Simpsons Major thoughts
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EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
It is all a matter of taste but I sold my Super grade Simpson brushes as I found them too soft, floppy, and lacking in face feel. Super is my least favourite Simpson grade even behing Pure. For me, I would not lose anything with Best, I would gain scrub, face feel, backbone, and a brush I would actually use. Good luck
Owen Bawn
Garden party cupcake scented
I think it depends on density and loft. If Super is dense, like in a Chubby, an Eagle, or an M7 I find it an absolute delight. I've heard great things about the Tulip in Super as well. But I have an Emperor 3 in Super that is too floppy, as it hasn't got the same density as those other brushes. I've never had a Major so I don't know how dense the knot is, but density is the key.
As @BigJ so eloquently and frequently says, Simpsons Best is variable. Some specimens of Best are as good as Super, while others are closer to Pure. Best generally has better natural or more reliable backbone than Super, but the softness varies, and that variance is unfortunately at the level of the individual brush rather than the model.
As @BigJ so eloquently and frequently says, Simpsons Best is variable. Some specimens of Best are as good as Super, while others are closer to Pure. Best generally has better natural or more reliable backbone than Super, but the softness varies, and that variance is unfortunately at the level of the individual brush rather than the model.
I am very happy with my silvertip major as both a travel brush and an everyday use brush. I do however enjoy small brushes in general.
I travel very light and the Major while a masterpiece seems like a lot of hardware for a relatively small knot brush. Great perhaps if someone else is carrying your bags but not so hot if you are sprinting through Narita to make a connection with a bag in tow. I use a wee Scot equivalent and it works very well.
I happened to notice that Amazon is selling the major in best for $70 at the moment. Quite a deal even for best.
A pic is worth a thousand words.
Honestly, when looking at this brush, what's not to love?
Nice brush. Do you know how often LE majors come out? i’m looking for one myself but was hoping for something unique
I may have reconsidered my opinion. The last few times the Major was used it lost a considerable amount of hair (in excess of 50 each time). This brush had always been treated well. I let it dry until the last minute and then removed it to continue drying when I arrived home. Since the brush had only been used about 30 or 35 times, I contacted Simpson and was told the brush was more than one year old and out of warranty. I then asked what my options might be and was ignored.
Next step was a daily shampooing in the morning and combing in the evening. It seemed to possibly settle down. I’ll use it on my next trip and hopefully it will be acceptable and if not I will discard it because reknotting by someone as talented as Rudy Vey is not an option due to the unavailability of this size knot.
$150 for 30 or 35 shaves is unacceptable. The lack or response from Simpson after informing me it was out of warranty is also bothersome.
Next step was a daily shampooing in the morning and combing in the evening. It seemed to possibly settle down. I’ll use it on my next trip and hopefully it will be acceptable and if not I will discard it because reknotting by someone as talented as Rudy Vey is not an option due to the unavailability of this size knot.
$150 for 30 or 35 shaves is unacceptable. The lack or response from Simpson after informing me it was out of warranty is also bothersome.
I recommend washing with a hot water/vinegar or borax solution:
- 10% vinegar or one teaspoon of borax in hot tap water (pretty hot, but not boiling)
- The solution should fill a cup so that it covers the base of the knot
- Let it soak for ten minutes, agitating occasionally
- Rinse thoroughly
I'm mostly a smaller badger brush user at home as well, although in boar I don't mind using a bigger brush. You have a Berkeley in pure, mine is in best, and it's a fun little low-cost brush. If you like that handle the Berkeley 46 Best version works quite nicely. I have a Duke 2 and an Eagle G3 both in best that are also fun, to give you an idea of my reference points. The otters I have at our second home, are a Commodore X2 best, and a Chubby 1 best. The Chubby 1 is quite dense and somehow feels much bigger on the face. The Shavemac's I have are also very dense, except for one small Shavemac pure 19 or 20mm, that's a dandy little brush- pic here What did you use today? +Rate the shave 1-10 (10 best) - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/what-did-you-use-today-rate-the-shave-1-10-10-best.568241/page-1064#post-11300498
If you contact Bernd at Shaevmac he'll make you a smaller brush with just the characteristics you want, assuming you want to try something besides Simpson. Shavemac's pure seems a bit nicer than Simpson pure and is not overly dense, although the only Simpson pure I have now is the little Simpson Special, but have tried a few others.
Good luck in your search.
I sent another email and received the out of warranty response and an offer of a 10% discount on a new brush. I then sent another email specifically asking about a new knot or reknotting my brush. After three requests an answer was received, they do not sell knots separately and a reknotting would cost 50 pounds. With transaction fees and shipping it would cost me between $85 and $90.
Nothing to lose by trying another email with photos!
Not wanting to spend close to 2/3 of the original cost for a repair, I pulled the Major out and used it today to see if there was any improvement. There was, it lost about 15 hairs.
I will continue to use this brush for travel as long as the shedding does not get worse. The worst part is that this brush is a great performer.
My Rudy Vey, Shavemac, and Omega brushes almost never lose a single hair. Most of my Simpson brushes lose a few hairs each shave. I think that the quality control at Simpsons may be a little different as many other threads discuss Simpson brushes as shedders while many Simpson owners have never experienced any shedding.
My future Simpson acquisitions will be with this in mind, expect little or no support after a year, expect variability (as in the wide differences in their Best hair, and only acquire at a discounted price as then the reward can be great and the risk of a bad brush is financially more acceptable.
I'm considering getting a Major for travel, though I already have the Case, Wee Scot and Duke 1 for that purpose. Wondering if there is anything that would set the Major apart from those other smaller brushes aside from the intriguing handle/case?
I use my Muehle 19 mm STF knot in a RV Shaving handle for travel, brush really dries fast. Best travel brush one could have.
Other than the built in case, not in my opinion.
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
Here is a comparison with a Wee Scot for size:
I use my Major for travel but like to protect it from damage. It fits well into a small Simpson tube:
But it fits perfectly into a vintage soap travel container which is what I use:
To be honest I do not find it comfortable to use when assembled so I use the small part of the brush alone similar to the Wee Scot. Unless you especially want the Major then for me the Classic 1 in Best is a better choice and it also fits well in the Simpson tube. The Wee Scot is also great for travel but the Simpson tube is too large for it. I only purchased a Major because I lucked into finding a pre WW2 example.
I use my Major for travel but like to protect it from damage. It fits well into a small Simpson tube:
But it fits perfectly into a vintage soap travel container which is what I use:
To be honest I do not find it comfortable to use when assembled so I use the small part of the brush alone similar to the Wee Scot. Unless you especially want the Major then for me the Classic 1 in Best is a better choice and it also fits well in the Simpson tube. The Wee Scot is also great for travel but the Simpson tube is too large for it. I only purchased a Major because I lucked into finding a pre WW2 example.
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