Day 2:
To me, the Simpson Best grade is sort of a Jack of all trades knot. It makes for a pretty good all around brush, and I like them a lot, but it really doesn't excel in any one category, except maybe scrub depending on the knot. My little Classic 2 is like a Chubby 1 that didn't quite fill out all the way when it grew up. With a 23 mm knot as dense as anything I have ever shaved with and a stubby little 44mm loft, it is a fireplug of a brush, and a great face scrubber. So even though I have several finest brushes upset at their sitting it out on the sidelines, I am letting the Classic play with the 2 bands.
The handle has that traditional Simpson look, similar to a Duke, but with slightly less pronounced curves and a single ring. In use, it is a little too small for my taste to be a daily driver, but is enjoyable enough to use in a rotation. The overall coloring of the hair is good, and the banding is pronounced, but it has a lot of black tipped hairs visible at the top, enough to announce to you that it isn't top grade hair.
I am a full three pass plus clean ups shaver, and in order for me to get this brush to pick up enough soap and work it in deep, it takes me some time to get it loaded. Once that knot is filled up though it gives a fantastic scrub; maybe just a little scritch without being scratchy, which I love. The knot splays surprisingly well, much better than one would think from looking at it. Its problem is that it hogs lather. It easily spits out the first two passes, but leaves you painting on an awful lot of strokes to get that third pass and clean ups out. It will give it up, but not without a fight. And when all was said and done, I squeezed another passes worth out of it before I rinsed it out. It is just a very small knot to be that dense.
Almost every quality brush can be great for a certain style of shave. For a quick two pass guy, who face lathers in the morning before work, this would be just a fantastic brush. For an evening shaver who likes to relax in a ton of lather, this probably isn't the best fit.
So tonight's scorecard:
![[IMG]](proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20170302%2F1343f6c8041bafbeaa1b164a9dc635da.png&hash=db94fbb014d3055cd1ae66b3047972d2)
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