Simpson Duke 3 Imitation Ivory

The Duke 3 is a classic British brush that has been around for several decades. The handle has some excellent curves that are both pleasant to look at and hold. The imitation ivory resin has a very subtle white and off-white swirl pattern which didn't come through well in my photo, but it's a nice change of pace from the standard faux ivory so prevalent in the Simpson line. The engraving is a nice touch and the gold decal adds a nice touch of class. The handle is a bit small in my hands, with the circumferential rings crowding my fingers when using my standard base grip (thumb on one side with forefinger and middle finger on the other). The knot measures 25mm in diameter with a 50mm loft and is very well formed. The hand tied knot is symmetrical and only a few stray hairs stick up above the rest. On to the shave...

The moderately dense knot holds a lot of water, even after giving it my standard two-three shakes after soaking the brush the knot had water trapped deep within. Face lathering was a little messy as a result, with water dripping down my chest as I applied the freshly loaded proto-lather to my cheeks and neck. The dripping soon ceased and the lathering process was rather enjoyable. The tips of the brush are scritch-free and moderately soft. There is no gel-like sensation or silkiness, but at the same time I could lather with this brush for a very long time and would not expect to experience any irritation. The backbone is firm but the knot splays with just a little bit of effort. I do enjoy the scrubby sensation this brush provides and found myself spending a little extra time with the initial lathering process and also in between passes re-applying the lather. The flow through was excellent with the brush easily providing lather for each pass without any special techniques needed to coerce the lather out of the knot.

The Duke has set the bar high early on in this tournament, but I know there is some stiff competition to come so it's too early to start talking chalk. Another contender to come tomorrow!