Which Simpsons?

And then there is horse hair ala Vie Long.

My personal experience is as follows, for what it's worth...

Vie Long, noodle is apt as it is the floppiest brush I've ever used, yet that also may be due to mine being a dud, shedding far too many hairs.
After sales support from Vie Long is non existent.

Semogue, nice for a boar, yet my knot fell out of mine after at worse, a fortnights use (I rotate my brushes so they're time to dry)

Wilkinson, synthetic and what I first used, not good nor terrible. Rarely if ever use it, yet since it's my first brush...

Thater, silvertip, what I progressed from after the wilkie, smoggie and vie long experience.

Simpson Berkely, upgraded to it around the same time as the Thater with thanks to our resident pusher :)
A bit small for my liking, yet thus far, decent enough quality.

Another tip, ask around your family to see if anyone has old gear they've retired.
Perhaps they've a goldmine or something of sentimental value that is suited to an upgrade.
A reknot is always an option :)
 
Pjotr said:
Nah, nobody gives a damn about linking to other forums. Where's Gary Young hanging out these days? After getting kicked off B&B (no disgrace there, a few here have experienced the same) and then from some other ones I haven't seen his name mentioned anywhere when I occasionally go lurking.
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Not sure where he's allowed to hang out nowadays. The Badger grades précis was on The Shave Nook for anyone who'd interested….where Gary is also Banned.
Hmmm…so Paste and Cut is like the Foreign Legion for wet shavers - no questions asked to join but we assume you join because you have a questionable history.
 
stillshunter said:
If we say an Omega boar is in my short-term future, which is the most recommended source? Is this an overseas purchase?
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Connaught Shaving in UK. Best range, cheap postage.

Yeah, I got kicked off BB too. Well, to be precise, I found out what a can of corrupt cronyism and profiteering it was (owners and users alike) and said I was done, so the mods booted me off in less time than it took to post it. It was during Simpson-Gate, where Mark Watterson and Young got kicked off too, largely for for not 'playing the game' by having their own sales site, and not funnelling most of their retail through a certain store who just happened to be a major forum sponsor. That's my take on it anyway. Lots of differing agendas saw it differently. The funny part is, Simmo's chat n hype on there remains as strong as it ever was, so Watterson lost nothing, and BB owners just looked stupid, and aired a lot of dirty laundry. Ahh fun times on the webs.

Pjotr said:
SYD you're being daft. I once knew a Semogue fan who would make your fanboyism pale in to insignificance. I ended up ripping his brushes apart and putting in real knots for him. I think that included a 620.
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Pfft, he sounds like a fkin idiot...
 
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My current brush collection.

I like a firmer brush as I like soaps. I used to bowl lather but now face lather.

Chubby one, row 1 brush 2 is a good size and in best. Chubby 2 (brush 3) is very soft and I don't feel thats necessary.

The brown omega I have to recommend. I like the way the Knott holds and the firm brissels.

The little synthetic body shop brush is a nice suprise for starters.

I have away my boar brushes. Just never found them to be much good but most likely where most people start.
 
Drubbing said:
Yeah, I got kicked off BB too. Well, to be precise, I found out what a can of corrupt cronyism and profiteering it was (owners and users alike) and said I was done, so the mods booted me off in less time than it took to post it. It was during Simpson-Gate, where Mark Watterson and Young got kicked off too, largely for for not 'playing the game' by having their own sales site, and not funnelling most of their retail through a certain store who just happened to be a major forum sponsor. That's my take on it anyway. Lots of differing agendas saw it differently. The funny part is, Simmo's chat n hype on there remains as strong as it ever was, so Watterson lost nothing, and BB owners just looked stupid, and aired a lot of dirty laundry. Ahh fun times on the webs.
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Able to dig up posts reflecting that on B&B ?
Be an intriguing read...
As for the business you omit to mention, What Crap Service ?
 
Actually Drubbing has the distinction of having been kicked off twice. He re-entered under the alluring name of Gunrunningpreacherman, immediately got the hackles up of all the fundamentally religious right wing gun owners (approximately 99.9% of the B&B population), got found out and chucked off. Bloody funny if you ask me.
 
Pjotr said:
Actually Drubbing has the distinction of having been kicked off twice. He re-entered under the alluring name of Gunrunningpreacherman, immediately got the hackles up of all the fundamentally religious right wing gun owners (approximately 99.9% of the B&B population), got found out and chucked off. Bloody funny if you ask me.
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Now this is hilarious!
With such irreverent company as this I'm reckonin I'm gonna be a regular in these here parts.
 
An update of sorts after a little more research today.

I'm sticking with Simpsons (even if some Shavemacs and D.R. Harris are attractive at this sub-$150 price point) and I'm sticking with Best.

I still like the looks and what I read about the Chubby 1, but hear Drubbings warning echoing in my ear...
Drubbing said:
Yep, pretty much why I sold my chubby. It's Iconic, but a fuckin PITA, IMVHO...
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…and I reckon he has a point!
Otherwise I'm taken with the Classic 2 and Duke 2 - the handles are more to my liking than others in the Simpsons range (the Colonels, Milk Churn, Persian Jar, etc., all look a bit tall). All three, CH1, CL2, D2 seem to have good backbone and softness with the later two having better flow through...

The D2 is the easier proposition - available onshore for $120-130 delivered. I like the balanced look of them and they seem to rate well as a face latherer.
Meanwhile the CL2 seems to be the unsung one…but that's an overseas order jobby. I'm so over ordering from the US over the last 10 years or so buying photo gear!
..and the CH1 still looks so, I don't know, iconic (great choice of word there - thanks @Drubbing)?…and available onshore too - for the same price as the D2.

Based on the above, at day's close the ranking looks like:
1. Duke 2
2. Chubby 1
3. Classic 2

Intend ordering tomorrow so be glad of any more sanity checking. Of course happy to not pay retail and to help a member out if he's got a Simpsons Best he'd like to cash in.
 
All pretty good choices. Plenty like Chubby's, but they are a lot of brush. If that's what people like, nothing else comes close. My experience over a year or more was I just couldn't get consistent with it, whereas any other brush I picked up never gave me any bother.

My own opinion in is the D or C 2 will be more user friendly. But anal shave forums aside, they're all top quality brushes.
 
JugV2 said:
I love that - I'm using that quote as a sig
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Mate I'm flattered. Though I suspect that's the extent of my learned contribution to P&C….a shame to have burned so brightly too early.
 
Thanks all. I'm convinced it's the Duke 2 for me!

I have stumbled on a retailer who has offered to look through his stock to find the Duke 2 that best suits my requirements - sort of like the service of The Superior Shave…well by proxy.

So what would you ask the stockist to look out for?
 
Yep, unless Simmo's have offered some advice on a model, don't over think it….

Thing is with brushes, you don't know how you're going to get on with them til you use them. Then you can't send em back anyway. I've been through a few (badgers) til I found what I wanted. But then, I became a bit picky.
 
Pjotr said:
One with a solid type of handle and some hair sticking out the top??? The difference between one Duke 2 and the next is not going to be great enough to be able to fit it to suit one customer or the next.
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:ROFLMAO: Man, now that was good. Thank you!

Drubbing said:
No help from Simmo's?
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No it's all just crickets and breeze through the trees. Otherwise, silence. Still keen on their opinion….maybe it'll be even more informative with the experience of a Simpsons already under my belt.

Drubbing said:
not really much a stockist can look for, other than measure one for you...
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Pjotr said:
The difference between one Duke 2 and the next is not going to be great enough to be able to fit it to suit one customer or the next.
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You're right I'm probably over thinking it. S'pose I'm going off what I've seen photos of on-line, varying from bulbous to an almost flat fan, lofts with a variation of almost 5mm in height, thicker/thinner knots, even some with an inconsistent surface with bumps.

Even if I can only influence the choice on the measurements alone, I can be sure of the thickest and fattest Duke of a bunch….a good match, two peas in a pod!
 
That's simpson for you They're handmade, so there is variance. That's why brush nerds will pay a premium from Superior Shave and choose a measured brush.

I'm guessing there's no one in admin working at Simpsons at present. May have taken a break over Easter.
 
Ybbor said:
Any way to check if its a shedder? The milk churn I have is unfortunately a shedder. 5 hairs per shave normally
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Wow, 5 hairs lost per shave?! I'd have thought that'd qualify for a replacement. Not a good look for Vulfix.
After a year that Milk Churn would look like the top of my head.
 
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