This was going to be another of those latest purchase type threads, but I want to take this in a slightly different direction.
Over on bigger forums there's a heap of 'my latest buy' threads, which as you know, are as common as 'do I flip my blades according to the numbers on them?' threads. It seems nothing more than gear porn and tummy rub for all concerned. It doesn't really help anyone much. Sure, there are threads that do help, but objectivity is hard to come by at such places. It's where few will admit to a dud purchase, and many buyers seem very needy for new purchases to be validated through confirmation bias, and fancy photography.
Likewise, all big forums (and Pj can attest to this regarding a US headphone forum we're very familiar with), the bigger they are, the more circle jerky, fanboyistic hype-factories of keep upmanship, and full of outright bullshit they can be.
To be honest, it can lead to a lot of conspicuously consumptive purchases that never really live up the online love frenzies they create. Semogue could be accused of being one of these flavour of the month type things, but I think in their case, boars are a good product that's gone neglected and easily dismissed for a long time, due to low cost and associated snobbery.
So what does this have to do with me buying a Chubby? Well, for those of you who haven't previously fallen asleep on my brush ramblings, the short story is this; I bought a perfectly excellent brush in the T&H Rooney. Because it didn't fully dry overnight in winter, and it was getting used every day, I thought a cheap back up was rational and sensible, considering the T&H's cost.
Enter the Semogue 620. Which bred quickly. I further rationalised that these were cheap, and 4 of them still cost less a top badger. After using boars for a few months, the T&H just became too big and soft for me.
But I still wanted a badger to use, so the Simmo's Berk turned out to be a very good buy. But I've mostly stuffed up choosing badgers, which is annoying because they ain't cheap. None of them are rubbish; I'm just talking about my personal preferences. Until I got the Berk, I never knew what I liked and how to choose it, or so I thought. I don't think my previous purchases were buying disorders, more not fully understanding what I really wanted.
So why did I end up spending even more on a Chubby, when I should already know what I want? Because I'm stupid, that's why. I just wanted something more boarlike in the backbone. That's it. Quitting is always an option, so long as you're ahead; I should have let the Berk grow on me more first.
So in my rambling way, I'm doing is trying to avoid making this a, 'look at my stash' thread, and provide something useful from my experience. That is, if anyone hasn't fallen asleep at their keyboard already.
I've learned my lesson with reviews and won't be giving a final opinion on the Chubster till I've actually used it a while. I started off quite underwhelmed by the Berk, but I've grown to really like it, and it's a doddle to use.
With this brush, I've also learned a few other things, and it puts some perspective on the other badgers I've had.
But I will offer some first impressions, and what I hope are useful pics and initial comparisons. Badgers are expensive boys, and should you look to getting one (or two, or three…), it would be good not to have to buy a swag to check out what's what. Sitting in my pics is $300 of the things and that's probably another 100 years worth of blades to monsta. No small change.
Specs Tell You Everything (don't they?)
On first look, the Chub would seem an obviously stupid backward step. Consider the specs:
T&H 1/2...............24mm knot 53 loft (Silvertip).
Simmo's Chubby...23mm knot 47mm loft.
The Berk.............20mm knot 45mm loft.
I mean, what the hell am I thinking? I've already ascertained smaller badgers work best for me, and at almost 10mm shorter than the Rooney, the Berk is a significantly smaller brush. It doesn't take much difference in loft and knot to make a very different brush – 10mm is a lot of mileage in badgerland. So, on specs, the Chubby doesn't really look like it'll be that much different to the Rooney, does it? So what kind of brain damage am I inflicting on myself here?
Well I did some research, with the aim of finding something not really bigger than the Berk, but with more oomph, and a thread on B&B was helpful and attracted the interest of a couple of people who knew how to help. The rest just suggested I buy what they bought.
I'll let the pics tell a story
See the difference is size between the Berk and Chub? Can you tell which is which? Here's a clue; you can cross off the one in the middle. All brushes have been lathered and dried, so are bloomed.
Here's who's who.
Wha'appen? Whe…who, how? Let's try not to quibble over 1mm knot size between the T&H and the Chub. I mean, come on, how much extra hair can you really get in 1mm? 6mm in loft does make a difference – you can see it.
But I'll tell you this, the Chubby is way denser than the T&H; it's got less space to stuff it in, but stuffed it is, it's fully bloomed in the pic, and it's not really bigger than the Berk – which is firmly on the small side. And the lower loft means it gives you room to work it around. I like to use all my brush, and that's why shorter lofts work better for me.
Time will tell how this thing works. But the main point here was to show that specs can only be taken as a guide. The Chub offers a significantly different experience to the T&H Rooney, despite a very similar spec. But there are no specs for density. And I must add some words about density.
Density
Density, density, density. It's word that's banged on about a lot in brush circles, but really, what does it mean in use? Unless you've never felt a dense brush, pictures can't really convey what that means, nor can they prepare you for using one.
First impressions here, but a brush this dense isn't what I'd call user friendly. It makes you work to make lather. Right out of the box I washed it 6 times and lathered it a few times, and a bit of grey still came out on the last squeeze before rinsing, and for a few days afterwards. Both the Berk and the Rooney rocked right out of the box.
I asked on the B&B thread whether the density - given the size (and specs) of this brush are similar to the Berk – really made any difference to backbone. One reply was, 'we're talking sea otter fur here'. He's not wrong. Only running your fingers through this brush will give you a sense of how thick it is, and how much resistance it offers. I feel I should have been more careful what I asked for, because it seems like I got it, but didn't really know what I was in for. This isn't stiff boar-like backbone; it's a wall of fur. It's got plenty of give, but the thickness just doesn't let up.
Flow through
This brush will hold enough lather for the slowest 18 pass shave, but flow-through is another story. This isn't something talked of that much, but as I understand it, flow through is the ease with which a brush allows water, soap and air to mix, for ease of loading, building lather, and getting the brush to give it up onto your face.
This is where the Chub's density comes into play. Its flow through is… s l o w. It holds a lot of water, but too much to load onto soap after you've shaken it, so it can be sud city. Squeeze it out, and it's too dry at the tips to agitate soap off. There's still water aplenty in there, but it's a few metres down in the brush. It's a friggin furry Tardis.
This might improve as I get a little rougher with it, and work it a bit harder. But for now, it means squeezing the brush and wetting the soap to get things going. Then, lathering means working the brush, and it is a bit of a workout. This is what I mean by the Berk being easy to use – just shake, load, and lather, and it creams up like a pastry chef catering for a Royal wedding.
A bit of a different story with creams, as you don't have to work at getting the right amount of product in there, you just whop it on the top and go to it. Speick and Proraso creams work just fine. No complaints there, and a fair bit of the 'work' is moot.
Last thoughts
So I'm going to suggest that this brush, and really dense ones in general, aren't going to be for everyone. I don't know whether it's for me yet, and that's a worry considering what this thing cost. If badgerists complain boars are finnicky and require work, then they should pick up one of these and tell me the same attention to its quirks isn't required with their favoured soaps. They'd be lying sacks of poo.
So my first impressions after a few days are this is a brush that needs a bit of work. Not much, but more than I'm used to, or maybe more than I'm prepared to bother with. At this stage I prefer the Berk, and sort of feel I've done my money here. After all, for the same money I could have got a new golf bag, which I actually need. But then, I'd need a new buggy to go with it, so I suppose I've actually saved myself some money? There are worse things to spend $120 on – like maybe a couple of hundred Fakeidiums? If you can think of any worse purchases - to make me feel better, let me know.
I'll update this if there are any changes. Since I started this, a few more days' use has seen it improve in the finicky areas described, and it is noticeably easier to use. I never experienced break in with a badger before, and thought maybe they don't. But I never had one this thick, so perhaps they do need a little time.
