

Welcome to the second installment of my shaving brush buyer’s guide (part 1, on Vulfix, is here). Over the next few weeks I’ll be looking at shaving brushes from different manufacturers. At the end of the series–just in time for the holiday gift-giving season–I’ll update the entire list and create a large, sortable table and also make the data available in a “CSV file” for importing into your favorite spreadsheet or database program. This installment of the shaving brush buyer’s guide is Simpsons. Simpsons was considered one of the premier shaving brush manufacturers for many years, earning a reputation of high quality…at corresponding prices. However many of their brushes were actually priced quite reasonably.



History

Alexander Simpson started making shaving brushes in London in 1919. In 1924 he moved to Clapham where he established a reputation for his fine shaving brushes. In 1941, following the loss of his factory in WWII, Simpson moved the business to the West Country.

What About Now?

After their acquisition by Vulfix in 2008 I think their cache’ may have been whittled away a little, but they still make some very fine brushes. One change in their new brushes is a “hybrid” hair shape. While other brushes can usually be pigeonholed into a “fan” shape or a “bulb” shape, the new Simpsons brushes try to walk a line between them. What areyour experiences with Simpsons brushes?

On the table below I’ve listed the major specifications for the brushes currently being manufctured. “Model” refers to the model number of the brush. “Loft,” “Knot,” and “Handle” refer to the the dimensions, in millimeters, for the height of the hair, the diameter of the hair at the base, and the height of the brush’s handle, respectively. “Hair” indicates what kind of hair is used, along with a “Grade” (if any). The “Shape” of the hair refers to whether it is a fan-like shape or a bulb-like shape. Finally, price refers to the Manufacturer’s list price in US dollars. Although I have excersized care in researching these statistics I cannot guarantee they are exact. You may notice that there are some “holes” in this list. These are brushes I could not get “authoritative” specifications for. Hopefully I can update them when I do the the final, master list.

