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Simpson Questions

dont assume friend, talk to them. god knows, it can be from 'nothing we can do for you, sir', over a onetime discount code, a handselected simpsons masterpiece at your next order to a free soap and everything in between.
feedback is essential in a healthy business relationship in a niche market where you seem to like their products (rightly so and i do too) and not at cult. they are pros
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
Rod stock may vary in color, when I cast some ivory colors, although I have my recipe quite good under control, the final product may have slight differences from another cast. Maybe age of the resin, the dye, different batches of either etc, the list goes on, many factors that can influence the final product. Another point to consider for the big comapnies, they may buy from different sources. Personally, I would not be concerned at all with a slight deviation in handle colors.
 
Rod stock may vary in color, when I cast some ivory colors, although I have my recipe quite good under control, the final product may have slight differences from another cast. Maybe age of the resin, the dye, different batches of either etc, the list goes on, many factors that can influence the final product. Another point to consider for the big comapnies, they may buy from different sources. Personally, I would not be concerned at all with a slight deviation in handle colors.

Thanks, I was more curious of the difference. I quite like it in this case. I figured that it might be a happy mistake or perhaps they did it to make the tips pop. Either way I love it.
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
Question. Is today's rod stock still catalin, or some modern acrylic? 🤔 I like the idea of the old fashioned material. Thanks.


AA
 
Well this is Simpson’s reply to my email. I have to admit it was pretty short and kinda like “well that’s too bad...better luck next time”

I didn’t expect anything, but a thank you for buying and sorry it didn’t meet your expectations would have been nice. The brush definitely is not trash, just clearly not what I would expect from the price point and I would argue it was not clearly defined between the grades. Oh well it will be my work brush it seems.


Dear Sir,

It really does come down to natural variances in hair batches as you allude.

Some are slightly darker, stiffer than others but they are clearly defined between grades.

My best,

Mark

Here was my original email.


Hello,

I wanted to write as I have a concern about a brush I recently purchased on your site.

First, I own 4 Simpson brushes (Chubby 2 Best, The Duke 2 Band in Silvertip, Wee Scot and the Classic 2 in Best, and have loved the performance and quality from 3 of them. Especially the 2 band (which is to be expected 🙂 I didn’t expect the complimentary shaving cream and I wanted to thank you for that) .

However the Classic 2 in Best that I ordered I do have some concerns with.

I brought my concerns up on B&B as I thought perhaps I was fussing or perhaps missing something in the specs. Serveral people agreed that my Classic 2 appears to be more like a ‘Pure’ Badger then a ‘Best’. I understand that Badger is natural and some variation occurs, but I feel like this is quite a noticeable difference in appearance and also it does feel more prickly then my chubby.

I do feel that it is a nice brush but I just feel that it doesn’t match the ‘best’ in terms of colour and performance. I am curious if there is any light you could shed on this for me.

Again, the other brushes I own are outstanding and I am very pleased with them.

Thank you for your time,

Andrew
 
Well this is Simpson’s reply to my email. I have to admit it was pretty short and kinda like “well that’s too bad...better luck next time”

I didn’t expect anything, but a thank you for buying and sorry it didn’t meet your expectations would have been nice. The brush definitely is not trash, just clearly not what I would expect from the price point and I would argue it was not clearly defined between the grades. Oh well it will be my work brush it seems.


Dear Sir,

It really does come down to natural variances in hair batches as you allude.

Some are slightly darker, stiffer than others but they are clearly defined between grades.

My best,

Mark

Here was my original email.


Hello,

I wanted to write as I have a concern about a brush I recently purchased on your site.

First, I own 4 Simpson brushes (Chubby 2 Best, The Duke 2 Band in Silvertip, Wee Scot and the Classic 2 in Best, and have loved the performance and quality from 3 of them. Especially the 2 band (which is to be expected 🙂 I didn’t expect the complimentary shaving cream and I wanted to thank you for that) .

However the Classic 2 in Best that I ordered I do have some concerns with.

I brought my concerns up on B&B as I thought perhaps I was fussing or perhaps missing something in the specs. Serveral people agreed that my Classic 2 appears to be more like a ‘Pure’ Badger then a ‘Best’. I understand that Badger is natural and some variation occurs, but I feel like this is quite a noticeable difference in appearance and also it does feel more prickly then my chubby.

I do feel that it is a nice brush but I just feel that it doesn’t match the ‘best’ in terms of colour and performance. I am curious if there is any light you could shed on this for me.

Again, the other brushes I own are outstanding and I am very pleased with them.

Thank you for your time,

Andrew
You tried, did he saw a pic of it?
Only you can decide if you put more money in this company or not.
 
You tried, did he saw a pic of it?
Only you can decide if you put more money in this company or not.
Yes I sent pic that I posted here.

I am not angry, just disappointed. I think we can all agree we are all perfectionists in this ‘hobby’ and when a high quality brush has so much variance in the same class it can be frustrating.
 
Yes I sent pic that I posted here.

I am not angry, just disappointed. I think we can all agree we are all perfectionists in this ‘hobby’ and when a high quality brush has so much variance in the same class it can be frustrating.
Different people look for different things.
If you don’t like it in your face put it in the BST with a fair description and be done with it.
 
My Duke 2 in Best has a darker tinted handle than my Commodore or Berkeley, I can only presume they use a lighter material when knotting with a Silvertip (or 2-band) to make the overall brush look better and more uniform? Either way, that Duke is absolutely gorgeous! I need one now thanks. Are you disappointed with the Duke? Just the handle color?
 
7BF124F5-F40B-4A6A-B51C-28C1B424D437.jpeg
yes the Simpsons variability is part of the fun. All the brushes above are “Best” and find that my Classic is like Super while my Commodore is like Pure.
I will say that somebody else is probably looking for a brush with exactly the qualities you dislike in yours, so you can follow the above advice to sell on the forum for a slight loss or try to trade with another member for a brush more to your liking. I’ve also heard of some people treating the tips of their brush with bleach and other chemicals to soften them, but have never done so personally.
 
Well this is Simpson’s reply to my email. I have to admit it was pretty short and kinda like “well that’s too bad...better luck next time”

I didn’t expect anything, but a thank you for buying and sorry it didn’t meet your expectations would have been nice.

You can feel from the absence of copy'n'paste phrases from the clipboard, that Mark send you a personal reply. If you knew him, you'd know this wasn't brusque in any way. I like how he does it old style regardless of the flood of emails he surely gets each day and I for one appreciate his straight talk.
 
Heh, this is why The Superior Shave used to individually photograph the Simpsons brushes he had to offer and let the buyers pick the exact brush they wanted. It's not a mass production product; there are significant variations among individual pieces and they're sold to (ahem) discriminating buyers. ;)

Was a nice service while it lasted, but if Amazon has a vendor that is going to keep dumping brushes at far below typical retail, you can't compete.
 
My Duke 2 in Best has a darker tinted handle than my Commodore or Berkeley, I can only presume they use a lighter material when knotting with a Silvertip (or 2-band) to make the overall brush look better and more uniform? Either way, that Duke is absolutely gorgeous! I need one now thanks. Are you disappointed with the Duke? Just the handle color?

I am not disappointed with the Duke at all. I was more curious with the shade difference and if it was on purpose. I love the Duke in every way.
The Classic is a bit scritchy and dark hair in appearance.
 
It unfortunately (or fortunately) works both ways with Simpsons.

Look at the Best Badger M7 second from right in my pic. It has more of a Super badger knot than the Super Badger Tulip 3 beside it on the right. Or the Emperor 3 Super in front. I was going to order a M7 Super, but I guess I already have one.

Part of the charm, but you can on rare occasion end up getting a downgraded knot.

027FE530-EA1E-47D7-BCD6-946146717CAB.jpeg
 
You can feel from the absence of copy'n'paste phrases from the clipboard, that Mark send you a personal reply. If you knew him, you'd know this wasn't brusque in any way. I like how he does it old style regardless of the flood of emails he surely gets each day and I for one appreciate his straight talk.
While i don't know him I agree with this. I asked if I could get a bespoke G2 in Best and was very politely told NO! I just chuckled. I do mean in a very brief (he only has so much time) but genuinely polite way.

OP: If you read up on Best hair you'll find out your brush is not an outlier by any measure. It's well within the normal curve of Simpsons highly variable Best grade. Maybe on one end of the curve but not that unusual. Lots of discussion of prickly, scritchy, scrubby Best brushes.

Here's a photo of 3 brushes, 2 G2's in Pure and the recently acquired $39 Duke 2 in Best. The G2 Pure on the left is lighter than the Duke while the Pure on the right is not. Both Pures are more coarse than the Duke by far. You might be able to see the different shades of the Ivory handles as well.
Duke G2s web.jpg
 
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As someone who is overly wordy myself, I actually admire the brief replies. It's a skill I wish I had.

I asked if I could get a bespoke G2 in Best and was very politely told NO!
Heh, I just asked for G3 Silvertip in a color-of-my-choice and I expect the same answer. However a while ago I asked for a butterscotch Chubby 2 in Silvertip and that same day (evening his time) he replied from his phone that they happened to have one and he'd follow up once he was back at work (and did so). So the replies go both ways, to the everlasting detriment and/or rescue of my bank balance.
 
Here is my lineup of best brushes, if this helps.

best badgers.jpg


badgers 2.jpg


I'd say your classic 2 has some darker hair, needs to be put to work to make it conform. My classic 1 has "cafe latte brown" colour throughout, it's always been that way, works fine. I have a KH2 at my dad's house that is also very brown looking in hair.

My Special and Chubby 1 are more "grey tipped", whereas the Classic 2 is more silver tipped looking.

The Duke 1 looks great, you did well there!
 
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