Hi Everyone!
First, I am really excited to have found this community. I have been wet shaving for maybe 6 or 7 years and I've often sought out information related to wet shaving through this online community. I decided to finally join this forum as I recently turned 30 and decided I wanted to upgrade from my Sterling synthetic Kong brush as a gift to me. In the process I've run into a bit of a dilemma I am hoping you guys can maybe help me with.
I've searched far and wide for what I feel might be the best brush for my use (mostly face lathering with shaving cream). Living in London, I found I have access to Mühle and Taylor's of old Bond Street. I have to say as an American living in London for 12 years now I was surprised at how off-standish the older employees at TOBS were with me. Nonetheless they are one of the few places in London I know of that has a nice selection of different things.
so...
While in TOBS I saw a Duke 3 synthetic brush labeled as having "synthetic bristle". In my research from this forum and Simpson's website, I have come to recognize the brushes with this title, having their platinum fiber- whereas brushes that say "sovereign fiber" have that instead.
I saw it was priced at +/-£50 which I would almost think of as a deal so given my knowledge and this compelling video on Youtube :
- I was sold.
The Duke:
After leaving I stopped at the Aesop store nearby just to see what their shaving offerings might be. I saw a new synthetic shaving brush there and I have to say, I was legitimately blown away by a few qualities: 1) Its water and heat retinence were outstanding. 2) it looked convincing to actual silver tip 3) the handle for me is awesome 4) the fibers are incredibly soft but still seem to have both back bone and a nice amount of exfoliation. Basically perfect except 1 thing.. Knot density. This knot is simply not that dense which is a real bummer. I have emailed Aesop to work out where they procure this synthetic since it is mind blowing honestly. So what do you know? I bought it on the spot!
The Humble Aesop brush:
Side by Side
I know.. the duke (left) has an insanely dense knot!!
at risk of sounding nuts I would almost guess that the Aesop synthetic is manufactured by Simpsons and is their new platinum fiber- or at least really close to what I would expect it to be.
On the other hand...
When I got home I inspected the duke 3 that I picked up. Upon further inspection, I realized that the synthetic fiber used much more closely resembled the appearance of sovereign fiber (specifically the artificially white tips). I decided to write the Simpsons to help me make sense of this.. This is what they said:
"We original only had one type of Synthetic Material (Platiunum) so all our synthetic brushes were engraved ‘synthetic’ which is what’s on your brush. We now have another type of synthetic material (Sovereign) so we decided we would change the engraving on the handles to either ‘Platinum’ or ‘Sovereign’ to identify the different brushes. Our platinum synthetic has also slightly changed to what it previously was which maybe why you think it looks different to the one you have."
So that has certainly complicated things for me. I have included photos of the brushes below. As you can see, the Duke 3 is seriously dense- especially next to the humble Aesop brush but I fear it has the older platinum fibers. More specifically, I worry that Simpson's might have simply retired the old platinum fiber name and repurposed it as sovereign fiber.
So here are my questions- has anyone made sense of Simpson's platinum fiber v1 and v2? And how do either compare to sovereign fibers?
As an aside I saw the italian barber in the states had a killer deal so I actually also picked up a razorock 400 with plissoft and the orange/noir counterpart. The experience of a metal handle is excellent. In the uk I tried the aluminum noir- the fiber was pretty nice but the glue bump was massive with greatly reduced the splay and knot size- to the point I felt I couldn't use it as I wanted. Which reminds me - the Aesop has no glue bump to speak of- seems it was properly manufactured.. whoever does it.
So another question I want to pose is- if you were me what would you do with the Duke? I feel like at minimum it might just be some super old stock and I might just prefer to return it given I haven't used it yet. Honestly the Aesop synthetic have set a new standard for synthetics for me so that whatever fancy brush I get next I want it to have these fibers! Also how many brushes can one guy have?
I have used my Kong since maybe 2016 and it has served me well. Its soft- but over time I have found so many shortcomings; way too floppy- no backbone, no water retention, no heat retention, the handle is really large, the knot is so large that I feel I dont even get the chance to exfoliate at all. In all actuality both these brushes I just picked up must certainly be better.
As a final thought- this "real" synthetic fibers has got my head spinning- I am just shocked. I never owned badger but I can see how this is genuinely a viable substitute not only for a brush- but a really really nice one too- What are some of the brushes you came across that perform like this material?
Check out the photos and let me know what you guys are thinking!
thanks guys!
First, I am really excited to have found this community. I have been wet shaving for maybe 6 or 7 years and I've often sought out information related to wet shaving through this online community. I decided to finally join this forum as I recently turned 30 and decided I wanted to upgrade from my Sterling synthetic Kong brush as a gift to me. In the process I've run into a bit of a dilemma I am hoping you guys can maybe help me with.
I've searched far and wide for what I feel might be the best brush for my use (mostly face lathering with shaving cream). Living in London, I found I have access to Mühle and Taylor's of old Bond Street. I have to say as an American living in London for 12 years now I was surprised at how off-standish the older employees at TOBS were with me. Nonetheless they are one of the few places in London I know of that has a nice selection of different things.
so...
While in TOBS I saw a Duke 3 synthetic brush labeled as having "synthetic bristle". In my research from this forum and Simpson's website, I have come to recognize the brushes with this title, having their platinum fiber- whereas brushes that say "sovereign fiber" have that instead.
I saw it was priced at +/-£50 which I would almost think of as a deal so given my knowledge and this compelling video on Youtube :
The Duke:
After leaving I stopped at the Aesop store nearby just to see what their shaving offerings might be. I saw a new synthetic shaving brush there and I have to say, I was legitimately blown away by a few qualities: 1) Its water and heat retinence were outstanding. 2) it looked convincing to actual silver tip 3) the handle for me is awesome 4) the fibers are incredibly soft but still seem to have both back bone and a nice amount of exfoliation. Basically perfect except 1 thing.. Knot density. This knot is simply not that dense which is a real bummer. I have emailed Aesop to work out where they procure this synthetic since it is mind blowing honestly. So what do you know? I bought it on the spot!
The Humble Aesop brush:
Side by Side
I know.. the duke (left) has an insanely dense knot!!
at risk of sounding nuts I would almost guess that the Aesop synthetic is manufactured by Simpsons and is their new platinum fiber- or at least really close to what I would expect it to be.
On the other hand...
When I got home I inspected the duke 3 that I picked up. Upon further inspection, I realized that the synthetic fiber used much more closely resembled the appearance of sovereign fiber (specifically the artificially white tips). I decided to write the Simpsons to help me make sense of this.. This is what they said:
"We original only had one type of Synthetic Material (Platiunum) so all our synthetic brushes were engraved ‘synthetic’ which is what’s on your brush. We now have another type of synthetic material (Sovereign) so we decided we would change the engraving on the handles to either ‘Platinum’ or ‘Sovereign’ to identify the different brushes. Our platinum synthetic has also slightly changed to what it previously was which maybe why you think it looks different to the one you have."
So that has certainly complicated things for me. I have included photos of the brushes below. As you can see, the Duke 3 is seriously dense- especially next to the humble Aesop brush but I fear it has the older platinum fibers. More specifically, I worry that Simpson's might have simply retired the old platinum fiber name and repurposed it as sovereign fiber.
So here are my questions- has anyone made sense of Simpson's platinum fiber v1 and v2? And how do either compare to sovereign fibers?
As an aside I saw the italian barber in the states had a killer deal so I actually also picked up a razorock 400 with plissoft and the orange/noir counterpart. The experience of a metal handle is excellent. In the uk I tried the aluminum noir- the fiber was pretty nice but the glue bump was massive with greatly reduced the splay and knot size- to the point I felt I couldn't use it as I wanted. Which reminds me - the Aesop has no glue bump to speak of- seems it was properly manufactured.. whoever does it.
So another question I want to pose is- if you were me what would you do with the Duke? I feel like at minimum it might just be some super old stock and I might just prefer to return it given I haven't used it yet. Honestly the Aesop synthetic have set a new standard for synthetics for me so that whatever fancy brush I get next I want it to have these fibers! Also how many brushes can one guy have?
I have used my Kong since maybe 2016 and it has served me well. Its soft- but over time I have found so many shortcomings; way too floppy- no backbone, no water retention, no heat retention, the handle is really large, the knot is so large that I feel I dont even get the chance to exfoliate at all. In all actuality both these brushes I just picked up must certainly be better.
As a final thought- this "real" synthetic fibers has got my head spinning- I am just shocked. I never owned badger but I can see how this is genuinely a viable substitute not only for a brush- but a really really nice one too- What are some of the brushes you came across that perform like this material?
Check out the photos and let me know what you guys are thinking!
thanks guys!
