Emperor Super Badger Shaving Brush

Emperor E1 Super

The Simpsons range include many more expensive variants (I have a few of them), and this model can easily be overlooked because of this. The performance of this brush with bowel or face lathering is outstanding, specially considering the price. Even though it is a smaller brush, it quickly and easily produces a rich lather, that is easier to apply than the larger brushes

Simpsons

Simpsons are considered by many to be the best for a reason. This dense loft and knot lathers up better than any non Simpsons I have used. Soft on the skin but can create a better lather with hard shaving soap. A pleasure to use.

This was my first time buying a Simpson Super brush, I have an X3, a Case and Chubby 2 all in best and thought they would very hard to beat. I have to say that this brush is incredible and has contributed something totally different to my collection. Genuinely softer and with whiter tips than Simpson's Best knots and the Silvertip knot of Muhle and Edwin Jagger. This brush is obviously designed for bowl lathering, however I would add that applying lather with a side-to-side or painting motion is by far the best way to us it. I did worry that this would be a really small brush and a step down for my 25mm Commodore or 30mm Chubby 2, however the Emperor 1 has a much wider bloom and larger dimensions than stated on other sites (20mm knot, 46mm loft and 60mm bloom). Having looked into the Emperor 2 and 3 I would definitely recommend the 1 as all you get with the two larger models is a slightly longer handle and a couple of mm of loft. Finally the price here is fantastic. Similar Simpson models to this (the Tulip 2 and Persian Jar 2) both cost around £120 and I definitely prefer this handle design. The service was first rate (especially with free delivery) I only wish Traditional Shaving would stock a wider range of Simpson products. Overall I reckon this is highly underrated and definitely under priced. Grab one quickly and you could not regret it.

Although it is the higher end of the price scale there is a marked step up in quality and softness compared with all of the other brushes I have had. Well worth the additional cost.