Meet the Simpsons, The Rooneys and the others....

Audio,

Nvm the rarity of the Duke, if you had to pick between that and Chubby which would it be? Depending on how one looks at it, I reckon the latter requiring a 15 min pre-soak can't be good due to its density. Would you say as far as the tufts are concerned they're about the same? I don't have any of their 2-band but I do have Case and Wee and these are indeed scrubby but not prickly and have a good spring rate also splaying enough while using modest amount of product due to their loft. Reckon the Chubby 2 being at 27 knot just like with my other bigger knot brushes require more product due to the knot's density. Thanks
 
It would be the Duke, over time (since I wrote this) I have used the Duke on a regular so it is clearly my favourite of the two. The 15 minute soak of the CH2 is overkill but it was a great help while it broke, this did reduce the lather hog tendency of the new 2 band hair in that density to hog the lather. It does use a fair bit or product but I do not worry about that, in fact it is a nice way to use some stuff up. These days I just stick it into soak when I go in the shower so it now gets as long as it takes me to shower and dry off before use; it just took a hell of a long time to break but I am a patient man.

The tufts of the Duke feel softer, the head is more fan shaped where the CH2 is definitely more bulb shaped and this does lead to more pressure when lathering. The Duke is an oddity but a nice one, I wish I had one in best or super to compare but the hair they used in this particular one is very white at the tips. This slight difference does not show well on my photo at the beginning of this thread but in the hand it is more apparent. It is as fine as the hair on the Astor, almost as if it got the best of the best hair.

I have the Wee Scot and this is scrubbier but I do not find it annoyingly so. Simpsons 2 Band is very similar to their super hair. I am not saying the 2 band is not that good, I am saying that their super is very good so the laws of diminishing returns comes into play; and in some specific situations the benefit of 2 band is not so noticeable. I feel this with the CH2, having the choice again I would buy the CH2 in Super rather than 2 band, however the PJ2, X2L and even the longer lofted Polo 8 seem to benefit more from the slightly stiffer hair.

2 Band is not the be and end all, having made the choices I have over the years (some smarter than others) I now realise that this hair can be used in the right scenario to add a desired property (extra stiffness) but making anything 2 band does not always make it better, so my advise would be choose carefully.

I would say if you have the case and the Wee then the world is your oyster and I would recommend that you do save up and get at least one 2 band brush. Which one depends on what you are looking for from the brush and your preferences. Next to the Duke I would say the best investment for me was the X2L, it is a 23mm knot, 46mm loft and blindfolded I would be hard pushed to be able to tell the difference between X2L and the Astor. If it was readily available I would say get the Duke but I do not believe they will produce any more.

Hope this helps.
 
I was interested to read that your Duke is fan shaped and your Chubby 2 is bulb shape. My Best versions of each brush are the other way round. Here's my Chubby 2:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://fidosshavingbrushblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/simpson-chubby-2-best.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://fidosshavingbrushblog.blogspot.c ... -best.html</a><!-- m -->

And Duke 3:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://fidosshavingbrushblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/simpson-duke-3-best.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://fidosshavingbrushblog.blogspot.c ... -best.html</a><!-- m -->
 
That is really odd Fido, in the pic my Duke was still quite new, it has not bloomed a lot but it is flatter and more fan shaped then the original picture. Your Chubby is like my Duke, not really fan shaped like a Rooney but less bulb shaped than a normal Simpsons, and I find the picture of your Duke odd because I am used to seeing the pronounced bulb shape.

Strange but true, an astute observation Fido. Any thoughts or ideas on why this is so?

Perhaps it is just the engineer using the knot to hand as he thinks best (within a set of parameters). My CH2 is a long loft, longer than advertised but it seems tighter as if they knew to compensate for the slight extra length. I haven't been to the factory but I get the impression they have a skilled staff from my specific requests and requests to take brushes back and alter them by marginal amounts. I asked them about an Emperor 3 in 2 Band today with a specific dimension and they are away to see what they can do.

I must take some new pics with my new camera of my CH2 and Duke side by side.
 
I have no idea why my Chubby 2 doesn't seem to be the same shape as that posted in photos on the Simpsons web site.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com/cgi-bin/trolleyed_public.cgi?action=showprod_CHUBBYB" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com/cg ... od_CHUBBYB</a><!-- m -->

Having had a large batch of my New Forest brushes to compare, it is obviously difficult to produce individually hand made brushes without variation. Not unless a quality inspection procedure rejects anything that does not accurately conform to spec or that falls outside a very tight margin. And that would be a costly way of operating. It's why Whitechapel bells are so expensive. They reject over 50% of musical handbells on first casting.

Variations in loft are very significant. As a rule of thumb, I would now consider returning any brush which exceeded the loft advertised by more than 2 mm. Even then, within a batch of 50 mm loft brushes, a 48 mm loft brush will be a whole lot firmer than one with a loft of 52 mm. Fortunately for manufacturers and retailers there are only a very small percentage of shavers who are fussy about these things!
 
Audiolab said:
Perhaps it is just the engineer using the knot to hand as he thinks best (within a set of parameters). My CH2 is a long loft, longer than advertised but it seems tighter as if they knew to compensate for the slight extra length. I haven't been to the factory but I get the impression they have a skilled staff from my specific requests and requests to take brushes back and alter them by marginal amounts. I asked them about an Emperor 3 in 2 Band today with a specific dimension and they are away to see what they can do.
Click to expand...

I reckon that's right, the knot maker uses their own skill and judgement to create the most appropriate knot to suit the length of hair.

That's not quite a special is it Audio, you can get a E3 in Super. Shorter loft?
 
Yeah you are right Tony, if it was a really custom one I would have been on the blower, I just asked for a shorter loft one from their production run. He said they got a new batch of hair in and last week and I asked for one of the shorter ones that comes out. It is nothing spectacular but I do like the Emperor handle, more than the Eagle, and it is another one towards the full set.
 
Audiolab said:
It would be the Duke, over time (since I wrote this) I have used the Duke on a regular so it is clearly my favourite of the two. The 15 minute soak of the CH2 is overkill but it was a great help while it broke, this did reduce the lather hog tendency of the new 2 band hair in that density to hog the lather. It does use a fair bit or product but I do not worry about that, in fact it is a nice way to use some stuff up. These days I just stick it into soak when I go in the shower so it now gets as long as it takes me to shower and dry off before use; it just took a hell of a long time to break but I am a patient man.

The tufts of the Duke feel softer, the head is more fan shaped where the CH2 is definitely more bulb shaped and this does lead to more pressure when lathering. The Duke is an oddity but a nice one, I wish I had one in best or super to compare but the hair they used in this particular one is very white at the tips. This slight difference does not show well on my photo at the beginning of this thread but in the hand it is more apparent. It is as fine as the hair on the Astor, almost as if it got the best of the best hair.

I have the Wee Scot and this is scrubbier but I do not find it annoyingly so. Simpsons 2 Band is very similar to their super hair. I am not saying the 2 band is not that good, I am saying that their super is very good so the laws of diminishing returns comes into play; and in some specific situations the benefit of 2 band is not so noticeable. I feel this with the CH2, having the choice again I would buy the CH2 in Super rather than 2 band, however the PJ2, X2L and even the longer lofted Polo 8 seem to benefit more from the slightly stiffer hair.

2 Band is not the be and end all, having made the choices I have over the years (some smarter than others) I now realise that this hair can be used in the right scenario to add a desired property (extra stiffness) but making anything 2 band does not always make it better, so my advise would be choose carefully.

I would say if you have the case and the Wee then the world is your oyster and I would recommend that you do save up and get at least one 2 band brush. Which one depends on what you are looking for from the brush and your preferences. Next to the Duke I would say the best investment for me was the X2L, it is a 23mm knot, 46mm loft and blindfolded I would be hard pushed to be able to tell the difference between X2L and the Astor. If it was readily available I would say get the Duke but I do not believe they will produce any more.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Audio,

Thank you for excellent detailed account! Being fond of smaller brushes I see no foreseeable problems with Chubby 1 despite its height base at 41 mm as I have many others in 40-44 range namely Omega 40033, 80257, Simpsons Beaufort B4 Pure, Case, Vie-Long 12315, 16250, 16258, 16728, Vulfix 2273 ( 38 mm ).

In the past I haven't really given the Simpsons B4 a chance simply because at the time of my acquiring Boars I'd left it on the shelf. To date I must say I'm impressed. Of brushes this closely resembles the New Forest Superior 2201. Although the latter isn't as prickly as B4 and quite shorter at 43 mm compared to its advertised 50 mm loft. Quite a huge difference seeing as typically brushes in my arsenal are +/- 1 to 2 mm. In short these two are scrubby and dense with just enough spring rate for flex.

According to vendor sites I scoped out namely Shoebox Shaveshop these are specs
CH1 1 Ht: 88 mm Loft: 47 mm Base: 41 Knot: 23 mm

CH2 2 Ht: 95 mm Loft: 50 mm Base: 45 Knot: 27 mm

D3 Ht: 92 mm Loft: 46 mm Base: 46 mm Knot: 23 mm

Since stock photos can't be relied upon I'm using your gorgeous brushes as reference. How close is your Duke and Chubby to these specs?

In future I think I'll go with a Duke 3 or Chubby 1. Given that brushes of this calibre are bespoke and hand made to order, reckon prior to ordering I can ask Gary what specs of brushes he'll be sending so I know what to expect.

The X2L is remarkable piece indeed. Ever since having laid eyes on the handle it's simply exquisite and reckon can only be appreciated in person. This might just be one that will accompany the Duke or Chubby. The Simpsons Best grade is quite impressive. I'm glad I picked up the Wee and Case.

BTW would you mind telling me specs of your Colonel? Many thanks my friend.
 
Fido said:
Ivan, you seem to be referring to your 2201 as having a loft of 43 mm. Which brush are you really describing as having a 43 mm loft compared to its advertised 50 mm?
Click to expand...

Peter,

Absolutely not. You've seen my reviews of New Forest Superior 2201 across the forums I posted the specs

New Forest Superior Badger 2201
Ht: 100 mm Loft: 50 mm Base: 50 mm Knot: 22 mm
*Ht: 102 mm Loft: 52 mm Base: 50 mm Knot: 22 mm

Water capacity:
25ml/4.5tsp/1.5TBL

Shaken 3x:
-1 TBL

I was referring to the B4:

Simpsons B4 Pure
Simpsons BEAUFORT - Pure Badger Shaving Brush - SIX sizes
B4 Ht: 105 mm Loft: 50 mm Base: 55 mm Knot: 20 mm
*B4 Ht: 98 mm Loft: 43 mm Base: 55 mm Dia: 32 mm Knot: 20 mm

DWT: 32.55
g: 50.6
oz: 1.78
ozt: 1.62

Water capacity:
1TBL/3tsp/.5oz

Shaken 3x:
1tsp
 
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