Simpsons Wee Scot

2clfrwrds · Post by **2clfrwrds** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 2:44 pm

Last weekend I tried out the Wee Scot I received from BullGoose Shaving Supplies.

The brush is beautifully made, with a classically-styled handle and bristles that are soft but not floppy. The bristles feel more substantial than my old Vulfix 2234 Super's. But everything is relative.

Fact is, this guy is tiny, compared above with a Simpson Commodore X3. And following, next to a Rooney SMF 2007.

Well, size isn't important (or so I understand people sometimes say, I've never actually heard that), so last weekend I gave the Wee Scot a spin.

Its size suggested to me that it could work well with a shave stick, so it wouldn't carry the burden of picking up the soap and transferring it to my face. I regret to say I didn't nail it; after 3 tries, I pulled out a full-sized brush and whipped up a lather so I could shave at last. In retrospect, I should probably add water to the breach frequently while building the lather, which I'll try next weekend. (Additional suggestions from the Wee Scot Owners Club are welcome!)

If you'll forgive some bragging: while Razor Burn is a well-known effect, I have discovered - after 3 face-latherings with a brand new brush - a new phenomenon I term "Brush Burn." The symptoms are very similar to Razor Burn, but you feel much sillier when your wife asks what happened to you.

--Glenn

m3m0ryleak · Post by **m3m0ryleak** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:56 pm

I bit on the sales pitch and bought this same brush back in September. While I admit to being a 'tard when it comes to lathering technique, this little guy is a non starter for me. It too provided brush burn for me as well.
PM me for a quick and dirty deal or look for it in B/S/T after Christmas.
Probably make a great travel brush for you lather wizards.

Tony

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 6:16 am

With all due respect I have to say that this brush has always seemed like a novelty to me: You buy one and sit it with your collection for the visual effect...nothing more than that.

Clive

M6Classic · Post by **M6Classic** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 6:59 am

fallingwickets wrote:With all due respect I have to say that this brush has always seemed like a novelty to me: You buy one and sit it with your collection for the visual effect...nothing more than that.

Clive

On the other end, Simpson used to sell an enormous display brush called the Samson, which dwarfed even my 32 mm Plissons. One could use a Samson, but it is hard to imagine the cream pot or soap dish sufficiently large. I believe that there is still a pre-Vulfix Samson in the window at Colonial Drug, but I haven't looked for it in a while and it may be gone.

Doesn't the Good Doctor have a picture of a Samson from his collection?

Buzz

drumana · Post by **drumana** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:59 am

Buzz - I believe it's still there. The thing is ridiculous big.

I suppose you could get a large mixing bowl from the kitchen and add couple tablespoons of shave cream with some water and provide lather for the whole team...

iancevans · Post by **iancevans** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:28 am

Brush Burn is something that all badger brushes give me when I face lather--especially with a shave stick as there's no lather on the brush before it hits my face. Might I suggest bowl lathering with your Wee Scott? This ought to prevent Brush Burn and should also you help get the lather right.

Didn't Corey Greenberg have several posts on ShaveBlog singing praises for the Wee Scott?

rsp1202 · Post by **rsp1202** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:01 am

Yeah, Greenberg was a big fan of the little brush. And I think The Doctor has both the large and small featured in his avatar.

Ron

2clfrwrds · Post by **2clfrwrds** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:09 pm

iancevans wrote:Brush Burn is something that all badger brushes give me when I face lather--especially with a shave stick as there's no lather on the brush before it hits my face. Might I suggest bowl lathering with your Wee Scott? This ought to prevent Brush Burn and should also you help get the lather right...

That's a good suggestion, Ian, and it also reminded me that I always used to "prime" a brush on the shave stick before face-lathering. Thanks, 2 techniques to try: I really want this brush to work, if only for the weird perspective it would offer in SotD pictures.

Now I'm off to google Greenberg and "wee scot".

--Glenn

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:38 pm

http://www.shaveblog.com/2006_01_01_arc ... 8432819679

To my utter dismay, the Dutch Boy's vintage Wee Scot is even smaller than my new Wee Scot -- a full half-inch smaller. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you're talking about a brush onloy 2-1/2" tall, it's huge.

Tulip Boy's got 600+ shaving brushes, most of them high-dollar jobs well beyond the budget of most shavegeeks proles, but his mania never bothered me till now. That photo of the even-smaller Wee Scot hurt. Hurt deep. Here I was, thinking I had the world's smallest shaving brush, and he smokes me like a joint at the Bulldog.

As luck would have it, though, I just got the vintage Simpson Wee Scot I recently scored on eBay, and though it isn't the smaller version Delft Boy's got, it's even better than that -- because unlike my new Wee Scot, or Dutchie's new Wee Scot, or his old Wee Scot, my old Wee Scot has silvertip badger bristles!

Look at the photo of my two brushes. On the left is my new Wee Scot, and on the right, wearing the yellowed trunks and standing at a slight angle, is the vintage Wee Scot I scored for the princely sum of $24 including shipping. And though the original box says "best badger", this brush clearly has what would now be classified as genuine silvertip.

I keep hearing old-timers say that modern silvertip isn't nearly as soft on the face as older silvertip brushes, and this vintage Wee Scot follows that line. While its bristles are stiffer and springier than the best badger grade hair on my new Wee Scot, they feel very, very soft on my skin, with none of the prickliness I feel when using a modern silvertip brush like my Vulfix #2235S.

Though the handle is nicely yellowed with age, I've got no idea how old my vintage Simpson is -- I've sent the pics to Simpson in the UK to see if they can date it. You can see that the older brush has a slightly different handle shape than the current version, and the shape of the bristle bunch is more rounded and less fan-like than the new Scot. I can tell you that whatever the vintage brush's age, it's in excellent shape, holds an amazing amount of water, and lathers just as fantastically as my new Wee Scot. It's only "flaw" is a slight bump on the bottom of the handle, which makes the brush lean to one side when you set it down on a flat surface, but who gives an amsterdamn. If anything, it adds to the brush's off-kilter charm.

So we're at a stand-off, the Dutchman and me. He has a Nano Scot, and I have a Silver Sliver. The only way to win this is to find a Silver Nano. Did one ever exist? Must find it. Must defeat the Dutchman.

hope this helped??

clive

drP · Post by **drP** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:13 pm

Corey was just fooling around about the Wee Scot...just a funny gimmick imho, not at all meant to be used as a shaving brush.
BTW: the large brush in my avatar is a Vulfix #38. The Simpsons Samson is a Wee Scot compared to this one...

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 4:30 pm

Corey would get on a jag when he received a new toy but to his credit he did try stuff out first.

CMur12 · Post by **CMur12** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:29 pm

Glenn, I always assumed that the Wee Scot wasn't intended for serious use, but there is a coterie of devoted users on the R&B forum who use it regularly and praise it for its precision and efficiency!

- Murray

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:47 pm

Yeah, the Wee Scot was always intended as a novelty item, but a real brush that theoretically would work, ie, not a facsimile. Corey just sort of went off on a tangent for a bit with it. Large brushes were still pretty much the rage then, so, being somewhat of an iconoclast he started to move in the other direction; from a Vulfix 377 in stages to a 2233...."hey, this still works well....", so finally over the edge to the Wee Scott, the smallest of all brushes ( and yes, he was pissed off too to find out that the old Wee Scots were even smaller....even tried to buy Peter's, and good luck to him...chuckle....concluded that Peter really was a 'far gone geek'....which we already knew )
Regards,
Gordon

e d o · Post by **e d o** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 8:44 am

The Duke 1 is a small brush that's actually usable. It's my travel brush.

houlejames · Post by **houlejames** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:41 am

I bit on the hype of the Wee Scot also and ordered one from SBS and tried to use it for a week of face lathering. It worked okay but didn't like getting the soap all over my hand and brush handle. It was just too small a handle for me and sold it. I like a smaller knot 17-20mm but 14mm is really a little small. JMHO

2clfrwrds · Post by **2clfrwrds** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:09 pm

houlejames wrote:...didn't like getting the soap all over my hand and brush handle...

I'm not ready to throw in the towel, but I have sent the Wee Scot flying a few times when lather got on the handle.

--Glenn

2clfrwrds · Post by **2clfrwrds** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:30 pm

I'm starting to get the hang of this brush. Yesterday's lather:

Very much shave-worthy lather from a Speik stick, although probably best for members of the Dry Lather Club. Still, it worked just fine for me.

Cute lil' thing, eh? (Best when accompanied by a cup of Earl Gray, hot)

--Glenn

Ecosse · Post by **Ecosse** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:49 am

Glenn, I notice that the hair on your Wee Scot is flatter up top whereas the one pictured from BullGoose is more rounded. Seems to be in your favor being a face latherer.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:22 pm

stuff495 · Post by **stuff495** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 1:17 am

I like the Wee Scott, except for it's handle. It sure is cute, but it's too small, and hard to hold onto. Since the loft is so short, it's impossible for me to keep from getting lather on the handle.

I've been thinking about getting a handle made and just gluing the my Wee Scott to the front of it

.

I can make a fine lather with the We Scott, and it makes enough for 2 passes and touch up. (FWIW, I face-lather, always use soaps, and favor glycerin soaps like Col. Conk.)

I used a Kent BK12 (30mm knot) for about a year. It was decadent, but it didn't make a better lather than the Wee Scott — just more of it.

IMO the Wee Scott is built too well to be just a novelty. Or put another way, maybe it is just a joke, but darned if Simpsons didn't build a decent quality joke that works for me.

I'd rave about it, if only the handle were better.