Simpsons "Platinum Grade" synthetic questions

[awa54]

Alright, I admit that I have a love/hate relationship with the *idea* of synthetic brushes and the synthetics I've actually tried so far, the list isn't that long though...

Small Kent Infinity (a bit too floppy, but not terrible, PIF'd)
Simpson Petrolhead (not bad at all, but tips are a bit *too* soft and just a tad on the large side)
Yaqi Mocha (very decent, but definitely bigger than I like and not the best handle ergos)
RazoRock Bruce (tips still a smidge too soft, but just barely and too large, if it was smaller, this one would be in the rotation)
RazoRock Keyhole (laughably floppy)
RazoRock Disruptor (laughably floppy *and* with a ridiculously huge handle)
RazoRock Amici (great backbone, but not enough splay; feel on the face is oddly too concentrated, yet too soft ...and I hate the handle!)

For reference I'm a face latherer and my favorite brushes are small-ish (18-21mm sub 50mm loft), firm enough to provide some massage, with tips that range from scrubby to nicely soft. I hate floppy brushes and past a certain point more softness is not better. Current Faves are Simpson Emperor 1, Shavemac 20mm/46mm 2-band fan, Simpson Berkeley in Pure... you get the general idea.

On to my questions... There seems to be buzz around the Frank Shaving 4th Gen. bristle, Omega's Evo and the Chubby 2 synth. The Chubby and the Evo are both too big for my taste (as are many of the FS offerings), so I'm likely most interested in the Duke 3 or Classic 1 from Simpson, as they're plausibly within my preferred size range. I ordered a 20mm FS 4G synth off Ebay, but that won't be here for weeks or maybe even months.

I'm leaning toward the Duke, since the Classic's handle is a bit small (I own one in best) and I suspect that the knot won't splay enough to cover the same area as the badger version (what? too small?!?, you said you like small knots!)... Now for the second part of the question, how big a difference in the bristle will there be between my Petrolhead and the Duke, they're in the same size range, but the Duke's bristle is claimed to be premium, by comparison. Premium is good right? but how? will the Platinum Grade fiber have a more natural flex feel, firmer tips, what are it's strengths, or failings?


TIA for all your experiences and opinions! ...and I know My Mileage is bound to Vary.

 

[EMG06]

I asked Mark Watterson (managing director of Vulfix/Simpson) about the difference between the Platinum and Sovereign grade synthetic hair. He told me that Platinum was considerably softer and more difficult for the company to source.
Wound up getting a Chubby 1 with Platinum hair and agree that it has a very soft feel on my face with some backbone.

 

[pdieten]

You sound a lot like me. I don't truly love any of my synths, and it annoys me how their small sizes are like rubbing a dowel on the face because of the lack of splay. And large sizes are just too....large. Everything I use regularly is a 19-21mm badger. But I like the idea of a synth for travel. So I've tried two with the cashmere knot, one faux horse and one silver synth. All 20mm except a cashmere is 24mm. Those I find at least reasonably usable. If you stumble across something better, I'm watching the thread.

 

[awa54]

I asked Mark Watterson (managing director of Vulfix/Simpson) about the difference between the Platinum and Sovereign grade synthetic hair. He told me that Platinum was considerably softer and more difficult for the company to source.
Wound up getting a Chubby 1 with Platinum hair and agree that it has a very soft feel on my face with some backbone.

What Simpsons badger would you liken the softness and resiliency to? Backbone is a function of the fiber, loft and density, so that will of course be very brush dependent.


The Petrolhead (I fooled with it a bit at lunchtime to remind myself why I remember it being a decent brush) is a pretty sparse knot, especially by Simpson standards, though close to average density for the synthetic knots I have had experience with, the density, resilience (too snappy) and tip texture all are lacking when taken individually, but the sum is more than the total of its parts, thankfully.

 

[awa54]

After my lunch hour review of synthetic brushes, I cut/ground the knot out of the RR Keyhole handle, it will be getting a 22mm Finest knot some time soon.

 

[EMG06]

What Simpsons badger would you liken the softness and resiliency to?

I think the soft feel is like their super grade hair. The synth has less splay and more spring than any of my Simpson badger hair brushes.

 

[Marco]

I have two Trafalgar brushes that are made, of course, in the budget Sovereign fibers. They are great, especially for the price-point.
That said, I really do not think I'll ever be willing to try the Platinum fibers. The reason is the cost, with that money I'd rather buy a Simpson in Best. And to me no Synthetic, although nice, is equal to a true badger. IMHO.

 

[awa54]

Maybe I should have titled this thread "Talk Me Out of A Duke 3 Synthetic"

I guess I'm going to wait for my FS G4 to arrive and see if a different "next gen" fiber impresses me enough to seriously consider dropping $80 on a synthetic.

 

[EMG06]

I have two Trafalgar brushes that are made, of course, in the budget Sovereign fibers. They are great, especially for the price-point.
That said, I really do not think I'll ever be willing to try the Platinum fibers. The reason is the cost, with that money I'd rather buy a Simpson in Best. And to me no Synthetic, although nice, is equal to a true badger. IMHO.

+1. To be honest I like my true badger hair brushes more and got the brush because I like the handle and enjoyed using the synthetic for travel.

 

[jesseix]

Maybe I should have titled this thread "Talk Me Out of A Duke 3 Synthetic"

I guess I'm going to wait for my FS G4 to arrive and see if a different "next gen" fiber impresses me enough to seriously consider dropping $80 on a synthetic.

I was going to say, you might want to try out the G4 first. I just had a handful of uses on one in a passaround and was REALLY impressed. I face lather like you mentioned you do and I also don’t love really big knots, and the G4 checked a lot of boxes. It loads and lathers well of course, but it’s a much more compact knot that doesn’t whip around like a lot of other synths. It’s similar to the Simpson Trafalgar knot in that it doesn’t splay super easily, but the fiber quality is much nicer and has a more luxurious feel for sure. I have no personal experience with the Simpson knot you mentioned being interested in, but the G4 was pretty impressive.

 

[Cumberland Sausage]

The simpson Chubby 2 is not a big brush at all. The knot and handle are appreciably smaller than those of the Omega Evo and Yaqi Mocha. I did a review featuring the Chubby 2, Yaqi Segrada Familia, Omega Evo and Kent Silvertip Fibre XL on B&B recently which gives a good idea of comparative dimensions and feel.

 

[awa54]

So... I added a Trafalgar 1 on an order for some soaps and had my first shave with it this morning.

It certainly seems like the "Sovreign" fiber is the same as what's in my Petrolhead from a few years back, just packed a bit denser and lofted lower. The net is that the knot still rebounds and splays much differently from badger, but the short loft and denser packing keep it from feeling so bouncy. Also the 24mm knot base combined with a short loft gives a similar contact area on the face to the 18-20mm-ish badger brushes I usually favor. This brush is getting close to what I look for in an ideal face lathering brush, but the slick tips are still keeping it from being a full-on badger replacement.

 

[awa54]

My Frank Shaving G4 brush (20mm knot) arrived, the fiber seems very promising, less bouncy/whippy than a comparably packed and lofted Plissoft or Yaqi knot and with slightly coarser tips than Sovreign or Yaqi. Still, the 20mm knot does allow more deflection than the Trafalgar series brushes. I think this fiber in a lower, denser knot might up the ante yet another step toward Synthetic finding a permanent spot in my rotation.

yesterday was just test lathers, today will be the first actual shave, I'll report back once it's done

 

[Whiskey-Man]

Maybe I should have titled this thread "Talk Me Out of A Duke 3 Synthetic"

I guess I'm going to wait for my FS G4 to arrive and see if a different "next gen" fiber impresses me enough to seriously consider dropping $80 on a synthetic.

I own a Duke 3 synthetic and love it

 

[awa54]

...I seem to have fallen down on that whole reporting back thing!

The Frank Shaving brush turned out to be another competent contender, but it's not quite there with face feel; too tall, a bit on the springy side (though not so much as some) and as always with tips that are too soft for my taste.

Maggard's had the Chubby 2 synth on sale for $69 over the holiday weekend and I stared long and hard at my screen before taking a pass.

 

[Whiskey-Man]

...I seem to have fallen down on that whole reporting back thing!

The Frank Shaving brush turned out to be another competent contender, but it's not quite there with face feel; too tall, a bit on the springy side (though not so much as some) and as always with tips that are too soft for my taste.

Maggard's had the Chubby 2 synth on sale for $69 over the holiday weekend and I stared long and hard at my screen before taking a pass.

Amazon has Chubby 2 Synthetics for 74 dollars. Don’t know how long that will last but I own several Chubby 2 brushes. Don’t hesitate. Awesome brushes

 

[awa54]

...gave in and grabbed a Classic 1 synthetic for $45, at least I'll get to try the bristle out cheaply, even if the brush proves to be too small.

 

[Owen Bawn]

...gave in and grabbed a Classic 1 synthetic for $45, at least I'll get to try the bristle out cheaply, even if the brush proves to be too small.

I've used the Classic 1 synthetic as my travel brush for 3 or 4 years, and until this year it was used fairly frequently. There will be a learning curve. It's really small- I mean REALLY small- much smaller in feel than a Classic 1 in Best. It also will take time to learn how to get it to open up or splay. Stick with it for a week and you'll get it. I've really come to enjoy it. The travel tube is great, and the tips are feather soft. Despite the small size it has no problem holding lather for 3 passes. I generally use it with a soap stick.

Keep us posted after you get it- enjoy!

 

[Steve_in_CT]

I had a Chubby 2 synthetic and now have a Trafalgar 2. The Chubby would have been great, but I found the effort to get it to splay too annoying. The tips are wonderfully soft and painting with it is a pleasure, but I just didn't like fighting to get it to splay, so I sold it on the BST. I like the T2 a bit more than the Chubby. Although its tips are not quite as soft, it is also great at painting lather. It also splays more easily. Unfortunately I find that the bristles are quite prickly when face lathering with it. Interestingly, I don't think of myself as having particularly sensitive skin, but I've not heard anyone else remark upon that prickliness. I might still sell the T2, but it's really a very inexpensive brush and what I'll net after shipping costs may not be worth the bother.

My most successful synthetic so far is the Yaqi Rainbow Brown (sometimes called pony knot). I have several brushes on the way, however: Yaqi Segrada Familia Tuxedo, Yaqi "mink" and Muhle Silver Tip Fiber. I don't expect any of these to replace my badger and boar brushes, but I like variety and would like to have at least one more synthetic that I enjoy using.

 

[awa54]

I keep being amazed when people find any synthetic not to be soft enough... My biggest gripe with them is that they're *too* soft on the face.

Maybe some day a filament producer will eventually make a manufactured fiber that has more tip texture, I can only hope!