simpson brush advice

Hi all, I currently have a Simpson Colonel X2L and a Wee Scot. I've started to really enjoy face lathering soaps with the Wee Scot and I mainly bowl lather creams with The Colonel. I'd like to get something in-between for face lathering. The Scot feels a little small sometimes and the Colonel a bit big. I really like the Simpson Best hair, so that's my starting point. I seen a lot of the heavy hitters talked about here, Duke, Chubby, etc. but I get kind of lost with all the different sizes that are available. Any suggestions?

Ben

P.S. I live in NYC so Pasteur's is pretty close. I can look at most Simpson brushes in hand, just need a starting point as the selection is pretty big!

For face lathing I would go with a small and dense short loft.

Al raz.

Alraz said:

For face lathing I would go with a small and dense short loft.

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Agreed. The Commodore X1 will suit the bill. I love mine. I'm sure some fans of the Berkley, Case, Duke 1, etc... will chime in as well. If I were you I'd go to Pasteur's and see which one feels right.

Ben-I will go against the grain and suggest a few brushes that are against the conventional wisdom. I don't know whether Pasteur's will have them since they're a bit off the beaten path, but here you go. I would consider the following Simpsons: Milk Churn, Keyhole 2, Harvard 3 or the 56, all in Best. The 56 fits the short loft and dense bill, and is conducive to soaps and creams and works great when face lathering. The first three are less dense and have longer lofts than your typical Simpson brush and are all in the 19-20 mm knot size. They work great with creams, as one would predict for less dense brushes. I also find that they do a fantastic job with hard soaps, and face lathering with them is just a dream.

I have the Colonel, Berkeley, 56, Special and Wee Scot. I prefer a stiffer brush with just a touch of scritch, so the Berkeley is my favorite for face lathering. The more dense 56 and the less dense Special are softer on the face. As if picking a brush wasn't confusing enough, lofts will vary on the same model. I look for the shortest loft I can find when I buy a brush. Others may prefer a longer loft. It took me a couple of both before I finally figured out what I liked.

Classic 2....perfection.

Colonel a bit big - the handle or the knot?

I vote Berkeley or "56." Maybe even the "55."

Duke 2 in Best

I will say PJ2 in best or 2band... I find short loft too prickly for my sensitive skin.

I have the Wee Scot and Colonel X2l and mainly face lather--I too wanted a brush that felt like my Wee Scot but was larger than it but smaller than the Colonel---My choice, and it was right for me, was Chubby 1 Best. It has bloomed to a size smaller than Colonel by, maybe, 20-30% but feels like a large Wee Scot.. My brush of all times.

Duke 3 is my fav Simpsons (only one I kept)...about as big as I like, supposedly 23mm knot (I think mine measures a bit larger than that).

Lots of good suggestions in this thread already, but I did just notice a Rooney 1/1 in Super on B/S/T which would also probably fit your purposes well.

franz said:

Colonel a bit big - the handle or the knot?

I vote Berkeley or "56." Maybe even the "55."

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I like the handle for bowl lathering but would like something shorter for face lathering. The knot is a tiny bit big as well, so something between the Wee Scot and the Colonel knots would be perfect.

Oh am I gonna catch it here.......

Just got a FS in Silvertip with a faux ivory "Linsdfarne" handle. What a nice brush. Only lost two (2) hairs and whipped up an excellent lather (I use a bowl when possible...just my preference). To be fair, the only "High End-Name Brand" brushes I have seen in person are EJ and Muhle; I can make no comment about a Simpson, Rooney, Vulfix,etc. However, that notwithstanding all I can say is this is a super nice product. I'm comparing to an Omega boar, another FS in finest badger, a Pakistani horsehair (surprisingly pleasant if you like a big floppy brush) and my first love, what I THINK may be a Hoffritz in best badger-had it for about 35 years and it's still going very strong.

I suppose I may get another one day...leaning to a Vulfix 2236 in Super badger. If I don't, I'm thinking I wlii be pretty content with my current quiver.

benvh said:

I like the handle for bowl lathering but would like something shorter for face lathering. The knot is a tiny bit big as well, so something between the Wee Scot and the Colonel knots would be perfect.

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The Berkeley and the "56" both have shorter handles than the Colonel and have a slightly smaller knot diameter of 19-20mm. The "56" would be a little denser than the Berkeley as Brian noted above. The Berkeley is considered to have greater bang for the buck, but I have a soft spot for the Fifties. Both would be excellent face lathering brushes per your criteria.

I found the "55" knot a little small for my tastes, but if you like the Wee Scot, I'm sure you would be happy with it.

All that being said - it would be hard to go wrong with some of the other recommendations in this thread.

Appreciate the suggestions, everyone. Going to take a look at the 55/56, Berkeley, Dukes and Chubby 1 at Pasteur's next time I've over there. We'll see how they look in real life and pick one that tickles my fancy. Hopefully it won't be all of them, but it's a distinct possibility.

Ben

Ben - didn't realize the CH1 was on the list. I thought the knot might be too big for what you are looking for. At any rate, the CH1 is my favorite face lathering brush. Feels good, man.

Went to Stumptown at the Ace Hotel for coffee this morning and decided to walk down to Pasteur's since it's so close. Came to a decision and made a purchase. Duke 1 in Best. I was tempted by the Chubby 1 in Best, but it was maybe a bit big and double the price. Can't wait to try it out tomorrow AM...

P.S. Also picked up a puck of Arlington since I was there anyway...

Couldn't wait till morning so I did a test run with some AOS sandalwood soap. Oh man, brush face lathers like a dream and it whipped up the best lather I've gotten from that soap in no time at all. Liking it so far!

Ben

Good job!!! I really like smaller brushes also.