substantially the same, but once wet and on the face, a difference can be clearly felt.

The only surefire way I know of to ensure soft is to purchase only in Super or Silvertip. Super and Silvertip seem to be consistently soft, at least in the specimens I have.

 

[awa54]

Yeah, no visual queues that I know of will tell the tale of what your "best" knot is going to feel like on face... and many vendors go with either a stock image from Simpson or one of their own taken on the day they first received that model and never updated (as in still sporting a made in England sticker).

I've also had knots feel super soft when dry, but be scritchy wet and vice versa.

The lines between the three band hair types are definitely not sharp, I own or have owned several that overlapped up or down in perceived qualities.

 

[EMG06]

Thanks @Jut and @awa54 for your responses. This new Commodore X3 brush is also very soft when dry, but very scrubby when wet. When looking at the stock photos on the Simpson website, it looked much more like the pure grade of hair to me, but I guess best can go either way and I’ve mostly been lucky !

 

[Jut]

Thanks @Jut and @awa54 for your responses. This new Commodore X3 brush is also very soft when dry, but very scrubby when wet. When looking at the stock photos on the Simpson website, it looked much more like the pure grade of hair to me, but I guess best can go either way and I’ve mostly been lucky [emoji256]!

I can throw another curve ball in there...I have a Duke 3 in pure that is softer than my Duke 2 in best! And the pure bristle is noticeably darker in color than the best!

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[awa54]

I can throw another curve ball in there...I have a Duke 3 in pure that is softer than my Duke 2 in best! And the pure bristle is noticeably darker in color than the best!

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My Beaufort 1 is the same way, all gray-brown, but soft flex and soft tips, with just a hint of "pure" scrub hidden way down in the mix.

@EMG06 If you purchased your X3 recently, I bet it's from the same batch as mine ...again, I kinda like that scritch and it has mellowed slightly with continued use. My X1 is also in a very firm/springy bristle, but no scritch, just scrub (it's also about five years old now, so definitely a different batch of hair).

 

[awa54]

n/t

 

[Owen Bawn]

Boy oh boy... it's gotta be 8 or 10 years old, my Duke 2 in Best, but what a magnificent face lathering brush. Just loaded it with Cella and had a delightful late night shave. A little Booster Island Bay Rum and I'm ready to climb that wooden hill and face old John o' Dreams.

All you guys who got that Duke 2 deal from Alrossa over Christmas got yourselves one dandy little brush.

 

[awa54]

I also snagged a Duke 1, I definitely like it even better than the 2. Mine is in the exact same hair as my Beaufort 1; that lot looks like finer than usual pure, but feels like somewhat soft best, with a tiny bit of scritch.

 

[Owen Bawn]

I just concluded what could either be a great deal or a disaster. I traded a Chubby 1 Manchurian that I wasn't fond of with a guy from the FB Simpsons' group. He's sending me two recently purchased, barely used SiLVERTiPs with which he is disappointed (he says they're smaller than he thought)- a Classic 1 and a Berkeley. This could be a great trade; I suppose at worst I'm getting rid of one brush I don't really like and replacing it with two brushes that I won't like. They'll look good lined up on the sill, if nothing else. Of course, the way the USPS is right now neither one of us might see our new brushes before summer.

 

[Jut]

I just concluded what could either be a great deal or a disaster. I traded a Chubby 1 Manchurian that I wasn't fond of with a guy from the FB Simpsons' group. He's sending me two recently purchased, barely used SiLVERTiPs with which he is disappointed (he says they're smaller than he thought)- a Classic 1 and a Berkeley. This could be a great trade; I suppose at worst I'm getting rid of one brush I don't really like and replacing it with two brushes that I won't like. They'll look good lined up on the sill, if nothing else. Of course, the way the USPS is right now neither one of us might see our new brushes before summer.

Based only on my experience with Simpson Manchurian/Silvertip (which consists of the 1 manchurian and 2 silvertip that I own), I would say you got the better end of the deal.

 

[SharpieB]

I just concluded what could either be a great deal or a disaster. I traded a Chubby 1 Manchurian that I wasn't fond of with a guy from the FB Simpsons' group. He's sending me two recently purchased, barely used SiLVERTiPs with which he is disappointed (he says they're smaller than he thought)- a Classic 1 and a Berkeley. This could be a great trade; I suppose at worst I'm getting rid of one brush I don't really like and replacing it with two brushes that I won't like. They'll look good lined up on the sill, if nothing else. Of course, the way the USPS is right now neither one of us might see our new brushes before summer.

That’s cool. You seem to have been eyeing those Black Friday Silvertips for months. Curious as to your thoughts.

 

[awa54]

I just concluded what could either be a great deal or a disaster. I traded a Chubby 1 Manchurian that I wasn't fond of with a guy from the FB Simpsons' group. He's sending me two recently purchased, barely used SiLVERTiPs with which he is disappointed (he says they're smaller than he thought)- a Classic 1 and a Berkeley. This could be a great trade; I suppose at worst I'm getting rid of one brush I don't really like and replacing it with two brushes that I won't like. They'll look good lined up on the sill, if nothing else. Of course, the way the USPS is right now neither one of us might see our new brushes before summer.

Most of the "1" sized brushes in that series show the same 19mm/44mm knot, the exceptions being the Classic and Duke, which are both lofted lower and wider.

When I first received my Tulip 1 from this batch, I was a bit disappointed with the density (compared to Maggard's 20mm 2 band knots), but that disappointment faded quickly, when I realized that the knot has a great balance of scrub and springiness. At this point, it's in my regular rotation and will likely remain there. For me at least, the less scritchy scrub it gives is a nice complement to my Simpson pure brushes in that size class.

The Classic and Duke have tempted me, but the Classic handle is just a smidge small for my taste and I can turn my own Duke-like handle (the Tulip 1 would be a real challenge to turn freehand, at my skill level) and knot it with an excellent Maggard 20mm 2-band for about $30 total material cost.

As to shipping times, just don't go with FedEx ground and you'll be fine