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Simpsons "Platinum Grade" synthetic questions

Duke 3 synth has arrived, though too late for my shave today (I have Mondays off, so the shower/shave is usually a lazy late morning affair). It test lathered nicely, as expected and the dry face feel is promising.

The handle is definitely a winner, the D3's is pretty much just an incrementally taller D2, which is fine by me... "chubby" handles are really not my thing.
 
Hmm... none of the Simpson Platinum grade synths is a Goldilocks brush :confused:

Classic: both knot and handle too small, no splay to speak of

Chubby: knot slightly too big, handle way too fat, PITA to rinse fully

Duke: borderline lather capacity, soap flows out of knot base onto handle between passes

...and they're all still too soft at the tips, despite having a nice firm backbone.
 
still too much soap on the top of the handle, even with nice thick Omega lather....

I think it'll be moving on soon, along with some other brushes. I'm in need of a good den cleaning anyway.
 
Synthetic brushes still need a few uses so the fibers loosen up a bit and the brush can perform to its full potential.
I would love to know your opinion on the Duke 3 after about 5 uses (to be fair to the brush).
 
I already have a good feel for the differences use brings from my ownership of the two other Plat fiber brushes, the bottom line is that I just don't click with this fiber, no matter how much I like Simpson as an overall brand.

Others seem to like the performance and face feel, so I'll be selling mine along.
 
Sorry to hear that you aren’t getting along with the platinum grade synthetic fiber. I found that I only started to have a good time with my Chubby 2 Synthetic once I gave up on face lathering. Once it has whipped up a soap and is holding a lot of lather it splays very easily and feels great. Otherwise it just feels somewhat stiff and unforgiving. So I’ve now used it several times just with bowl lathering and have been happy with the result. Maybe something to try before giving up on them entirely.
 

Lefonque

Even more clueless than you
Some brushes are better for face lathering than others. Imo the chubby 2 synthetic is much better used with a bowl to achieve a great lather. Simpson are an iconic brand and offer many good brushes. I think the chubby 2 synthetic feels a bit small because it doesn't tend to bloom in the same way that a natural hair brush does. My personal favourite is the Duke 2.
 
Some brushes are better for face lathering than others. Imo the chubby 2 synthetic is much better used with a bowl to achieve a great lather. Simpson are an iconic brand and offer many good brushes. I think the chubby 2 synthetic feels a bit small because it doesn't tend to bloom in the same way that a natural hair brush does. My personal favourite is the Duke 2.

I'd agree that the CH2 synthetic definitely feels smaller than other CH2's because of the lack of bloom...I'm not sure I'd say it feels "small", though, since it's still a 27mm brush. It just doesn't have the wall of hair feel that badger CH2's tend to. I haven't tried bowl lathering with mine, but IMO the CH2 synthetic works great for face lathering, or at least better than any other synthetic that I've tried. (Though I'm admittedly not a synthetic guy, so my experience with synths is somewhat limited.)
 
I totally agree that as lather generators and soft on the face lather spreaders the CH2 and Duke 3 synths are fabulous performers. But again, my beef with platinum fiber isn't a lack of splay (except with the Classic 1) or floppiness, it's the overly soft tips. I'm a shower shaver and I face lather, these techniques are the ones I enjoy and they work very well for me, so as good as the plat. fiber brushes might be at what they do, that's not my goal in a shaving brush.
 
I've enjoyed reading the post so far. Wow, you guys seem to like small brushes. I'm the opposite opinion of most of the posts. I tried really nice badger brushes and they just seem to eat the lather or at least cause me to use much more soap. I went to a synthetic by chance and was able to get a much thicker lather with much less soap-I'm pretty thrifty. So far, my favorite is a 26 mm Yaqi Tuxedo and a 24mm Maggard Black and White. Seems like the same fiber to me. I like the soft face feel and seems to have good density and backbone. They really whip up the lather on the face. The Plissoft brush I tried seemed very floppy. I have a Simpson Trafalgar T3 and a 26mm G5A SHD bulb inbound to try. Has anyone used a Kent BK8S or a BK12S synthetic? They are the premium offering from Kent, not the budget Infinity. I can't find any reviews on it anywhere.
 
If you're loving synthetics, please do try a muhle silvertip fibre, 23mm or 25mm.

I've enjoyed reading the post so far. Wow, you guys seem to like small brushes. I'm the opposite opinion of most of the posts. I tried really nice badger brushes and they just seem to eat the lather or at least cause me to use much more soap. I went to a synthetic by chance and was able to get a much thicker lather with much less soap-I'm pretty thrifty. So far, my favorite is a 26 mm Yaqi Tuxedo and a 24mm Maggard Black and White. Seems like the same fiber to me. I like the soft face feel and seems to have good density and backbone. They really whip up the lather on the face. The Plissoft brush I tried seemed very floppy. I have a Simpson Trafalgar T3 and a 26mm G5A SHD bulb inbound to try. Has anyone used a Kent BK8S or a BK12S synthetic? They are the premium offering from Kent, not the budget Infinity. I can't find any reviews on it anywhere.
 
awa54,

Welcome to the world of synthetic brushes. Having tried several different synthetics from various brands I settled on Simpson brushes with the the higher grade bristle as used in the Classic 1, Chubby 2, and Duke 3. I have owned all of these brushes and I currently have two Chubby 2s and one Duke 3. The Classic 1 was OK, and maybe I sold it too soon, but was my least favorite of the three.

I really like the Chubby 2 and that is why I have two of them. However, I also really like the Duke 3 and it is certainly smaller than the Chubby 2 while still being a full-sized brush.

Probably the most important thing I learned about Simpson synthetic brushes is to follow the directions that comes with the brush, and that is to mostly use a painting brush type stroke rather than circular splay. I learned to shave splaying a good badger brush, but now that I've learned to "paint" with the synthetic I find it to be just as effective as splaying. I really don't miss the circular splay motion at all.

Besides size, the main difference for me between the Chubby 2 and the Duke 3 is that the Chubby 2 holds a bit more shaving soap/cream. Nevertheless, I easily get three passes with either brush.

Nothing against badger and boar brushes, but I will never go back to them. The synthetics dry better, there isn't ever any kind of skunky smell to them, and they are less expensive than the same brush in badger.

By the way I do face lather: my technique is to rub a soap puck directly on my face (this is a very efficient way to get soap on your beard) and I then take a few swirls on the puck with the brush and start painting away.

Good luck to you!

Well said.

I’m retiring my worn badgers (Emperors, Chubbies already gone) and going full synthetic.

I have the Duke3 Platinum and now waiting for the other Simpson Platinums, Chubby2 M7 Classic1. I also ordered a Trafalgar1 to compare, they are so inexpensive.
 
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Well said.

I’m retiring my worn badgers (Emperors, Chubbies already gone) and going full synthetic.

I have the Duke3 Platinum and now waiting for the other Simpson Platinums, Chubby2 M7 Classic1. I also ordered a Trafalgar1 to compare, they are so inexpensive.

If you're open to non-Simpson, do yourself a favour and try a Muhle silvertip fibre XL.
It's a very unique fibre/knot.
 
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