Simpsons Trafalgar T2

[Keyvan]

I was wondering if anyone has experienced a break-in period with the Simpsons Trafalgar brushes.

Based on the excellent reviews, the T2 was the first synthetic that I ever purchased. On the third use I attempted to face lather with it and it burned my face quite badly. The tips were not very soft and the brush had a great deal of backbone (spring). At that point I gave up on Simpsons and moved on to Yaqi and Plissoft.

I found the tips of these brushes to be much softer and they also splayed much more easily. With these synthetics I never come close to experiencing anything like brush burn.

In the past few months I started using the the Trafalgar again when I needed to dig in to a hard soap for bowl lathering. I have found that the tips have softened significantly and the brush is much easier to splay. It’s actually fluffy and soft. It’s not as soft as the Yaqi Mew, but it is similar to the Plissoft with more backbone.

Perhaps some synthetics do require a break-in period.

 

[Scrubby]

Hi, unfortunately i have never seen improvement over time of the disappointing performance of my T2. Received it in Feb 2020, never could befriend it. Splays like a brick, donut hole, splatters soap everywhere when in use……. I’m afraid this is as good as it gets for you. The platinum grade on the other hand is a different story. Chubby 2 platinum worked excellent out of the box. Gives my chubby 2 best and even their Manchurian brother a run for the money. Not all brushes synthetic are created (nor loved) equal

YMMV

 

[srgjazz]

I had the same problem with the T3 and sold it.

 

[Wishoot]

Hard to tell if my T2 broke-in after about a year of constant use or if I simply got used to it. Personally, I love my T2 more than any other badger or boar.

 

[Kyle89]

At around 30 uses or so I found it splayed more to my liking. I found the same with their platinum fibers. Glad I stuck with.

 

[ralph029]

Not a fan of my T2. I find it to be an ok brush. I can't get it to produce a decent lather no matter which soap I use. I used to have a preference on how a given brush would feel on my face. That really has gone away over the years. I now focus on lather production. I own 4 Synth Simpson's and none do a good job for me. The only one I own that performs good enough is my X1 when I travel. Even that one though has fallen by the way side to my Omega 11047 Mixed Midget. Recently I picked up a Zenith S10 and it is the finest synth I have ever used.

 

[pierrelortie44]

I started using a Duke3 Platinum this week. It’s growing on me day by day. These synthetic brushes are just different from badgers, they work differently and have a slight learning curve. I’m seeing more and more advantages over badger brushes (less expensive, low maintenance, work better and faster, ethical considerations) with no drawbacks whatsoever.

 

[Keyvan]

It’s interesting that of least a few people have experienced something like a break-in period and others have problems with it. The Mystic Waters soaps are difficult to lather with tap water, but the Trafalgar seems to do a very good job with it.

I agree that synthetics are their own thing and have a learning curve. With regard to the splay, direct pressure parallel to the long axis of the brush does not seem to work well for me. The splay works better when you apply pressure as the fibers start to spread in response to motion as you are painting the lather.

 

[Keyvan]

Hi, unfortunately i have never seen improvement over time of the disappointing performance of my T2. Received it in Feb 2020, never could befriend it. Splays like a brick, donut hole, splatters soap everywhere when in use……. I’m afraid this is as good as it gets for you. The platinum grade on the other hand is a different story. Chubby 2 platinum worked excellent out of the box. Gives my chubby 2 best and even their Manchurian brother a run for the money. Not all brushes synthetic are created (nor loved) equal

YMMV

Of least you identified the synthetic brushes that work for you. It’s always a little disappointing when a popular item doesn’t meet expectations.

 

[Trollky]

I had the same experience as Keyvan and found the Trafalgar to be difficult to splay and, when I did, it gave me brush burn. As a someone who exclusively face lathers and does so mainly with a swirling motion I need a brush that splays easily. A Cashmere knot is perfect, a Tuxedo knot is OK but anything stiffer than that is a no go for my face.

 

[Dobric]

I have T3, it took me a couple of trys to adjust water quantity. I face lather and that brush is and amaizing lather generator, I like that it's stiff, good for face lathering. IMO best brush so far. I have 2 and plan to get more of them.
I have 1 Yaqi brush, it's ok, but for me Simpson is better.
As always YMMV

 

[CANES]

I started this year attempting to use the same Trafalgar 1 every single day and for all uses I could think of to see how it would hold up. I need to update the thread I started on that soon. Using the Shave Buddy app that keeps track of everything, I have used it 191 times since the first of the year for shaves, facewashes and head shaves. It has not held up as well as I expected/wanted. The original bulb knot is now flat on top with serious signs of donut holes that will eventually get much worse. It still works fine, though. It hasn't gotten noticeably softer or splay any better than it was originally. It has never shed a hair that I can remember. I am not a "brush" guy and prefer my even cheaper Omega boars (48 and 98) over the Simpson. Pricewise, I think it's right in the range it needs to be. It has been a fun experiment but I'm losing interest at this point, too.

 

[pierrelortie44]

It’s interesting that of least a few people have experienced something like a break-in period and others have problems with it. The Mystic Waters soaps are difficult to lather with tap water, but the Trafalgar seems to do a very good job with it.

I agree that synthetics are their own thing and have a learning curve. With regard to the splay, direct pressure parallel to the long axis of the brush does not seem to work well for me. The splay works better when you apply pressure as the fibers start to spread in response to motion as you are painting the lather.

The key to splaying is to jam the brush into the tip of the chin, and move from there over the rest of the face. I don’t hesitate to handle my Duke 3 Platinum more forcefully than badgers. This made all the difference for me into turning this brush into an addictive bowl and face lathering powerhouse. Badger is behind me forever.

 

[Keyvan]

I started this year attempting to use the same Trafalgar 1 every single day and for all uses I could think of to see how it would hold up. I need to update the thread I started on that soon. Using the Shave Buddy app that keeps track of everything, I have used it 191 times since the first of the year for shaves, facewashes and head shaves. It has not held up as well as I expected/wanted. The original bulb knot is now flat on top with serious signs of donut holes that will eventually get much worse. It still works fine, though. It hasn't gotten noticeably softer or splay any better than it was originally. It has never shed a hair that I can remember. I am not a "brush" guy and prefer my even cheaper Omega boars (48 and 98) over the Simpson. Pricewise, I think it's right in the range it needs to be. It has been a fun experiment but I'm losing interest at this point, too.

I have the Omega 49, which is similar to the 48 and 98. While the Omega Pros are budget priced, they are wonderful brushes after break-in. The handle on the 98 pretty much eliminates the main weakness of the 49, which has a highly functional but cheap feeling handle.

I love boar brushes and I have several that are broken in; others that will sit new in a box waiting to become collectors items. It’s fun to break in a boar brush once or twice, but it is a lot of work

 

[Merchant Seaman Z]

Got the T-2 back in April last year Pretty still when I started. Using it off and on since then. I only face lather. So maybe around 4-6 weeks to break-in. This is shaving every two to three days.

 

[Galibier_Numero_Un]

The key to splaying is to jam the brush into the tip of the chin, and move from there over the rest of the face. I don’t hesitate to handle my Duke 3 Platinum more forcefully than badgers. This made all the difference for me into turning this brush into an addictive bowl and face lathering powerhouse. Badger is behind me forever.

The base of your jaw as well (near your ear). It gives you 3 splay points. I find that as I move about, I keep the plane of thd brush slightly "less" than parallel - the leading edge being slightly raised. It maintains the splay pretty effectively.

This is with a Muhle STF (25mm) and an AP Shave Co, 22mm Synbad knot.

I'm still learning ;-)

... Thom

 

[pierrelortie44]

The base of your jaw as well (near your ear). It gives you 3 splay points. I find that as I move about, I keep the plane of thd brush slightly "less" than parallel - the leading edge being slightly raised. It maintains the splay pretty effectively.

This is with a Muhle STF (25mm) and an AP Shave Co, 22mm Synbad knot.

I'm still learning ;-)

... Thom

When I started using synthetics this winter I used them like my badgers. But since then I developed the better habit of using painting motions only.

 

[Guido75]

I have the T3 and it is a brick. Mega tons of backbone and hard to splay. Softness is ok. I have not had issues with burn or too much scrub. I have had it now for half a year or so. It lathers extremely well and I like its size although at times I find it just a tad too much. I don’t have the T2, but I do have an Omega Roma and they appear to be very similar. I find my Roma to perform better than my T3 for about the same money.

Best synths I currently have are my Razorock 400 and my Yaqi Lucky Dice.

Still I find the T3 a nice addition to the rotation.

Cheers,

Guido

 

[Keyvan]

My T2 has grown on me quite a bit. It now splays with a reasonable amount of pressure and it’s still great for hard 3x milled soaps. Despite the backbone, it is not a dense brush. As such, it delivers lather without holding on to it. It is a good brush, but the break-in period confused me.

 

[Keyvan]

As I use synthetic brushes more and more, I am realizing that the softness of the tips is not the only contribution to the face-feel softness. When a brush is splayed, you can start to feel the backbone. With the T3 the tips were always relatively soft, although they did become softer with use. I am fairly sure, however, that the softness of the backbone is what most improved.

I noticed this when I started using a brush called the Yaqi Twist. I have other brushes with softer tips, but backbone of the Twist is unusually soft. It’s a good brush for creams and croaks, but is not as good for hard soaps.