Simpsons makes great brushes and the Duke 2 is no exception. I read about the
If you're reading this review you may have some experience in wet shaving; this would also make an excellent first brush or gift. For those experienced, my brush knot preference runs to about 21-22mm. This brush hits that target at 21mm. It is short lofted at ~44mm, which makes it nice and scrubby. I'm also not a big brush fellow, I don't use anything above 24mm regularly. The loft on the brush is listed at 44mm. When combined with the soft best quality hair this brush shines for face lathering. A higher loft might be better for someone who bowl lathers. I also have small hands, and I'm not sure someone with large hands would find the handle as comfortable as I do.

This brush is my first "nice" shaving brush, and it's an absolute joy to use everyday. I lather directly off the puck, as opposed to face or bowl lathering, and this brush seems to be designed exactly for that purpose. It's luxuriously soft, but retains a huge amount of backbone without any scratchiness. The Duke works extremely well with soft soaps and reasonably well with hard soaps. I found that it performed extremely well right out of the box, but there was some unpleasant badger smell for the first 2-3 shaves. The brush seems very well constructed, and it has lost very few hairs so far. After owning this brush for a month, I really like it. It's a good size, even for a person with larger hands.

As a bonus, I learned that Simpson brushes can be dried standing on their base. That's right, you don't need to hang them on a brush stand. Just dry them as indicated in the included instruction manual and stand them up.

After over 2 years of DE shaving and using several inexpensive brushes I splurged on a new Simpsons Duke 2. When it arrived I was unimpressed. The handle looked too small and knot didn't look that dense. However, after several uses it has shown it's true colors. The knot has bloomed out well, is really dense and the tips have softened up quite a bit. Working up lather with it is a breeze with it getting a good load from soaps in about 15 seconds. The size has also worked well and not felt too small. The only con to it is the price. You can buy a nice boar or synthetic for less that will work well. It just probably won't give you the same combination of softness, backbone and lathering speed.

Update: After using this brush for several months I had to lower the rating to 4 stars. The reason, shedding. I normally lose 3-4 hairs each shave. This doesn't happen with every use, but it has lost more hairs than my other brushes. The performance is still great, but anyone considering a Simpsons brush should be aware that losing some hairs is common.

Update. I've had this brush for 2.5 years and it continues to perform well. The shedding stopped within the first year. It still loses a hair occasionally, but this happens with many natural hair brushes. The tips have softened to a point where I don't feel any scritch. The only reason I wouldn't give it 5 stars is because there are so many lower cost options for brushes and it may be a little small for some. In conclusion this is a terrific brush for those looking for a bit more luxury in their shave.

a very good brush. the price from the amazon was really great about 20 dollars less than the average price. I only thought the brush would be of bigger size for the price I paid for it. I will be getting a Duke 3 soon.

The bottom line is that the brush did what it was purchased for. It worked well for creams and soaps and didn't shed much like some have complained in other reviews. Take care of the brush and rinse and out and clean it every time you use it and it should last for many years.

This is a small brush as indicated in the product description; the total height is 90 mm. IIRC the loft is about 46 mm and the knot is 21 mm, but Simpson is not real consistent with dimensions because everything is hand made. The knot is very dense which gives this brush a lot of backbone and just the right amount of scrub, IMHO. It is a great face latherer, but be prepared for a 10 to 20 shave break-in period for it to develop its softness and lather release. Mine lost only a few hairs during break-in. It's my favorite brush right now.

E source delivered in 4 or 5 days, but their tracking is not so good, so you kind of know when the brush ships and when it's out for delivery.