Thoughts on Simpsons Special in Best

Hello Everyone!

Could I get your thoughts on the Simpsons Special in Best? I'm looking for a small 3-band brush and this one caught my eye, but I couldn't find anything on it anywhere. I'm interested in face lathering with it, and would use it primarily for travel.

What are your thoughts?

I had one. It was a decent brush, but I ultimately sold mine off. The handle is small but comfortable. The knot is also small and less densely packed than many of Simpson's other offerings but not as sparse as a Vulfix. Mine was somewhat scritchy, but not uncomfortably so. I would describe the hair as "coarse" on the one I had. Simpson's best hair seems to be somewhat hit and miss. Sometimes its soft and sometimes it's not. The hair in my Duke2 is much softer than the hair in the Special I had.

The Special Best is an excellent smaller brush. I've PIFed off my Harvard, Emperor, Tulip, Somerset Rover, Case, Classic and several other Simpsons, but not the Special because, well it's special. I even bought 2 Specials just to PIF, but I'll always keep one in my medium sized Badger Herd

I use the Special in Pure Almost daily.
Wonderful brush.
$25+/-

Foyle said:

Mine was somewhat scritchy, but not uncomfortably so. I would describe the hair as "coarse" on the one I had. Simpson's best hair seems to be somewhat hit and miss. Sometimes its soft and sometimes it's not.had.

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I've had similar experiences with Simpson's best hair. I got a Wee Scot after seeing so many glowing reviews, and was shocked at how sharp and scratchy the best grade hair was. It was nigh unusable.

I know a lot of people here swear by Simpson's best, but I would almost recommend trying either one of Simpson's hair grades above best or being prepared to return it and try again. There's no way to know if you'll be getting one of those amazing soft best brushes that everybody loves or a disappointing sharp scratchy best. Or if you don't mind a scratchy brush, you'll save money getting a pure grade from Simpson.

I must have been one of the lucky ones that got the good hair because my Special in Best is pretty soft and I love it for face lathering.

From reading other threads, it seems that the current Simpson Best Badger brushes have been pretty consistent. With emphasis on the word "seems".

I have a Simpsons Case in Best and a Chubby 2 in Super, and honestly there's not a huge amount of difference in the hair between them. I really like and enjoy both brushes, but after spending the extra money on the Super hair, I'm not sure I'll go that route with my next brush purchase. I remember reading an interview with one of the Simpson family members, who mentioned that often "Best is best."

captp said:

The Special Best is an excellent smaller brush. I've PIFed off my Harvard, Emperor, Tulip, Somerset Rover, Case, Classic and several other Simpsons, but not the Special because, well it's special. I even bought 2 Specials just to PIF, but I'll always keep one in my medium sized Badger Herd

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if you feel the need to 'dispose' of any future such brushes, you can skip all of the hooplah of a PIF and just send it to me
Those are awesome PIF!!!

kenhsv said:

if you feel the need to 'dispose' of any future such brushes, you can skip all of the hooplah of a PIF and just send it to me
Those are awesome PIF!!!

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LOL. I'm down to only 6 or 7 Simpsons, so the next PIF probably won't be one of them, but who knows. Should be coming up in about 5 more posts, so keep your eye on the General Forum

How bout a Berkeley? I love my baby Duke.

Foyle said:

I had one. It was a decent brush, but I ultimately sold mine off. The handle is small but comfortable. The knot is also small and less densely packed than many of Simpson's other offerings but not as sparse as a Vulfix. Mine was somewhat scritchy, but not uncomfortably so. I would describe the hair as "coarse" on the one I had. Simpson's best hair seems to be somewhat hit and miss. Sometimes its soft and sometimes it's not. The hair in my Duke2 is much softer than the hair in the Special I had.

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Until this morning, the Simpsons Special was my only brush. This description is absolutely spot on. It's definitely scritchy, but very usable for face lathering.

It is a great little brush; so long as you get one that doesn't shed. I use mine for face lathering.