Thread: Simpson Emperor 3 Two Band

Hello all,

Does any one have any experience with the Simpson Emperor 3 Super Two-Band brush? I am really interested in this brush. I like the long handle handle shape. Also, I was wondering if anyone has experience with this brush with the Super Three-Band hair. Looking forward to your replies. Thanks for any help!

I have a 3-band pre-Vulfix Emperor 3 brush (this style is always in super badger) and although I don't use it much, preferring larger brushes, it's a delightful brush to have. The tuft dimensions of mine are diameter 21 mm, loft 50 mm. Compared to other brushes it is floppy, but it also has a strength which means that it delivers more than it appears to be able to. It's best with creams, and it is a superb brush for face-lathering. The handle has excellent balance, the part above the division line being taken hold of for making lather. The lower part is intended to be held for applying the lather, the brush being gripped between 2 fingers (in the way that barbers used to), giving good power to the spread. If you use mainly triple-milled soap then this brush will not be appropriate, because it would take much longer to lift the soap from the cake than with a stiffer, scrubbier brush.

I see from your profile that you already have the Persian Jar 2, which has tuft dimensions that are very similar to those of the E3. This may be a consideration, though I personally prefer the handle of the E3!

I have the Polo, Emperor and Persian Jar. the quality of the brushes is similar but if I were to buy one only, the Persian Jar would win hands down. The whole shape, bulb and especially the handle are perfect.

Thanks for the replies guys. It seems as though this brush is not the most popular out there. I am leaning towards getting this brush. However, the knot sizes seem to reported differently amongst the vendors and users. I think the Two-Band version would be great for either creams or soaps.

Mr. Haywood, that is a great offer, but I am in the States. I am not sure if the lower price would be enough to compensate for the international shipping. However, I really appreciate the offer.

I decided to get a Simpson Emperor 3 Two-Band Super Badger brush after all. I'll post my impressions and experiences with it once I get it and use it for awhile.

What did you think of the Emp 3?

petr, the E3 is en route to me as this post is written . If I find the time, I'll post a picture of it. I will definitely provide my impressions in the hopes that it may help others evaluate whether or not the brush may be for them.

Yep, I'm interested to know what you think.

Personally, the Emperor two band line is a mind bender for me. They are not big a full and hold lots of water to create tons of lather. So what good are they? I mean the smaller knots are not much bigger than my finger? They are amazing and it does not make sense to me why.

The knots are small and stiff and attack soaps. I've never experienced a stiffer knot. Feels good on the face too ala rooney finest.

These small stiff knots are changing my idea of what a brush should be. I think they are one of the best values in the market.

I am a little disappointed with this brush after receiving it. When I opened the box, I noticed the the knot looked a little small. I measured the knot and found:

Knot Diameter = 20mm-21mm
Knot Height = 47mm-48mm

The listed specifications of this brush from a few vendors, including the vendor I purchased mine from, are:

Listed Knot Diameter = 23mm
Listed KNot Height = 52mm

As you can see, my brush is pretty much completely different from what it should have been. The Superior Shave has the most reasonable measurements for this brush in my opinion now. You can find those here:

Simpsons 2-Band Super Shaving Brushes

I don't understand the pricing on this series of brush. Basically, Vulfix is putting nearly the exact same knot in each of the brush variants. Based on this, I would recommend that a person either gets the E1 or E2; the E3 is not worth the price. I will be returning this brush.

I have also asked other vendors what their measurements on this brush, and those measurements were similar to mine. This is too bad. This could have been my grail brush. I wonder if the Three-Band Super brushes have the normally listed specifications of the brush.

If you have a Three-Band version, please let me know you measurements.

Edit: I really do like the handle on the E3; it is nearly perfect.

Here are some really poorly taken pictures to hopefully give a little perspective:





The E3 is Second from the right in the top-down picture.

My measurements for some Two-Band Brushes I have:

Chubby 1 Two-Band:
Knot Diameter = 23mm
Knot Height = 47mm

Persian Jar 2 Two-Band:
Knot Diameter = 22mm
Knot Height = 50mm

57 Two-Band (The Douglas):
Knot Diameter = 22mm
Knot Height = 52mm

Emperor 3 Two-Band:
Knot Diameter = 20-21mm
Loft Height = 47mm-48mm

I asked Phil at BullGoose what his last E3 measured. He came up with:
Knot Diameter = 23mm
Loft Height = 47-48mm

I am not saying it is a bad brush, but it isn't exactly what I was picturing.