As most of you know I am quite fond of 2 band brushes. I own about 20. Those are 9 Simpson (soon 10), 4 Thäter, 3 Rooney Heritage, 2 WSP (Monarch, Prince), 1 TGN (RV custom). 1 M&F and now one 1 VB (soon 2).
What I like about 2 band hair is the combination of very soft tips (I cannot take any scritch), sufficient backbone to manage hard soaps easily and limited bloom to keep better control while face lathering.
I stuck to named brands (Simpson, Rooney, Thäter) before trying a TGN knot and lately I have take a dive into even less expensive brushes completely made in China but distributed in the U.S. via U.S. vendors (so no eBay FS etc.).
I wanted to provide a comparison of these brushes for those who are wondering if it is worth to spend $100-200 for an equity brand 2 band or stick with a less expensive (less quality?) brush.
Below are the comparison candidates:
1[SUP]st[/SUP] batch (from left to right)
M7 Simpson (23/52mm) ~ $250
Rooney Heritage Emillion 2 (24/50mm) ~ $160
VB Finest (24/55mm) ~ $30
Thäter Finest 4292/5 Bulb (25/54mm) ~ $165
TGN Finest (RV Custom 24/52mm) ~ $80
2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Batch: (from left to right)
Thäter 4125/0 Finest Bulb (22/50mm) ~ $145
WSP Prince (23/46mm) ~ $50
Rooney Heritage Stubby 1 (22/46mm) ~ $130
3[SUP]rd[/SUP] batch (from left to right)
Simpson PJ 2 (22/50mm) ~ $160
WSP Monarch (23/53mm) ~ $80
I chose these batches because they group brushes with similar knot and loft sizes. Criteria for comparison: Softness, Flowthrough, Density, Backbone, manufacturing quality. I the end I also have a look at the VB vs. the WSP Monarch. Of course all of this is YMMV and not representative as I had only one brush each to look at.
Other items to consider but more YMMV:
The handle design on the Simpson, Rooneys and Thäter brushes is clearly much more sophisticated.
The TGN, VB and Prince knot showed more variety in length of hair (some stray hairs). The Prince surprised with a left over nylon bristle in the middle of the knot that I had to cut out
Durability? Only time will tell, if the less expensive knots fall apart faster. None of the brushes in this test had a lot if initial shedding but the PJ 2 (it stopped eventually). Then if you pay $30 i/o of $200 it is ok if the knot falls apart faster
So what is the bottomline?
If you want a very soft 2 band brush that will give you a great lather with a nice face feel and you do not want to spend triple digits the VB and the WSP do just fine. Actually the VB should be your pick because of the lowest price in this comparison.
WSP and VB knots are superior to TGN knots (in my opinion).
Softness of WSP, VB, Thäter, Simpson knots are very similar. Current Rooney is a bit behind (the E2 is newer stock). Older Rooney (Stubby 1 is from the earlier gel like batch is the same).
The VB is very, very soft I guess the softest but also for me has the least backbone Sometimes I thought this to be a Thäter 3 band
Handle design a matter of taste VB most boring WSP (Prince boring, Monarch a Kent handle design) Simpson (for me the best!!).
If you buy a Kia and a BMW, both will get you from A to B (most of the time) but the BMW gets you there more comfortably
WSP, VB maybe produced by the generic Chinese vendors that you can buy brushes from on eBay. But you have the additional quality control of a named US vendor behind it (and do not need to worry when you get what).
I like the VB and WSP brushes and they are definitely great value for money. VB is the best value in this comparison.
I will keep them in my rotation. But I will still be buying Simpson and Thäter brushes as well for the same reason I drive a BMW
What I like about 2 band hair is the combination of very soft tips (I cannot take any scritch), sufficient backbone to manage hard soaps easily and limited bloom to keep better control while face lathering.
I stuck to named brands (Simpson, Rooney, Thäter) before trying a TGN knot and lately I have take a dive into even less expensive brushes completely made in China but distributed in the U.S. via U.S. vendors (so no eBay FS etc.).
I wanted to provide a comparison of these brushes for those who are wondering if it is worth to spend $100-200 for an equity brand 2 band or stick with a less expensive (less quality?) brush.
Below are the comparison candidates:
1[SUP]st[/SUP] batch (from left to right)
M7 Simpson (23/52mm) ~ $250
Rooney Heritage Emillion 2 (24/50mm) ~ $160
VB Finest (24/55mm) ~ $30
Thäter Finest 4292/5 Bulb (25/54mm) ~ $165
TGN Finest (RV Custom 24/52mm) ~ $80
2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Batch: (from left to right)
Thäter 4125/0 Finest Bulb (22/50mm) ~ $145
WSP Prince (23/46mm) ~ $50
Rooney Heritage Stubby 1 (22/46mm) ~ $130
3[SUP]rd[/SUP] batch (from left to right)
Simpson PJ 2 (22/50mm) ~ $160
WSP Monarch (23/53mm) ~ $80
I chose these batches because they group brushes with similar knot and loft sizes. Criteria for comparison: Softness, Flowthrough, Density, Backbone, manufacturing quality. I the end I also have a look at the VB vs. the WSP Monarch. Of course all of this is YMMV and not representative as I had only one brush each to look at.
| Batch 1 | M7 | Emillion 2 | VB | Thäter | TGN |
| Softness | ++ | + | ++(+) | ++ | 0 |
| Flowthrough | ++ | ++ | + | ++ | ++ |
| Density | + | + | ++ | + | + |
| Backbone | + | ++ | 0 | ++ | ++ |
| Mfg quality | ++ | ++ | + | ++ | + |
| Batch 2 | Thäter Stout | WSP Prince | Stubby 1 | ||
| Softness | ++ | + | + | ||
| Flowthrough | + | + | + | ||
| Density | ++ | + | + | ||
| Backbone | ++ | ++ | + | ||
| Mfg quality | ++ | 0 | ++ | ||
| Batch 3 | PJ 2 | WSP Monarch | |||
| Softness | ++ | ++ | |||
| Flowthrough | ++ | ++ | |||
| Density | + | + | |||
| Backbone | ++ | + | |||
| Mfg quality | ++ | ++ | |||
| Batch 3 | VB | WSP Monarch | |||
| Softness | ++(+) | ++ | |||
| Flowthrough | + | ++ | |||
| Density | + | + | |||
| Backbone | O | + | |||
| Mfg quality | + | ++ |
Other items to consider but more YMMV:
The handle design on the Simpson, Rooneys and Thäter brushes is clearly much more sophisticated.
The TGN, VB and Prince knot showed more variety in length of hair (some stray hairs). The Prince surprised with a left over nylon bristle in the middle of the knot that I had to cut out
Durability? Only time will tell, if the less expensive knots fall apart faster. None of the brushes in this test had a lot if initial shedding but the PJ 2 (it stopped eventually). Then if you pay $30 i/o of $200 it is ok if the knot falls apart faster
So what is the bottomline?
If you want a very soft 2 band brush that will give you a great lather with a nice face feel and you do not want to spend triple digits the VB and the WSP do just fine. Actually the VB should be your pick because of the lowest price in this comparison.
WSP and VB knots are superior to TGN knots (in my opinion).
Softness of WSP, VB, Thäter, Simpson knots are very similar. Current Rooney is a bit behind (the E2 is newer stock). Older Rooney (Stubby 1 is from the earlier gel like batch is the same).
The VB is very, very soft I guess the softest but also for me has the least backbone Sometimes I thought this to be a Thäter 3 band
Handle design a matter of taste VB most boring WSP (Prince boring, Monarch a Kent handle design) Simpson (for me the best!!).
If you buy a Kia and a BMW, both will get you from A to B (most of the time) but the BMW gets you there more comfortably
WSP, VB maybe produced by the generic Chinese vendors that you can buy brushes from on eBay. But you have the additional quality control of a named US vendor behind it (and do not need to worry when you get what).
I like the VB and WSP brushes and they are definitely great value for money. VB is the best value in this comparison.
I will keep them in my rotation. But I will still be buying Simpson and Thäter brushes as well for the same reason I drive a BMW
