Some Shaving Brushes etcetera....

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Robbie
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Post by Robbie »

Peter, a quite magnificent collection. As others have noted, it could easily be used as evidence of my own restraint to date…

Gordon, in terms of Simpson’s quality assurance would you say this – the apparent visual difference between the three chubbys – is suggestive that ‘high mountain grade’ hair may be employed in their super range? If so, that’s not such a bad thing.

Robbie
bernards66
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Post by bernards66 »

Robbie, Sure, that's one way to look at it, and honestly, for the price they charge, it bloody well should be! Or, one could turn it around a bit, and ask, 'why pay more for the Extra, if it's the same bristle, and only a tiny bit larger?' I know that not everyone agrees, but my position is; all the Simpson Supers are very expensive, all of them are essentially presented as 'silvertip', yet today, most of them are not, that is, they are not the same as that bristle in the photos of the Chubby 3 Super and Extra. And they should be, because that is the real traditional 'silvertip'. What Simpson and Rooney etc. used to call 'silvertip' IS what Plisson calls High Mountain White. Regards, Gordon
Ken
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Post by Ken »

Peter,

I've been meaning to check my brushes for the curled/straight bristle tip phenomenon. I have five brushes. Two are what we would consider genuine silver tip: Simpson Chubby 3 Manchurian and Shavemac XXL. The other three are not what we would call silver tip: Vulfix 2236, AOS "Silver Tip" Size 4 (which I bought a number of years ago and may not be the same as their now made-in-USA brushes), and AOS Super Badger travel brush (made in England). Of these brushes, only the Simpson does not have curled or bent tips. Unlike your experience, however, this brush is clearly the prickliest of the bunch. The Shavemac is probably next, but that, I think, has more to do with the density of bristles. The others are all relatively soft, though not at all wimpy. I'm not sure what this all means, but it is interesting.

Ken
honkdonker
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Post by honkdonker »

Peter, I think it is about time you purchased some real quality shaving brushes. Clearly, your collection is very small and lacking.

Please open up your wallet and spend some money man!
alchemist
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Post by alchemist »

Peter, Would it be possible to post a picture of your 5 Shavemac brushes?
Thanks,
-Mahesh
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drP
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Post by drP »

Mahesh,

There are actually six of them; i will picture them tomorrow.


Peter
alchemist
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Post by alchemist »

Much appreciated Peter, and Merry Christmas.
Best,
-Mahesh
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drP
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Post by drP »

Mahesh,

Here are the promised pictures:

Image

From left to right: 280/436/167

Image

From left to right: 220/SMF/177

Image

220/SMF/177
280/436/167


The pictures speak for themselves.


Peter
Last edited by drP on Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:32 am, edited 2 times in total.
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drP
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Post by drP »

You're right.
alchemist
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Post by alchemist »

Thank you so much Peter, it is extremely informative and a real help. Let me first say that in terms of handle's and proportions, i am not a big fan of the long handles like many are. I really like a handle that's pretty classic, quite beefy but yet witha gentle indentation or curvature so that you can grip the brush with comfort annd control.

Lets call them brush 1,2 and 3 in photo A, and brush 4, 5 and 6 in photo B. We'll call the combined photo showing blooms photo C
Brush 3 in photo A is perfectly proportioned, with an excellent handle; i believe that's your favorite brush, the 30mm 167, comparable in performance to even the Plissons.
Brush 4 is also quite nice: is it the 28mm 220?
I'm guessing that brush 6 is the 23mm 177, the one that you stated seemed packed less densely and more flexible than the larger Shavemacs in your collection. I prefer the base of the handle to be a little more substantial than this one.
I don't know if its my imagination, but the SMF brush seems a little less densely packed than your larger brushes, but i'm not sure. Brushes 1-4 all seem to be tightly packed and the tips all have a nice light cream color, lighter than the SMF brush.

Ideally, i would want a handle similar to the 167 or 220 with a 24 mm knot, and one that is very densely packed, with good core strength and soft and light colored tips to complement my 26mm SMF brush.

Any comments gentlemen on these 6 brushes?

Once again, thanks a lot Peter, your time and efforts are much appreciated. I am getting closer to my ideal brush with everyones help(although i might have to get 2 somewhere down the line rather 1, and seeing your depository of brushes sure helps me to justify that)

Best regards,
-Mahesh
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Sam
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Post by Sam »

i too noticed the smf brush is lighter in color. the 30 mm xxl is one huge brush. it might not work as well with soaps, but on creams, it is one decadent brush. used it this morning with trumper violet. with my shavemacs, i dont get lather in the base or breech of the brush like with a kent. it tends to stay towards the tips. but it is so easy to swirl a merinque mixture on the face. my smf brush is away so i cant do a direct comparison, but the smf brush sucks my face a bit more than the xxl. seems that the xxl is softer but maybe it is the true silvertip vs something less for the smf? i dunno.

sam
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drP
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Post by drP »

I edited this post with the numbers of the corresponding brushes.


Peter
alchemist
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Post by alchemist »

Sam wrote:i too noticed the smf brush is lighter in color. the 30 mm xxl is one huge brush. it might not work as well with soaps, but on creams, it is one decadent brush. used it this morning with trumper violet. with my shavemacs, i dont get lather in the base or breech of the brush like with a kent. it tends to stay towards the tips. but it is so easy to swirl a merinque mixture on the face. my smf brush is away so i cant do a direct comparison, but the smf brush sucks my face a bit more than the xxl. seems that the xxl is softer but maybe it is the true silvertip vs something less for the smf? i dunno.

sam
Sam, I believe you meant that the SMF brush seems darker in color and not lighter. Looking at the 3rd photo showing all 6 brushes, it seems that SMF and the 177 are a darker shade of badger hair than the other 4 brushes, which is slightly worrying.
BTW, i believe you sent your SMF brush back for fixing as it was losing hairs frequently. How many hairs are we talking about, as i seem to be now losing about 3 - 4 hairs a week with my SMF brush, and i use it pretty gently; i'm not sure what to make of it.
Thanks,
-Mahesh
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Sam
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Post by Sam »

i guess bernd is on holiday so he can not respond to my email about whether he got the brush or not. i could not insure it as i was told to put on the customs form, defective brush, no value. i am sure it is there by now. i was losing a hair every shave and maybe two every 3rd shave, but it did not happen until november, and i had the brush since august.

smf brush sucks my face more and has more resliency, i think, then the 30mm brush. i would suspect that the same hairs from the xxl, 30mm knot, in a 24mm knot, would be as stiff as the smf brush. the tips are softer on the xxl large

sam
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Sam
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Post by Sam »

chris: if i were ordering my first shavemac, knowing what i know now, i would be conflicted. seriously. the new XXL hair is so soft, just as soft as my kent, but it does not splay flat. there is some give, but enough that i guess the cream can build up faster and get more air whipped it into.

the smf brush though sucks the face and also feels good

sam
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Sam
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Post by Sam »

alchemist wrote: Ideally, i would want a handle similar to the 167 or 220 with a 24 mm knot, and one that is very densely packed, with good core strength and soft and light colored tips to complement my 26mm SMF brush.

Best regards,

this is my sentiments exactly, but i could expand my search to the black bristled plisson size 12, which is 22 mm. bernd also has some 23 mm brushes in silvertip or finest that match up with what alchemist wants, but here is the rub: alchemist pointed out that the 167 may be less dense than the smf brush. is this density the same as the xxl 30mm brushes? if so, that brush splays a bit more than the smf brush but does a bang up job with creams. id want the smaller brush i am considering to be more of a soap and travel brush, but still do creams well enough. so going down to say the 22 or 23, even 24 size, does density have less of an impact as say it might if the brush knot was larger?

sam

edit: bernd does have a 25mm knot in the silvertip l section
alchemist
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Post by alchemist »

Hi Sam, Seems like quite a few of us want a smaller brush thats stiff yet soft tipped (hint: Bernd hope you're reading this)!
Actually, i was conveying my impression of drP's experience from another thread (?) regarding one of his Shavemacs being less dense and more flexible than the others he owns, and i believe it was the smaller 177 and not the 167; hence the fear was do the smaller Shavemacs have as much density and strength of Silvertip hair as the larger ones. It gets confusing as Bernd has switched to a softer Silvertip, and the SMF is apparently somewhere between the older and newer Silvertips, and my SMF brush seems softer and less dense than some other members (jvan's for example seems really stiff and dense) though ofcourse, it may be our perception.
So what does one do? See the brush in person, or speak to the vendor and convey one's requirements i guess. I'm still waiting to see what shape SMF2 takes.
Thanks,
-Mahesh
formula1monaco
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Re: Some Shaving Brushes etcetera....

Post by formula1monaco »

I just got a Plisson European White size 18 with a Rosewood handle, and it's enormous, so, I'm about to order a #20, but, I was wondering if the Simpson Polo 14 is larger...it seems you have both, so, do you know the knot size of my Plisson sz 18 and the #20, and the Simpson Polo 12 and 14?
I also got a HMW in size 14...it said that was the largest they sell, and I was a bit disappointed...it is not as "white" as their European White size 18 that I got from them the same day, so I am trying to work out a deal with them on the size 20 European White with Ebony handle...good move, or get the Simpson Polo 12 or 14?

Awesome collection, by the way =D>
I'd value your opinion,
Thanks,
Kenny
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