Simpson Chubby 1 in Super

It's a great little brush and gets a lot of use in my den. The handle is on the small side, but not too small. The knot is the selling point for me on this brush. It's soft yet with substantial backbone and it's the perfect size. Does very well with both soaps and creams. Makes a nice dense lather. It's expensive for what it is but I love it and don't regret the purchase. The quality of build is impeccable and I'm sure it'll be around for decades to come...

My sole brush at home, cured my SBAD.
I use MWF exclusively & I face lather.
FWIW my CH-1 is fan shaped.

I just ordered this brush. After reading several reviews and finally finding this assessment, how could I not? I'm a soap user, but still very new to the wet shave. A few weeks into it and I'm still dealing with bad irritation. After starting out with a cheap amazon.com starter brush, I'm upgrading early. Thank you all for this incredible information on the site. Can't wait to report back on the brush.
Tim- also from Boston

I continue to search for my perfect face lathering brush.

Having owned a post-Vulfix CH2 in Best and finding it way too big and soft (after a period of use), I decided to try its smaller brother in Super.

It's really tiny! Way smaller than the CH2. I find the handle too small and because the knot is so tight and firm, it doesn't splay much at all, and it takes a bit more work to cover your shaving area with lather than other brushes.

The much shorter loft than the CH2, coupled with stiffer bristles (I presume the same brush in Best would be a bit softer?) creates a completely different brush.

Mine was much shorter than the dimensions given above - my loft was around 45mm.

I made my face sore test lathering with this thing (I didn't even shave).

I love dense brushes, but I think this little guy is too much, and not very ergonomic.

I think a Chubby 1.5 would be just about perfect.

John

This is my first quality brush. Used the cheap drug store types before. I asked myself after my first use with the Chubby "Why did I wait so long to buy quality". I am impressed with the quality, stiffness yet soft bristles. To be sincere, I purchased the Chubby because it was a little cheaper than the standard length brush. I think I will purchase a longer brush next time. Who am I kidding, to get real comfort, I am going to have to pay for it.

I wasn't going to write a review of this brush because I've only used two other brushes to compare it to, but because this has replaced both of those brushes and cured my SBAD, I thought I'd chime in.

I love this brush! The brush is firm and dense, giving your face a nice massage as you lather, but the tips are smooth, not a hint of scratch. One thing that struck me about this brush, while I read a poll on 'do you splay?', I realized that this brush is so dense and firm, you don't have to splay to get a great feel out of it.

Specific to the rating points...

• Price - It's pricey, but if you only buy one brush for the rest of your shaving life, it's not hard to rationalize.
• Quality - Top notch. I've owned some shedders in the past. This one shed a few in the break in period, but has been solid ever since.
• Density - Yes!
• Stiffness of the Tips - Perfect! Ambrose aptly described this brush once as muscular. I can’t think of a better way to put it.
• Softness of the Tips - Yes. This brush provides more of a facial massage than a scrub. It's a beautiful thing.
• Ergonomic - I have moderate to large hands and this handle is the perfect size and shape for them.
• Latherability - I've never had problems generating lather with this brush.

I’ve used a Vulfix 2234 and a Rooney 1/1, both in Super. The Chubby 1 Super beats them both hands down. The 1/1’s a nice little brush, but as Ambrose put it, not as muscular. I found the handle on the 1/1 a tad small but tolerable whereas the handle on the Chubby 1 was perfect. Moving from the 1/1 to the Chubby 1, I was at first concerned that the knot was a tad too big, but as I got used to it, it too suits me perfectly.

As another point of reference, I’m purely a soap guy, I use MWF exclusively and I face lather.

Brush that took quite a while getting used to. I use it exclusively with soaps and only for on-the-face-lathering. Swirling in a bowl doesn't work well, caused by the incredible density of the knot. On creams my cheapo WS pure badger does a better job.
Ideal for a quick shave with soap on weekday mornings.

I received one of these last week and have used it three times now. This is very different from the Vulfix, Rooney and Shavemacs I've previously used. The knot is incredibly dense. The bristles are stiff but soft. Lathering is a joy. The brush scrubs nicely and easily applies a thick coat of lather. Feels good, looks good, works well, I'm hooked. This little guy will be my daily use brush as long as it holds up.

Exactly what I have been looking for in a brush. Dense, stiff knot. Very firm on the face. Perfect size. This brush has cured my SBAD. It may be a cure for your SBAD.(Oh, the horror) Seriously, I can not see myself looking any further for "THAT PERFECT BRUSH".

This review is for a three-banded Simpson Chubby #1 in Super

I will say that I had mixed feelings upon first inspection of this brush. I thought, “I paid how much for this thing?” The box is typical for the brushes that I own; in this case, it's blue-gray cardboard with a white interior. The brush was wrapped neatly in tissue paper with the brand instructions tucked beside it. Notice the stamp “Made In England” in the bottom of the box too.







I also didn't use it right away for two reasons: I wanted to photograph it in its unused state first, and I wanted to make sure I covered the Simpson's label with clear coat. Unfortunately, when attempting to cover it with the lacquer, the label actually smeared (good thing I took the macro photo of it first!). I noticed that this brush has a loft shape closer to the light bulb than the fan; I enjoy both, so this is merely an observation rather than any statement. I then took my calipers, and documented the following measurements:

Overall = 90mm
Handle = 41mm
Loft = 49mm
Knot = 24mm





While it is a little shorter in stature than some of the other brushes out there, I find it to be just fine in my hands, if not ever so slightly narrow. However, I was able to maneuver the brush without discomfort or awkwardness. The shorter loft height was one of my reasons for selecting this brush. I wanted to explore the “hype” about Simpson's density and firmness/stiffness in their Super-grade hair, and I wanted a smaller knot for use with hard soaps. The Chubby #1 fit the bill.



The maiden shave with the Chubby #1 included TOBS Sandalwood soap and a Lutz of Solingen #75 SER in 6/8 width. Immediately upon lathering up the soap in the wooden bowl, I knew this was going to be different. The lather wasn't foaming up, or aerating, as usual. I transferred to a lathering bowl, but still wasn't getting a full lather – looked rather soupy at this point. So, I moved to lather building on my face. I could still feel a good amount of water inside the bristle, so I went slow so as to not fling too much around the sink area. Now I was getting somewhere! I took my time to make sure I worked the beard sufficiently. The feeling was not prickly, and not too scrubby either. However, there was no doubt as to the high density of the knot, and the resilience of the bristles themselves. As indicated at the start, this lather was very different. It was very creamy, virtually no bubbles, and glistening wet. The brush easily laid a thick opaque layer of lather onto my face with no hint of trying to hold onto it. This brush was really starting to impress me. I completed three passes, each beginning with this fine lather I managed to conjure. Finally, I gave a gentle squeeze of the bristle pack to bring up even more of this lather from within – surely I had enough for another 2-3 passes.







Lastly, I have included a couple of in-the-hand photos after drying it, and showing its bloom. It has not last a single hair since receiving it.

This review is for the 2 tone Super Badger bristles. Black Shafts with White tips. Not the same as the picture above. The two tones are much stiffer and work like a lather machine with soaps, but IMO aren't quite as nibble with creams. The brush is also a super scrubby little brush, for those who value stiffness, density and that scrubby feeling look no further.
The price is definately the low point for this brush. $175 for such a small brush is a lot of money, but the knot is well made and I have notice very, very little shedding.
The quality of the brush is very high with the standard Simpson exception of the label. To soften this little baby up, you can load her up with good quality conditioner and let her soak overnight and she'll bloom a little, but before I conducted this process on the brush, there was virtually no bloom after a couple of weeks of use.
This is the densest of my brushes, even beating out my Shavemac. It's so dense that on your final pass (possibly even before this) it is very beneficial to push some lather out of the core of the brush with your fingers and there will be a lot in there.
The stiffness and the density go hand in hand, as I have stated their is very little bloom to this brush and while there is some flex to the shafts, its not very giving and will yield a very scrubby lathering. An excellent exfoliator.
The tips are not very soft for a Super, but once again a good round of conditioner can help a lot.
The small handle is very ergonomic and rests very easily between the fingers and against the inside of the first knuckle, it's a very comfortable brush to hold and easy to hold firmly without any slipping if need be.
I gave the brush a latherablilty rating of 9 because I averaged an 8 for creams and a 10 for soaps. The cream often gets caught up in it, but I've never seen a soap lather as well with any other brush.
This brush is of good quality but pricey, there are also better brushes for creams, but if your stable is soaps and you like a scrubby brush, you may have found Valhalla.

Here's a link to the Discussion Thread, if you wish to discuss this brush.