Simpsons shaving brushes, are they really worth it.??

[Ravenonrock]

I recently acquired my first Simpsons, a Berkeley 46 in best. I wanted a second badger brush as my preference has led me to boars. It’s a fine brush, densely packed, soft, nice feel, good for face lathering. Size is nice, haven’t noticed any shedding yet. A welcomed addition to my humble stable.

 

[Adam18]

Are they really worth it ? That all depends on how you define value, quality, and superb craftsmanship.
For me, YES, they are definitely worth it. My collection of Simpsons are all magnificent brushes, can
all be purchased for very reasonable prices, and do not shed at all ! Sublime shaving indeed !

 

[Salty sailor]

Love Simpsons! Got four of them from best to Manchurian. Handles from x2l to chubby 3

I’ve only lost probably two or three hairs from all my brushes combined.

Thater is my favourite ATM two band fan cut.

I’ve got Thater, Kent’s, progress valux at the moment.


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[Alpa man]

In all fairness, my experience is limited to the Chubby 2 in Super that I own, but I would say “no.”

The brush I own is quite scritchy, and sheds like crazy. It does have excellent backbone (too much for me, in truth) and superb density. Bottom line is my Saponificio Varesino Artisinal 2.0 was similarly priced and was my daily driver before purchasing the Chubby 2... After several shaves with the Simpson, the SV still remained my go to, with the Simpson gathering dust.

@Drseid,

I just experienced the same with a Duke 3 in best badger that a good friend of mine kindly sent me to try. The brush not only shed like a cat, but it feels so prickly on the skin. In fact I ended up with my face on fire, all red and irritated. Now I clearly understand why my friend told me not to make a decision before trying his brush!!

Heritage collection in the other hand, are some of the finest shaving brushes on the market at the moment. My Ever ready 500E replica It's a gem. With an exquisite 26mm Manchurian knot, great backbone and ridiculously soft tips... I can't ask for more really!! A lot of folks look down at these brushes because of the Gelled knots. But for me, I don't need torture on my face. I much prefer a soft tips brushes while maintaining good backbone too.!!

In my book Heritage collection shaving brushes are far superior than Simpsons brushes.

 

[Alpa man]

And by the way, I want to add that I have been using my Heritage collection shaving brushes for almost 2 weeks now, and it has yet to shed a single hair!!

 

[Lightcs1776]

I have a chubby 2 that was a gift and it is amazing. No, I would not pay the going price for one. But yes, it is my favorite brush, by far.

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[Jut]

@Drseid,

I just experienced the same with a Duke 3 in best badger that a good friend of mine kindly sent me to try. The brush not only shed like a cat, but it feels so prickly on the skin. In fact I ended up with my face on fire, all red and irritated. Now I clearly understand why my friend told me not to make a decision before trying his brush!!

Heritage collection in the other hand, are some of the finest shaving brushes on the market at the moment. My Ever ready 500E replica It's a gem. With an exquisite 26mm Manchurian knot, great backbone and ridiculously soft tips... I can't ask for more really!! A lot of folks look down at these brushes because of the Gelled knots. But for me, I don't need torture on my face. I much prefer a soft tips brushes while maintaining good backbone too.!!

In my book Heritage collection shaving brushes are far superior than Simpsons brushes. [emoji106] [emoji106]

View attachment 1229413View attachment 1229414

I'm glad you enjoy your heritage brush.

It sounds like the Simpson brush you tried was defective. All brush makers are certain to make a dud from time to time. Honestly, your friend who leant you the Duke should have returned it; Simpson is known to have good customer service and replace defective products.

I hope you don't discount Simpson based on the Duke leant to you. Simpson makes really wonderful brushes in all shapes and sizes.

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[Old School TSD]

Did I miss the wacky weed pass around or something? Everyone knows Simpsons are junk. ROFL!

 

[Bglayer]

I love my Simpsons and haven't had any shedding problems as yet.They're all under a year old except the Eagle1 so i guess time will tell.

 

[Alpa man]

In my honest opinion Semogues and Heritage collection shaving brushes are the best of the best money can buy!!

 

[Alpa man]

End of the story.

 

[Levue]

Are they really worth it ? That all depends on how you define value, quality, and superb craftsmanship.
For me, YES, they are definitely worth it. My collection of Simpsons are all magnificent brushes, can
all be purchased for very reasonable prices, and do not shed at all ! Sublime shaving indeed !View attachment 1229310

The knot on that Simpson Special looks unusually big for that model.

 

[Adam18]

The knot on that Simpson Special looks unusually big for that model.

It's nicely bloomed after three years of regular use,
face lathered with soft soaps (Stirling, A&E, B&M.)

 

[xiletero]

Commodore 2xl Best; very nice for face shaves
Commodore 3xl Best, good for face and head shaving
Chubby 2 Super; for me NOT worth the money I spent in it. Semogue mistura seems better so far.

 

[karacha]

I have a feeling I've seen these kinds of posts before... you know Simpson/Heritage etc. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

 

[Rhody]

The answer to the question is an expensive item worth it is a ymmv thing. However I’ve not read anywhere about a lack of quality with Simpson. I have two offerings (both synthetic) I don’t like one and love the other but it’s not a quality issue. A company that’s basically been around since 1929 is probably doing a few things right.

 

[Drewgordon27]

I own around two-dozen brushes. Half of them are Simpsons. Most of my other brushes are Semogue boars. I’ve owned other badger brushes (Plisson, Shavemac) but let them go.

I like my Simpsons. Not one has been a shedder. The tips are just as comfortable as the other badger brushes I’ve owned. The only other badger currently in the rotation is a Thater two-band.

My next brush will probably be from one of the artisan companies.


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[It's Hedley]

I have a feeling I've seen these kinds of posts before... you know Simpson/Heritage etc. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Yep. The OP here keeps trolling Simpson to make a point that Heritage and now Semogue are the best. Every month or so you see a thread started bashing Simpson brushes by some relatively new B&B member. I recall one recently that the OP said he bought a Simpson brush and it shed 10 hairs in his first few times using (or something like this) and he threw the brush in the trash without contacting Simpson or the vendor he bought it from. Of course he did. The OP here has a similar MO I suppose. Just read his original post, then post #24, then post 25, 30 and 31 and that's all you need to know. Nonsensical.

 

[Rhody]

Yep. The OP here keeps trolling Simpson to make a point that Heritage and now Semogue are the best. Every month or so you see a thread started bashing Simpson brushes by some relatively new B&B member. I recall one recently that the OP said he bought a Simpson brush and it shed 10 hairs in his first few times using (or something like this) and he threw the brush in the trash without contacting Simpson or the vendor he bought it from. Of course he did. The OP here has a similar MO I suppose. Just read his original post, then post #24, then post 25, 30 and 31 and that's all you need to know. Nonsensical.

I tend to give weight to reviews posted by folks who purchased and own the item. Instant comparison to another product isn’t that helpful. It’s not apples to apples and that other company is out of stock anyway.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Only Simpson Shedders I've owned were a group of four Duke 1 Pures I got @ closeout prices on Amazon. Will always wonder if there was something fishy about those (The knot fell out of one and it was a plastic plug exactly like chinese replacement knots (tgn, oumo, etc).

The other 50+ Simpsons I've owned, no shedders that I bought new, and maybe 1-2 Vintage brushes (50+ yr old) that shed. I've never owned a Rooney or Shavemac Shedder, but I've owned a lot less Rooneys and Shavemacs than Simpsons. I'd consider them all pretty high up on the "not shedders" list.

Simpsons are small? No they aren't. They run from small (wee scot) to normal (most of the line) to large (Chubby 2,3, polos, etc). The newer makers like to default to 28-30mm sizes because it lets them pack a lot more profit into their brushes to build in their handle/labor costs. If a 24mm knot costs $20, and a 30mm costs $30... and you want to sell your brush for $300+... you're gonna stick to 30mm knots... because the guys who are buying premium/highly sorted hairs instead of cheaper "gel tip" treated stuff are charging $100 for a 24mm knot and $300 for a 30mm knot due to the lions share of their cost being in the hair & sorting for the larger brushes. It's just economics.