Best place to buy a Simpsons brush?

[Eastcoast30]

I checked the Simpsons site and their prices appear to be in British Pounds or RRPs. I'm not sure about their pricing. For example, they have an M7 for £225. A British pound = $1.58 so the price would be $357. Is that right? Or am I doing the wrong conversion? Or is their suggested retail way above the street price?

I would prefer to order from someone in the U.S. Who would be the best one? The one with the greatest available models?

 

[OhioBob]

Maggard's, West Coast Shaving and even Amazon carries a descent selection.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

If you want Manchurian hair or handles which are not ivory in colour then I believe your only choice is to purchase directly from Simpson. The Simpson website prices include 20% VAT which will be deducted at checkout for you I suspect.

 

[Multum in parvo]

If you want Manchurian hair or handles which are not ivory in colour then I believe your only choice is to purchase directly from Simpson. The Simpson website prices include 20% VAT which will be deducted at checkout for you I suspect.

I think the same goes for Silvertip.
Regular vendors offer Pure/Best/Super/Synth.

 

[drydown]

And should you want to buy from Simpson, please note that they announced on January 5, that prices will increase starting ... yesterday. But as of this moment their website has the old prices, at least I can state so for all Chubby version of which I know the price.
And their vendors will surely adjust once it has happened, at the latest when they restock.

 

[sanookd]

British Pound = US dollar conversion rate today is:
$ 1.396

 

[Eastcoast30]

So a Manchurian for £312 will cost me $436. I have spent my career in manufacturing. The faux ivory handle is injection molded and decorated and costs them $4 tops. How can the hair be that costly? We make jackets from wool and if we were to extend that price to wool, a jacket would cost millions. Mink coats would be priceless.

There must be badger brushes out there that are just as good or better for a fraction of the price. Perhaps a member would know of such sellers?

 

[Multum in parvo]

So a Manchurian for £312 will cost me $436. I have spent my career in manufacturing. The faux ivory handle is injection molded and decorated and costs them $4 tops. How can the hair be that costly? We make jackets from wool and if we were to extend that price to wool, a jacket would cost millions. Mink coats would be priceless.

There must be badger brushes out there that are just as good or better for a fraction of the price. Perhaps a member would know of such sellers?

No it’s turned resin and not injection molded, others will tell about the hair and the sorting...
So you are looking for a Chubby 2?

 

[SharpieB]

So a Manchurian for £312 will cost me $436. I have spent my career in manufacturing. The faux ivory handle is injection molded and decorated and costs them $4 tops. How can the hair be that costly? We make jackets from wool and if we were to extend that price to wool, a jacket would cost millions. Mink coats would be priceless.

There must be badger brushes out there that are just as good or better for a fraction of the price. Perhaps a member would know of such sellers?

The handles are still turned on a lathe but yes, $436 is very expensive for a shaving brush not made of platinum or gold or studded with diamonds.

 

[Eastcoast30]

No it’s turned resin and not injection molded, others will tell about the hair and the sorting...
So you are looking for a Chubby 2?

I'm interested in a chubby 2 Manchurian, but hard pressed to shell out.

 

[Eastcoast30]

Many will say you are buying tradition and decades of know how, etc. But it's a good thing Chevy and Ford don't price that way.

 

[Rhody]

I went to the source currency conversion is easy and I think of their site you can change the currency and you don’t pay vat if you are not eligible.

 

[Multum in parvo]

So a Manchurian for £312 will cost me $436. I have spent my career in manufacturing. The faux ivory handle is injection molded and decorated and costs them $4 tops. How can the hair be that costly? We make jackets from wool and if we were to extend that price to wool, a jacket would cost millions. Mink coats would be priceless.

There must be badger brushes out there that are just as good or better for a fraction of the price. Perhaps a member would know of such sellers?

I don’t own a Simpsons Manchurian but I’m very happy with my Zenith 506AK Manchurian which is NOT the same hair and costs a fraction. In both cases you will get a brush with loads of backbone and in the case of the Zenith also with some good scrub. If you like something soft and cloud like look for other grades/manufacturers.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Many will say you are buying tradition and decades of know how, etc. But it's a good thing Chevy and Ford don't price that way.

No they do not, but Rolls Royce do.

 

[sexy beast]

I also have Zenith Manchurian and love it. I've owned Simpsons brushes and they are the Rolex of shave brushes when comes to luxury. I would like own a a Simpson Butterscotch one day. You can't go wrong with Simpsons, you just need pull the trigger.

pull the trigger. Either direct on their site or a retailer. I try to avoid Amazon and support small business whenever possible.

 

[sanookd]

In the grand scheme of things you’re buying a specialty item which a small segment of the population still chooses to use. I can assure you more people wear coats than use shaving brushes.
If more people bought shaving brushes like coats or cars prices probably would come down.
There is the tradition factor in the U K especially if Simpson brushes carry the Royal Warrants.
IMHO Heritage Collection Brushes are good value. They punch much higher than their weight class. But then again you are not buying a Simpson brush.

 

[Eastcoast30]

A mink coat with a 3 foot x 12 foot area of coverage is over 5000 square inches. A large knot is about a square inch. That mink coat would cost over two million dollars in badger. And I know you can get a quality mink coat for less. And you can certainly buy a Rolls Royce for much less than two million dollars.

I'm sure the Simpson is a great brush, it's just not priced for the average man. People tend to be more extravagant with smaller purchases. One will pay 20 times more for a small item like a brush, but they won't pay 20 times more for a car (unless they are Sylvester Stallone).

I can afford a Simpson but am still debating if I should get one. I'm hoping members will point me to a more reasonable brush with similar performance.

 

[Tomo]

A Duke 3 in Best will be better bang for your buck. The Duke 3 is also a nice medium sized daily driver. The CH2 is a big brush. The Manchurian hair is expensive and it is kind of an acquired taste.

You also can’t go wrong with a Shavemac 2-band Silvertip IMO. 24mm is the sweet spot for a medium bulb knot.

 

[Multum in parvo]

@Rudy Vey will make you a bespoke piece with an excellent German Shavemac knot - not a Simpsons but your brush made to order in the US.

 

[jackgoldman123]

Some US custom brush makers may suffice...
Paladin
Brad Sears
Elite Razor