Simpsons Prototype Chubby2 Synthetic testing

[brothers]

Thanks Johnny. Awesome!

[ShadowsDad]

Yippee! I have my very own!

My Simpsons Chubby 2 Syn' arrived today. I requested 54mm of loft, the same as the test brush and it's got to be 53 or 54mm. Faux ivory handle also, if I had the test brush beside it I wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

[rsp1202]

Congrats, Brian. So you contacted the factory before ordering to confirm the higher loft?

[Squire]

Keep up posted Brian.

[ShadowsDad]

Congrats, Brian. So you contacted the factory before ordering to confirm the higher loft?

I did. I don't remember if I emailed Mark directly, whether the order form had an area for comment, or if there was a contact us section on the site (I think it was the latter). Mark did get back to me though but couldn't promise anything. They are super busy now. He did tell me that he'd try to hand pick one with the loft I wanted. But the LE colored handles all have shorter lofts. I seem to remember reading 46-48mm. I don't know how Mark did it, but he came through for me.

[rsp1202]

Well, that's good to hear. He and I haven't had any time to discuss an LE I've had in mind since last Autumn, but it shows he's willing to go the extra mile if you ask. I was curious if Simpsons was quietly increasing the loft of newly made Chubbys after some of the negative reviews that have been posted. Obviously, longer lofts can be made up if they so desire, but it sounds as if the one they built for you might be the exception to the rule.

[ShadowsDad]

It made no sense to me that after the positive reviews they had about the test brush that Simpsons would change the brush and lower the loft. Completely incomprehensible to me. OK, now having written that I also haven't used any of the shorter lofted brushes. But I do know how much I enjoyed the test brush. Two gents didn't like it, but that certainly wasn't my experience with it.

I'm really looking forward to this mornings shave. I will definitely report back, but I might take my time to fully evaluate the production brush. We'll see.

[Squire]

By all means Brian, better a thorough review than a quick one.

[jww]

This thread has been a real treat to follow.

[rsp1202]

It will be interesting to see if this is a "work in progress" and how it develops over time -- especially for those of us who might be interested in the follow-on travel-size synthetic like the Case, and medium-sized model like the Duke (me), and how Simpsons will treat the lofts on those.

[Squire]

I hadn't thought about that but if there is a niche use for a synthetic brush it might be for travel when a brush by necessity has to be put up while still damp.

[ShadowsDad]

Squire, that's exactly what first drew me to synthetics. There for awhile I was heavily into travel brushes and a synthetic just seemed to be the perfect answer. At about that same time the revolution in synthetics was just gaining a full head of steam and I realized just how good synthetics were. They aren't badger, they are very definitely their own "species". But I can see a noob to shaving today never having or even ever wanting a badger brush. If I had started with one of todays synthetics that might have been me.

But back to synthetic travel brush(es)... I like the idea so much that I had Oscar11 make me a handle for a TGN 20mm syn' knot. IMO it's the perfect travel brush, and it's tiny. Fits in a tiny Rx bottle too.


BTW, I used the Chubby2 Syn' today with a cream and the review I wrote about the test brush fits this brush to a T. It immediately came back to me why I liked this brush so much and wrote such nice words and descriptions about it. I haven't used the shorter lofted brushes, just this loft, and for me it's perfect. It's definitely not badger, but it's very good in it's own right. I'm going to need more time to make comparisons to other synthetics (I find comparisons most helpful); but it's a very good brush. Definitely the finest syn' brush I own. It's a wall of the softest fiber you can possibly imagine, but with good backbone. Absolutely no scritch whatsoever. It's definitely a dense lather machine. I can't imagine anyone not being able to make a dense lather with this brush if enough soap is used. The sensation of this brush is one of velvet with backbone. I have brushes as soft, but none that combine the backbone of it with the incredible softness of the fibers. If someone doesn't like softness or backbone this brush isn't for them since that's what this brush absolutely has. I've read of some people who say they can't face lather because their skin can't tolerate the irritation. I can't imagine any healthy skin on the planet, no matter how tender, that won't like this brush. Unless they can't press the brush to the skin. That backbone does require a tiny bit of pressure to get it to flex and work.

As more things pop into my brain as I use it I'll come back and update this. I also intend to use other brushes to compare it to. This will take some time. What I won't do is compare it to natural fiber brushes. No natural fiber brush has the qualities of synthetic and both would lose. I'm going to use other soaps and such also and really wring this brush out. So for the time being my entire cabinet of products is open and my war of soap attrition is temporarily suspended.

But I can state that this is THE BRUSH that I hated to pass on to the next tester, and I have it back in my cabinet.

Thanks Mark! (for whatever it took to get it to me)

[ShadowsDad]

I posted this on another forum, forgive me for lifting it from there and posting it here, but it saves me a great deal of time in retyping everything just to say the same thing in a different way. Anyway, it's my review of the brush I have in the cabinet.

I ordered a custom loft Chubby2 Synthetic and received it last week. I knew I wanted the twin to the brush I tested and not a lower lofted version. So obviously I can't compare to the LE colored handle ch2s.

Simpsons is incredibly busy right now and initially I thought I might not be able to obtain the loft I wanted but Mark came through for me. (Thanks Mark!)

So with a number of shaves on the ch2 to get a feel for it, today I used the Franks Shaving 28 x 54 synthetic.

Here they are. I elevated the ch2 to get the knots at the same level. Essentially the knots are the same size.


The FS knot has a glue bump that effectively negates a bit of the loft. The ch2 has no glue bump so all of the loft is useable. Would that account for the felt difference in the brushes? I'll leave that question for others to solve.

This ch2 in my cabinet now is essentially the brush I tested. It's really superb. For the past 2 days other than the brush, I made the shaves as identical as I could; the only item changed was the brush used. The ch2 feels as soft as velvet. I absolutely can't feel the individual fibers. The velvet is backed up by "spring" or backbone. Compared to a natural fiber brush, more than any NF brush I own, except maybe horse, but that brush is far from soft. As others have written and demonstrated, once one gets through the springiness it works fantastically. This knot is not a limp noodle. At no time did I ever feel any scritch whatsoever. As I wrote, it's just a fantastic brush. The fibers feel as though they've been flagged, it's that soft, almost like gel.

I used the FS brush today. Again, maybe the glue bump is responsible for the performance. It's not nearly as good as the ch2. During the lathering, I face lather exclusively BTW, I could feel each and every fiber in the brush or so it seemed. There is no scritch, but it wasn't as velvety soft a feel as the ch2. This knot has spring to it also.

So is the glue bump responsible for the feel of the FS fibers? Maybe, but again I don't know. I do know that the ch2 is IMO by far the best feeling of the two brushes.

Both are incredible lather makers and performers. The largest differences in lathering is the feel of the fibers on the skin. Neither is bad, one is as soft as velvet.

[Sam]

I'm interested in this brush. I like bigger brushes. Shavemac xl was great but over time it splayed too much. Not like the kent bk 8. A 50 to 52 mm knotvin a 27 mm width seems great in a cobalt blue handle

[ShadowsDad]

Sam, if you mean that you are interested in the Chubby2, be sure you get the longer lofted 54mm version. I think it might be the current production brush, but make sure you specify the 54 mm loft.

The Frank Shaving can be made to any loft you specify, but last I heard it was overpriced for a Chinese brush.

[TheMonk]

Sam, if you mean that you are interested in the Chubby2, be sure you get the longer lofted 54mm version. I think it might be the current production brush, but make sure you specify the 54 mm loft.

Very wise advice! I bought one from the first batch, which had a loft of around 49mm, and it was the only Simpson brush to date that I had to sell, it was simply unusable IMO, although there are others (a small minority, granted) that actually enjoy it like that.

[brothers]

The Plisson - L'Occitane synthetic brush measures 22mm x 55mm. The handle is beech/ebony in color, the lower band is white and the tips are gray. I have other synthetics, but in terms of performance, price ($30, formerly $55) looks, and the fact that it is a Plisson, this is a must-have. I would have paid the $55, but just kept postponing the purchase, but when the price was permanently lowered to $30, it became obvious I should have this brush. I have no idea what Simpsons synthetics cost, but if it's only $30 with free shipping or on the shelf at your local mall, maybe I'd get one of those also.EDIT: I am wondering about the difference in the width of the knot. I know the Simpson Chubby has a wider knot at the base than the Plisson. Probably a substantial difference. I am not saying the Plisson is equal to a Simpson, only different. The Chubby 1 measures 21.5 x 45 according to Simpson's website. The Chubby 2 measures 27 x 52.