Simpson's Brushes, Pre and Post Acquisition

[professorchaos]

Picked up my first and only Simpson after they were acquired by Vulfix. Let me say, it is a superior brush. As good as my beloved Rooneys. So I am curious if the consensus is that the brushes were better pre-acquisition. Reviews had led me to believe that before Vulfix, Simpson brushes were a crap shoot. If you got a good one, it was great. If it was bad, it was really bad.

So what say you? Better before being acquired or after?

 

[drP]

Picked up my first and only Simpson after they were acquired by Vulfix. Let me say, it is a superior brush. As good as my beloved Rooneys. So I am curious if the consensus is that the brushes were better pre-acquisition. Reviews had led me to believe that before Vulfix, Simpson brushes were a crap shoot. If you got a good one, it was great. If it was bad, it was really bad.

So what say you? Better before being acquired or after?

Neither better nor worse, just somewhat different: Vulfix tends to make the lofts more domeshaped rather than fan-shaped. Some models have finer bristle gauge and some denser packing...
But generally, the construction of the Vulfix Simpsons is as good as the (good...) Somerset ones

 

[rsp1202]

The quality of the Vulfix-made Simpsons I had was excellent, but the company seemed determined on producing longer lofts and softening the spine. That combination produced a rubbery-ness that just killed it for me.

 

[kooshman7]

Definitely wasn't the super dense and insane backbone that I was expecting out of my two banded Chubby 2 from all the talk I've heard. It isn't like it's floppy, but definitely has nothing on my Rooney Emillion for being super dense and lot of backbone either.

 

[jwhite]

I recently bought a Simpson commodore in best, I have found it to be an excellent brush. It did shed 2 hairs in the first week but none sense. It has a good backbone with soft tips, and lathers everything it has been exposed to soaps and creams.

 

[rsp1202]

From what I've read, both the Commodore and Colonel exhibit the firmness that was lacking in the pricier models. Along with softish tips, they sound like brushes worth trying.

 

[professorchaos]

So beyond the head's shape, there is no consensus?

 

[scoopster]

I have a 2 band Chubby Pre Vulfix and a 2 Band Tulip Post Vulfix. So that is pretty much an apples to oranges comparison.

My new Vulfix is shedding like crazy and it will be returned to the vendor. My Prefix Chubby has lost very few hairs. Some folks had the opposite experience with Prefix Simpsons - lots of shedders.

But in terms of density and firmness of loft and overall performance, both brushes are excellent.

 

[heirkb]

There's a pre-fix NOS 2 band PJ2 in the mail for me from Ray, so once that comes in I'll be able to review that. Then there's a Vulfix made special two band treat that will soon be on its way to me thanks to Phil (Bullgoose), so once I get that, I'll do a side by side. This is the crazy SBAD that I've posted about in the past on various threads
And of course there are the two vintage Plissons and the B&B 09...

 

[Tanksfurnutin]

I have two pre-Vulfix and one of the new two band Simfix. I have to say I am very disappointed in the quality of the Simfix version compared to my original Simpsons. The Simpson Vulfix that I bought had an uneven knot and also had some hairs that were not trimmed to proper length. My Pre acquisition brushes may have lost a few hairs but out of the box they were perfect.

I will not be buying any more Simpsons.

 

[whitebar]

I have several from each period and like them all a lot. I've been lucky that none turned out to be shedders. The main difference for me is the yellowish/greenish color in some of the new handles isn't as nice IMO as the older ivory/tan color they used to use. The only other difference I notice is that the new two-band hair might be a bit stiffer. All are fine examples of the brush makers art.