Simpsons Duke 3 - Best Badger

Fido

Fido

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Location
New Forest, England.
When I visited The Gentleman's Shop recently, I asked for a recommendation of a brush bearing in mind I already had a Kent BK8. I set no limit on price. The Duke 3 got the nod. I liked the look and feel of the brush. I have been delighted with it. It is a complete all rounder. Superb lathers are created every which way from soaps, creams and sticks - in bowl, hand or face. It is a dense brush and can be used either to paint or massage in circular movements. It's softness is not far removed from the silver tip and is completely comfortable. It retails in Robert's shop at £74. I since added the Semogue 1305 out of curiosity and have commented on that elsewhere. If I wanted one highly versatile brush to experiment with just about every product and lathering option this would be it. It's going to be a good friend for years.
 

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I agree with the original post the Duke 3 is an excellent all round brush...handsome, nicely proportioned, good handle size coupled with dense Simpson Best hair what more could you want. I think I paid about £60 for mine this year when a vendor was having a sale. Recommended.
 
That is another beezer of a brush Fido. I used to have a Simpsons chubby #3 in super, twas a luxury...I have since turned to the hair of the hog after getting a 1305.
 
Lovely brush,

I have a Duke 2 in Best, it does'nt have the little gold label just the black lettering, might be known as pre-Vulfix though could be wrong.

Replaced an old bristle Culmak - some difference.
 
I also have a Duke 2 best (post Vulfix takeover) and it's a lovely brush.
If I get another badger brush it will be a Duke 3 or Chubby 2 in best. I'm torn between the two.
For perspective I've also tried Shavemac, Rooney, Edwin Jagger, Kent and Vulfix.

Pete
 
Good review.

Those of you with post-Vulfix Simpsons brushes, how do you find the Best grade of hair?

I got a Chubby 2 in Best and it was very scrubby when new but has really softened and become (almost) floppy with use. Is this normal?

How do the various Simpsons grades of hair compare pre/post Vulfix?

I would be interested to know if anyone has a post-Vulfix Super brush and how the hair compares to the Best grade (once both are well broken in).

Regards,

John
 
jhclare said:
Good review.

Those of you with post-Vulfix Simpsons brushes, how do you find the Best grade of hair?

I got a Chubby 2 in Best and it was very scrubby when new but has really softened and become (almost) floppy with use. Is this normal?

How do the various Simpsons grades of hair compare pre/post Vulfix?

I would be interested to know if anyone has a post-Vulfix Super brush and how the hair compares to the Best grade (once both are well broken in).

Regards,

John
Click to expand...

I have a Polo 8 and a PJ2 in Best. Both are Somerset Simpsons. Two weeks ago, I got a Vulfix made CH 1 in best.

The new best hair is a finer gauge bristle, softer tips for sure. The older bests are way more scrubbier than the new one. In fact, I wouldn't call the new chubby really 'scrubby'. It's dense, stiff and resilient, but the tips still feel comfortably soft & luxurious.

Now the CH1 in super I had some years ago (Somerset made), that was SO intensely scrubby I just had to let it go. In the old days, Simpson's super grade was definately scrubbier than their best. I suspect the new super is more along the lines of the Vulfix and Rooney super grades: fine gauge, super soft tips. So it's very well possible that the Vulfix made supers are actually softer than the bests - that's the other way round from the Somerset specimens.
 
fozz77 said:
Please define scrubbier.

To me that means more of an exfoliating effect.
Click to expand...

To me as well.True 'scrubiness' results from two things in my experience: stiff, resilient bristle + coarse or at least not very soft tips. This would make the new chubbies in best grade something in between soft and scrubby. At least, that is my personal impression.
 
I have a Polo 8 and a PJ2 in Best. Both are Somerset Simpsons. Two weeks ago, I got a Vulfix made CH 1 in best.

The new best hair is a finer gauge bristle, softer tips for sure. The older bests are way more scrubbier than the new one. In fact, I wouldn't call the new chubby really 'scrubby'. It's dense, stiff and resilient, but the tips still feel comfortably soft & luxurious.

Now the CH1 in super I had some years ago (Somerset made), that was SO intensely scrubby I just had to let it go. In the old days, Simpson's super grade was definately scrubbier than their best. I suspect the new super is more along the lines of the Vulfix and Rooney super grades: fine gauge, super soft tips. So it's very well possible that the Vulfix made supers are actually softer than the bests - that's the other way round from the Somerset specimens.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I recently had my Rooney 3/1 replaced (my old one was VERY dense yet shed a lot). My replacement one does not seem quite as dense (although it has not shed a hair yet). It finally has started to bloom a bit but the bristles do seem stiffer with scritchier tips than the one it replaced. I'm trying to remember if my original Rooney started out this way.

Anyway, my CH2 in Best is now much softer than my 3/1 (Super)!

The knot is large, dense, yet now soft and dare I say it, almost floppy. This isn't really what I bought the Chubby for, and I may sell it, if anyone is interested.

So, am considering a different Simpsons brush with shorter loft (maybe a Duke or Tulip).

I find the 3/1 about the perfect size knot for me, so which sizes of Duke/Tulip would suit?

My experience with my Chubby has made me weary though - if I got another Simpsons brush in the same grade of Best hair, would the same thing happen? Should I just got for Super? I like firm bristles, yet don't want scritchy tips.

John
 
Simply a smaller knot size would make a considerable difference. So a CH1 in best might be your ticket. From what I gather, the new chubbies are denser and stiffer than the new dukes, no matter the size. I believe DrP has covered this topic quite extensively on SMF.
 
Frederick said:
Simply a smaller knot size would make a considerable difference. So a CH1 in best might be your ticket. From what I gather, the new chubbies are denser and stiffer than the new dukes, no matter the size. I believe DrP has covered this topic quite extensively on SMF.
Click to expand...

That is my experience with the Simfix Chubby Best and Duke Best.



You have to be careful about definition's' here...I've had brushes that have been so soft that you can't do anything but paint the lather onto your'e face, like using a wet mop, it's physically impossible to do anything else and that is what I would call "floppy"

I also have a newish CH1 best and that is quite soft but the density makes it nicely scrubby, physically the shape of the knot has not changed since new and it has not significantly softened. The Duke/Tulip are not the way to go JH you might be better off trying to find the right Rooney.
 
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