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Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic

gvw755

Well-Known Member
In my continuing quest to see if the new generation synthetic fibers match up with the badger brushes, I took @Snuff suggestion and got a Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic. Where the Omega Evo cost as much as an Oumo Manchurian SHD gel tips, this Simpson cost even more, and I purchased this used from another forum's BST.

First thing I noticed was that this Simpson also had very fine fibers and was packed densely, however it did not offer as much backbone. the feel of it was somewhere in between a regular Silvertip and a SHD. Like the Evo, even though the tips were soft, it did not match the feel (or performance) of a badger gel tips or when a good quality badger begins to hook.

I decided to compare the performance of this brush with my WCS Silvertip over the next few days because they are similar in specifications:

DSC03156.JPG


I will be using my LPL Abricot for the test just because I find it be be a very good but finicky soap.

Tonight I did a face lather with Simpson. Learning from the Evo, I made sure the brush had enough water to start with and then squeezed out the excess around the middle. Loading the brush took a little longer than normal, however once loaded, it did produce a very rich lather. I had to wet the tips a couple of times to get the correct consistency, but it left me with enough lather for three passes. I did notice that water did start to drip down to the handle while lathering, which is not unusual for synth brushes, but did not happen with the Evo. Face feel was much better than the Evo and it did feel more like a regular badger brush.

Overall, with first use, I have to say that I did prefer the feel of the Simpson over the Evo. Tomorrow, I will bowl lather and after that I will do a comparison with the WCS Silvertip.
 
Just out of curiosity what's the loft on your Simpson brush? I had several of these ranging from 46 to 54 mm (that's why I'm not a fan of Simpson brushes, it's always a crapshoot.
 
Tonight I bowl lathered my Simpson. I made sure the brush was hydrated nd I squeezed and shook off most moisture except for the tips. It did not take as long to load tonight and bowl lathering produced a thick lather very quickly. The face feel of the brush was very similar to what I come to expect from a silvertip badger, again, with not as much backbone as the Evo. Once again, however, water did drip down the handle, but not as much as yesterday. The tips did feel softer than the Evo, but not as soft as a gel tip. Overall, the Simpson came very close to a silvertip badger experience, definitely better than the Evo and slightly better than the Muhle. Tomorrow I will begin to compare it against a real silvertip badger, one that is not gel tips or SHD.
 
I finished up the last two nights of my comparison by lathering my WCS Silvertip once by face and the other by bowl. I have to admit that the Simpson came very close in performance and feel. The tips felt soft and the backbone was less than of a Manchurian, just like my Silvertip. The Silvertip retained water better and there was no dripping down the handle between passes like there was with the Simpson.

So far, the Simpson came very close to a regular Silvertip, the Muhle came very close to a small knot Finest, and the Evo tried too hard to be a SHD, but by becoming more dense, the tips did not feel as soft like the Simpson or Muhle.

It seems to me that the attempt to make a synth brush that has the same performance characteristics as a badger might be efforts wasted as these brushes are not as close in performance as it is in price compared to a badger. I have tried many different synth brushes and all the different knots have differing characteristics all of which fit my moods. I do know that when my mood tells me I want a badger brush to lather that night, I probably will not reach for the Simpson or Muhle
 
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