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I think I decided my next brush is going to be a Simpson chubby. Wanted some general feedback, but was also wondering if anyone had any experience with the best badger version vs super badger. Didn't think a best badger could run 175 so curious on the feedback.
when it comes to Simpsons you kinda pay for that handle too, but their best badger is not a standard black badger, everyones opinion may be different so its really hard to give you an idea, me I like their Manchurian and super , anything else I pass on. also if you like to bowl lather, the chubby is short and can get messy. but I love my Chubby @ Tc
I have three Simpsons, my Chubby 2 took some getting used to, its massive. It loads up an amazing amount of later.
It works best if used like a paint brush on the face.
My Simson "Case" best badger is very small and I use it when I travel. Because of its size it takes more time to apply lather.
My favorite is my "The Duke" 2 , medium size, does everything I need a brush to do.
Attachment 255667
I'm a face latherer which is one reason I think this will be good for me, softness about the same on the tips? Seems like most people say they all have good backbone. Interested in the duke, I could see the chubby being a little unwieldy.
Yes all three have about the same softness with enough back bone to exfoliate and apply lather.
The best is kind of an intermediate grade. It can represent a good value in a brush. It's not the floppy softness of a super but not the real coarseness of a pure. It's a workhorse of a brush as long as you like it's qualities.
I had it in my head I was gonna drop like $300 for one of the best brushes, am I foolish to think the duke 2 at 100 may fit the bill?
I've got brushes up to $300ish and my all time favourite brush is the Colonel XL, closely followed by the Duke 2. My Duke was from the bad faux ivory era and it developed a crack, the replacement they sent me, while brand new, was not in the same league sadly. Then again, the first one had a spectacular knot. Today, all bets are off as far as I go... I've only used one of the new Simpson brushes since they were sold to Vulfix and while reports are good... I have no personal experience with them as I've stopped buying brushes in the past few years.
Have a look at the Colonel, it's a dandy brush and the handle is sort of a smaller version of the Polo handles which are REALLY big. I would chose a Colonel over a Duke, but only because of my personal tastes.... I don't care for short handles.
As to your question of dropping $300 on a brush.... Only you can decide if it's worth it to you or not. Rest assured, a $300 brush is not 3 times as good as a $100 brush... But.... a $100 brush is also not a $300 brush being sold for $100. Either will work great, but one has a $300 price tag to brag about, and you have the right to expect only the best at that price.
Knowing what I know today..... I'd probably go with the $100 brush and spend the rest on hones, razors or strops......:gl:
Regards
Christian
Depending on the batch of hair, some of the recent Best Badger brushes have almost identical hair to the Super Badger brushes. I have tried a few and the only distinguishing feature between these two types of hair has been the increased density in the Super Badger brushes. Personally, I much prefer the latter as the Best Badger ones are a tad too floppy.
I have two Chubby 2 Super Badger knots transplanted into custom handles. :)
Good luck.
The chubby is a densely packed large diameter knot. I had a 3 and sold it. Too much of a good thing for my preferences. The 2 I replaced it with is better for me. Still the large diameter, but a shorter loft. I have to be in the mood for it. The backbone is substantial. If you like a bit of softness I wouldn't recommend it. I like it for face lathering. For bowl lathering the Polo is hard to beat because of the long handle. In the current production Simpsons I've only had the Super and Manchurian product. Not sure about the Best.
I think you wont ever get a conclusive answer to your question, because the badger can vary so greatly between the batches. Thats the thing about them, unfortunately.
I have a LE Chubby2 in Manchurian and I couldnt be happier. Costs an arm and a leg, but worth it, definitely. It's a beautiful brush and half of the cost is accounted to the handle and that sticker, I'm sure. Has the right amount of backbone, density and hardness. The perfect brush, for me.
Used to own the Colonel X2L in best and I liked it, but that knot was scritchier than the manchurian and had less backbone.
On the days I feel like having something softer on my face, I use 2-band finest knots. These hairs were surely chemicaly treated somehow, because when dry, they are hard and feel very brittle. Wet them, and they become smooth like silicone. Almost no scritch to them, good backbone.. dont think Simpsons makes them, but you can get them from custom makers. IMO better price point than high-grade Simpsons, equal performance, density pretty much the same (those guys will hand tie them, mostly), you get to pick the handle, etc. Don't want to stray much from the topic, just food for thought.
@Srdjan is pretty much right about not getting consensus, but maybe becuse the Simpson's Best Badger characteristics vary so wildly over the range. While the Super Badger and Manchurian may vary, not IMO like the Best.
It's a safe bet that the Best will have less backbone, IOW it will splay more easily than Super amd may feel softer on the face. It's also a pretty sure thing that it will be a 3-band.
As far as the tips go, I have dark Best brushes with some scritch all the way up to a super soft white-tipped Keyhole 4 and 58. And there was a batch of hair Jarrod Connerty called 'brunette badger' IIRC that was every bit as good if not better than most Simpsons two-band brushes, but was sold as the Best grade. I have a Chubby 1 in this grade and would love to find a 57, 58 or 59 with this hair. I also suspect but do not know, that the cheaper models of Best have less dense knots than say the Duke or 50 series. The Duke and 50 series Best Badgers have very well balanced knot and work well with anything.
Super hair will be stiffer, tips should be softer but depends on which Best brush you compare it to. The tips will be whiter. I like the Super Badger for harder soaps and the Best Badger for soft soaps and creams - in general.
Cheers, Steve
I don't own a Chubby but I have a few Simpsons brushes. I have a Persian Jar in best badger and a Polo 10 in super badger. If I were to do it again, I would buy the Polo in best badger. I find there to be little difference between the two grades in these brushes but there was a lot of difference in price. But, that being said, the Polo is my brush of choice.
Ok.....wow...this is harder then I thought. How about if I frame it this way, best Simpson brush for face lather, enough backbone for hard puck loaded, as soft tips as I can get, price not an issue?
Name that Simpson.
A good quality badger brush of ANY make will do fine for all the purposes you mention. I bowl/face lather, I use soaps and creams and I use any of my brushes to do so... there are differences between them, but nothing earthshattering and nothing that prevents you from doing any of the things you normally do with a shaving brush. In other words, there is NO BEST of anything, only DIFFERENT. You must decide what YOU like and go with your gut.
For example, if I were to buy a new Simpson brush, I'd be buying a Tulip 2 or 3... I'm still on the fence size wise.... but probably the 2. Why? Just because I LIKE that handle and I know Simpson usually makes good knots (And yes, even Simpson has the occasional dud).
The correct answer I'm afraid, is to follow in drP's footsteps over on SMF. This is his photo of his "Simpsons" cabinet, for when you want to make sure you have the Best Brush.:rofl2:
Attachment 255752
I'm not religious but that picture makes me believe in God.
Well I think I'm down to two, duke 3 best badger which is 23 mm knot 46mm loft which is the big side for duke. The other side of the coin is the chubby 1 super badger which is 23 and 47 but I see in reviews people calling it a midget. Not sure how the duke 3 would be similar in size but chubby 1 is considered small. Is the handle just that much bigger on the chubby to make it feel small?
Would kill to have a local store to actually look at shaving gear!
Question, do you have a shavemac d01 two band yet? If yes, then continue on your search for a simpson. If no, you must get a shavemac first. They are far superior to the current simpson brushes. Just my humble opinion, but I'm sure others feel this way as well.
Nope, don't know much about them, I can be swayed, feedback? Looks nice with those wood inlays.
You can buy them as complete brushes or you can buy just the knots and have a custom brush maker make you one. I have two knots that I made handles for myself. A 30mm bulb in cocobolo and a 30mm fan in buckeye burl. They are the best, hands down. I've tried Thater, simpson, Morris and forndran etc. They have 2 two band options, I have only tried d01.
Attachment 255756
Attachment 255757
Simpsons do make an excellent brush. At least the 3 I have, 2 synthetics and a Manchurian, are. I enjoyed the Manchurian enough that I wanted more of the same in a larger knot and taller larger diameter handle. Unfortunately a Polo 10 in Manchurian was priced at more than I was willing to pay.
I had heard good things about Shavemac so contacted then to see if they had a badger grade that would give me the characteristics I was getting from my Simpsons Manchurian. They recommended their silvertip 2 band, NOT the DO1 silvertip 2 band, and I had them make a custom brush for me. As a bonus it was more affordable too.
I had Shavemac scale up the handle design of an old Canadian Simms brush and set a 26mm knot in it. Very well satisfied with the result and no regrets going that route.
Bob
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps2zj2nzry.jpg
At your service sir. Both brushes lightly bloomed. The Chubby 1 on the left is Super Badger and blooms less than the Duke 3 Best Badger on the right.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lumberjack55
The Chubby 1 feels much smaller than the Duke 3 because of the short handle and the knot blooms less. The C1 in Super Badger feels more like a Duke 2 overall. The Duke 3 has a taller handle than the Duke 2. BTW, the Chubby knot looks shorter than the Duke 3 in the photo partly because the handle is much shorter, but there isn't that much difference in the loft.
Cheers, Steve
I may not have made it clear, but those are mostly Simpson brushes from back when Simpson was located in England. The Simpson brand was sold to Vulfix on the Isle Of Man, so to some, Simpson is no longer Simpson. My small sampling came from both companies and I saw little difference other than the lamp black print on the old brushes was replaced with either laser engraving or heat impression which is far more durable. I do recall hearing something about the grades of hair being not quite the same as it used to be, but this is several years ago... I have no idea about today, and it was never a quality issue, just that it seemed different from what you would expect from the old Simpson.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lumberjack55
What I do know is that them Tulip handles keep calling me.....<sigh>.
The Chubby is a higher cost brush so the knot will be of a higher caliber (density and grade) and the Duke is more of a working man's brush. Both are excellent quality, but the Chubby is one of the highly spoken of models from Simpson. As I do not like short handles, I've never bought one... but the #2 seems to be the most popular. I'd pick the Duke 3, but honestly... it's your brush, so choose the one YOU want.... Or.... like drP, you can buy one of each and not worry about it! :rofl2:
See, this is what I was talking about.. @prodigy [emoji16]
I tried the Shavemac D01 in 26mm 2-band and didn't care for it. The backbone is there, the density is certainly there, but it was too scritchy for me and believe it, or not, I would compare that brush to my ex Simpsons Colonel X2L Best. The difference is the density and backbone, the Shavemac is far superior, but the feel is the same. Again, that's just about the batches of hair and this cannot be used to draw a conclusion.
Name one Simpson? For me, Chubby 2 Manchurian.
That is apparently the difference between the Shavemac DO1 2 band silvertip and the Shavemac 2 band silvertip. The first has scratch/scratch and the latter does not.Quote:
Originally Posted by Srdjan
Bob
The Shavemac D01 2 band needs to be set higher to reduce or eliminate the scritch, it isn't that the hair is inherently scritchy. I was given one at 26mm that the owner had an identical brush with the knot set at 54mm made. The original was supposed to be a 52mm loft but when I measured it, it was 50mm. Another 4mm of loft will do wonders for such a D01.
I know for some time, extremely short loft (under 2x) dense 2-band knots were all the rage, and after a while you could buy them by the rafts on the BSTs because you could scrub the paint off a battleship with them.
Cheers, Steve
Yes, the loft setting has a big effect on how a knot feels and behaves.
Bob
Just when I think I have too much shaving gear I come on here and you all make me feel better. I put a couple brush ideas down and voila steve has a picture lined up. Love it.
Ok shavemac looks pretty sweet, been playing on the brush configure tool for awhile. Leaning towards Silvertip 2band, not d01, think i'll get a little more softness with some good density. Been looking at the sizes of my current brushes but loft i'm not so great at. Thinking for this 25mm knot with a loft of 52mm. Any idea how quick they take to make and ship stateside?
Nothing wrong with a Thater. It's available, it's inside the USA, so you eliminate a lot of "what ifs". Both are considered top notch manufacturers of quality shaving brushes. As badger hair varies from pelt to pelt, you could examine one brush from Thater and one from Shavemac and decide one is more desirable than the other. Then you examine the next two brushes from both manufacturers and your decision might be opposite. Badger hair brushes are made from a natural material that WILL vary, from pelt to pelt, no matter how carefully it is graded. Imagine if you will... two tomatoes... perhaps from the same plant, never mind the same farm, will never be exactly the same.
I would not hesitate in getting a brush from Shavemac, they are top notch. I would also not hesitate in getting a brush from Thater, and seeing you have found a nice Thater that can be purchased inside the USA, from a reputable dealer such as SRD... I'd say it's great choice. Choosing a Shavemac *may* entail in it getting hung up in customs, due to the need to verify the origin of the brush hair (what animal it came from). It's not insurmountable, others in the USA over the years, have run into that issue with it's delays. An SRD Thater is a fine brush (every bit as good by reputation as a Shavemac) and it should arrive with zero hassles in a short period of time.
Regards
Christian
Amazing.... apparently I really AM capable of mind control! Well partly at least, I'm pretty sure that while you picked my favourite brush in my favourite handle colour and shape, you probably didn't have SRD ship the brush directly to me......<sob>.
I would like to congratulate you on an excellent choice.
The bulb vs fan thing is very much a personal preference... I have and use both... in fact my most used brush is somewhere in between, shape wise. I like them all and have never let the shape stop me from buying a brush, but when offered a choice, I tend to prefer the fan shape.
Regards
Kaptain "Hmm.... maybe I DO need one more brush..." Zero
I was going to recommend a Thater early on in this thread but didn't want to distract you from the apparent Simpsons quest. ;) I went with a 4125/2 2-band bulb and love it. If I get a second brush, it will be the same model but in a fan shape just for kicks (except for maybe the ivory handle instead of black). Hope you get your brush ASAP!
Just seemed like thater were one of the softest out while still having some backbone; plus, the not having to wait as long part kinda starts to rule the day when you get excited for new gear.
is the 4125/2 a model number or is that some spec on the brush that I'm not aware of?
It's the manufacturers model number.
Just....wow. Just got it, amazing. That is my best brush of my 7 brushes. Used my pre de provenece 63 which is a very hard soap for the first shave, wanted to test the backbone. Perfect for me, I'm sure there are some that have more but no way those r as soft as this,density seemed very nice. Held more water then expected.
A new broom sweeps well but I don't see this changing, I also see some of my other brushes starting to collect dust.
I'm glad you are happy with your new brush. A high end brush is not a necessity, but it sure as heck is a nice luxury.
Enjoy.
Christian
Congratulations, that's a great choice you made, makes me wanna go get one. Please could you describe the feel of the bristles a little bit more. How do they feel when dry? Do they soften significantly when wet? Straight tips or hooked tips?
Attachment 256202 Busy weekend with the superbowl, I'll dive in again in a couple hours and let you know. I actually never heard of hooked tips, I assume it's what it sounds like, the end of the bristles are curved, this one seems straight to me.
New brushes never have hooked tips. It's a trait they get from use.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
I have the bulb version of the OP's 4125/2, and when the brush is dried, the tips are just a tad scritchey. However, once wet and lathered, the brush is very soft while having excellent backbone. I figure your toughest decision (should you decide to purchase one) is whether you will get the fan or bulb shape. Other than that, you cannot go wrong with a Thäter brush. SRD appears to recommend this brand above all others for quality:Quote:
Originally Posted by Srdjan
"The folks at H.L. Thater have really hit the mark with their two band badger hair brushes. We feel that Thater has set a new industry standard when they made these brushes and that they are a terrific bargain for their price. From the overstuffed knots providing superior backbone, to the comfort of their bristles, these brushes are the nicest we have seen in the marketplace today. If you are looking for a superior brush that provides great lather with both soaps and creams, this brush is for you. It blossoms beautifully and will provide you with years of wetshaving comfort and enjoyment."
My opinions is only as good as my experience with different knots, while I didn't have a brush that embodied all the best qualities I felt I had brushes representing all parts of a brush you want; a Parker silver tip, Baxter of California silver tip, razorock synthetic plissoft, omega boar hair and a few cheapie. So I lathered this thater along side my super soft razorock plissoft, their plisson knot.
Dry the thater feels like any of my other badgers except you can feel the extra density. Dry the plissoft feels amazing, but we don't shave with it dry sooo. Once it's lathered the thater is softer then the Plissoft. I like the backbone on the thater better as well, splays nicely without being floppy. Love the badger hair keeping warm in my skuttle too, once it's warm, feels like creamy velvet.
Boar hair has more backbone, but this has plenty for me, strong enough to stand upright while loading from a hard puck and I usually load fairly dry.
