Kent, Simpson, Edwin Jagger Ebay score?

[Jut]

Here is what I saw on ebay for 75 shipped:

What arrived today were 5 brushes; 1 Kent Bk12, 1 Kent Blk12, a John Bull? H6 (I'm fairly confident this is a rebranded Simpson Harvard, but have no clue who or what John Bull is), an Edwin Jagger 467, and an unknown brush that I believe is also an Edwin Jagger (pictured on the brown brush stand)

Obviously, based on the picture, I was expecting these brushes to be in shabby condition.

The picture didn't lie...shabby they were. Caked with old soap scum and build up, tangled hair, etc.. But, when I pulled the trigger on the "buy it now," I figured if one of the 5 clean up ok, then I'll break even. If they all implode, then it will be a fun journey (and i would have 4 functional brush stands!)

Starting the diluted vinegar soak now...I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[nemo]

John Bull was a private branded Somerset era Simpson made for Cambridge Chemists (NY) @Jut

Nice score!

 

[AndyPanda]

Congrats!
That set was originally listed at a lower opening bid ($49 I think) and instead of bidding (silly me) I made an offer. Nobody bid so if I had just made the opening bid I would have won it at that lower opening bid. He ignored my offer and relisted at the higher price. I was guessing/hoping the Kents were BK8 -- but wow! both are 12s! Those are monstrously huge knots (or at least they were when they were in their prime).

I was assuming all 5 of them would need new knots - so I was just interested to get the handles and put new knots in them.

I hope they clean up for nicely for you and maybe some of those knots will still have good life in them.

 

[Jut]

Thanks for the info @nemo .

I would never have guessed. I've never heard of Cambridge Chemists. I just did a quick Google search, and it appears they still have an NY storefront. I wonder why the store is not mentioned much on B&B.

@AndyPanda , you would have been pleased with the handles. None of them appear to have any cracks or chips. There was so much soap build up on them that it probably acted like a shock absorber =)

I was thinking about what it would cost to get replacement knots if any of these failed. I think the Bk 12 has a 30mm knot...can you even source replacement knots that big? I only did one knot replacement years ago, and I think the knot was 20mm or so. I'm fairly certain I sourced it from The Golden Nib (TGN).

 

[nemo]

I was thinking about what it would cost to get replacement knots if any of these failed.

I'm thinking all those knots are going to be fine. Apparently this gentleman loved big brushes!

 

[Big Jim]

Following. I think you lucked out. I'm sure that more than one (probably all 5) will dress out nicely.

I think the Kent BK12 and BLK12 are larger than 30 mm, like maybe 32, at least that's how my BK12 looks against my 30 mm brushes. There are several sources for 30 mm knots, but I don't know about ones larger than 30 mm.

 

[Jut]

Soaked, scrubbed, combed and just about dry.

Lost quite a few hairs while combing, but it subsided with each.

Tomorrow I'll start using them. Curious to see if shedding is an issue during use.

My 2024 group buy with Mistura knot is in the middle for size comparison. I believe the Mistura knot is 24mm.

 

[nemo]

Soaked, scrubbed, combed and just about dry.

Beautiful!

The Harvard H6 is huge for a Simpson.

 

[Boti2634]

Soaked, scrubbed, combed and just about dry.

Lost quite a few hairs while combing, but it subsided with each.

Tomorrow I'll start using them. Curious to see if shedding is an issue during use.

View attachment 1880068


My 2024 group buy with Mistura knot is in the middle for size comparison. I believe the Mistura knot is 24mm.

Beautiful! Great pick-up, Jut! Cheers!

 

[Jut]

So I've used the Bk12, H6 and smaller EJ for 3 times each. The shedding has subsided on all 3. I'll start up a rotation withe the other 2 here in a week or so. Hopefully the results are the same.

 

[dmshaver]

Congratulations, it appears you have 5 new additions to your den! Well done!

 

[StuMcB]

Great family portrait. Those Kents came up real nice too

 

[beginish]

If you got those for $75 shipped, that’s a freaking steal. Several of those brushes retailed for several times that. I had a John Bull branded Polo 8 that I purchased in Cambridge Chemists about 12 years ago. As @nemo said, it’s a house branded Simpson, in this case from the David Carter era of the company. You can tell because the John Bull label is stamped in lampblacke. I’m not convinced it’s an H6 though. It could be as small as an H4. The H6 dwarfs about everything in that photo.

Great brushes!