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What sets an expensive high end brush apart from a cheaper high end brush

So I was pondering the same thing before I ever tried a Simpson brush. Luckily for my birthday last year I was gifted a Colonel and a Trafalgar so was finally able to experience them. Looking at photos it's hard to distinguish the differences of feel regarding hair grade and density. I thought the Colonel was quite dense, but once I was able to try a Duke 2 I realized that in terms of density, the Colonel is nowhere close, and really explained the price difference because there was just so much more hair packed into that knot. A photo can't really do it justice, you really just need to experience it. A lot of the brushes look similar on paper but in practice they vary quite a bit.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
The price difference between the M7 and the CH3 in Super is 60 Pounds.
The size is 22 mm for the M7 and 29 mm for the CH3. The area of the CH is 74% larger that the M7,
so the price difference is truly depending on the more hair used in the CH3.

BTW, the M 7 is 175 pounds and the CH3 is 235 pounds, both in super, I don't think the difference is that bad.
Info on prices and knot size is directly from Simpson's website.

The exchange rate is $1.37 per Pound, makes the M7 $240 and the chubby3 $322 buying it from Simpson.
 
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The price difference between the M7 and the CH3 in Super is 60 Pounds.
The size is 22 mm for the M7 and 29 mm for the CH3. The area of the CH is 74% larger that the M7,
so the price difference is truly depending on the more hair used in the CH3.

BTW, the M 7 is 175 pounds and the CH3 is 235 pounds, both in super, I don't think the difference is that bad.
Info on prices and knot size is directly from Simpson's website.

The exchange rate is $1.37 per Pound, makes the M7 $240 and the chubby3 $322 buying it from Simpson.

Great analysis! In this case it looks like you get what you pay for. :a29:
 
The amount of hair and the type of hair are the primary factors in what separates one high end brush from a cheaper high end. Plain and simple. It's the hair you use on your face. You can add in fancy handle material options, and that will increase the price too, but with brushes it's the hair that matters.
 
Diameter of the knot and how tightly packed the hairs are. The chubby brushes are densely packed and pretty large sized so they cost quite a bit more. If you're checking out west coast shaving make sure to get on their mailing list and wait for the sales on simpsons brushes. That's the time to buy one. In my opinion they are not worth their regular price. 20% sales with free shipping = buy a simpsons brush.
 
Does 8mm difference in knot size take $150 more worth of hair? Are there different grades of silvertip and super badger? Does the handle cost more to produce?
They charge whatever gullible people will pay for a fistful of Chinese badger bristle in a plastic handle. It has very little correlation with production costs.
 
They charge whatever gullible people will pay for a fistful of Chinese badger bristle in a plastic handle. It has very little correlation with production costs.
Then call me and hundreds of others on this forum “gullible”.

A high end brush with a dense knot of the best Manchurian or Silvertip Badger is WORTH a lot more to me than a cheap and less densely packed pure or no name badger knot.
 
Then call me and hundreds of others on this forum “gullible”.

A high end brush with a dense knot of the best Manchurian or Silvertip Badger is WORTH a lot more to me than a cheap and less densely packed pure or no name badger knot.
Lol, me too. It's called value based pricing. Essentially charging whatever people are prepared to pay, as opposed to cost based pricing.

I think it's good to understand that's what's happening, rather than trying to justify paying $150 for a few more animal bristles. Go to ahead and spend hundreds on a brush if it makes you happy, just don't kid yourself that it cost that much more to make than a cheap brush.
 
Go to ahead and spend hundreds on a brush if it makes you happy, just don't kid yourself that it cost that much more to make than a cheap brush.

Fact: Goods and services produced in advanced economies by workers in good working conditions and standards, paid more, just costs more. These companies produce less, they make more revenue per unit, selling to customers who are very happy in turn.

If the cheapest brushes make you very happy, that is just great.
 
I tried about 2 dozen brushes and ended up keeping only 2. A badger and a synthetic. I usually only use the synthetic on vacation since it dries quickly.

The badger I kept was a 2 band thater beehive from bull goose. I've been using it for 4 happy years now.
 
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