Simpson Brushes Appreciation Thread

Shaun2

Forum GOD!
I knew I had a Simpson brush that came in the same red box with the clear lid like above.

So I delved through the collection and found it, it is a Chubby 2 made for Harrods.

It still has the price sticker on the bottom, £110 a hefty price back then

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That is a GREAT collectable! Care to guess at a date? Looks to me like an early 1990s brush, Cater-era. Dunno. Might even be pre-Carter, but not by much. The middle knop or ring looks a bit higher up than on the standard chubby, or perhaps it's just the photo (?)
 

Str8_Shaver

Forum GOD!
just pulled the trigger on a Simpsons Berkeley 46 Best to accompany my Chubby 3 Manchurian, Chubby 2 Two Band, Chubby 1 Super, and 'Somerset' Duke 3 Best.. can't wait to give a run.. from searching the 'net, they seem to be hard to get hold of these days.. maybe I'm wrong?

and here it is... unfortunately I have already shaved today, so the joy of using it and seeing the bloom will have to wait.
Berkeley 46.jpg
 
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Shaun2

Forum GOD!
Chubby 3 (CH3) Somerset /early Carter-era, dating to c.1990, in 2-band Super.

An exceptional brush from the private collection of David Carter. Slightest-ever pink tinge to the handle. Whitest tips of any Simpson I have seen, and luxuriously soft. Plenty of backbone, being 2-band.

For my money, though, my Stan Archer Somerset butterscotch CH2 in Best trumps it in terms of the superb quality/fineness of the lathing. But for now, the dimensions:

Knot: 30mm
Loft: 60mm
Handle Height: 50mm
Total Height: 110mm

IMG_5989.jpg
 
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Shaun2

Forum GOD!
A Chubby 1 (CH1) in Best from the personal collection of David Carter.

The handle is definitely that old, pinkish rod stock, and you'll notice this more contrastingly in the second photo. The lathing is better than the above CH3, IMO, and I'm going to date this CH1 a bit earlier than that one too, let's say very early 1990. The lamp-black stamping is finer than the above CH3. Dimensions:

Knot: 24.5mm
Loft: 51mm
Handle Height: 40mm
Total Height: 91mm

Compare those measurements with today's "Vulfix" model:

Knot: 22mm
Loft: 46mm
Handle Height: 39mm
Total Height: 85mm

IMG_5994.jpg


In the photo below, you will see a "later" Carter-era CH1(in Super) on the right, and the differences are obvious, including that surface-level lamp-black, which looks more like it has been stencilled on rather than stamped in. Lathing and shape is different, too. Underneath the immediately below photo, I have added a close-up of the lathing circles on the underside of the rosy-pink "early" Cater-era or transition brush.

IMG_5981.jpg


Underside lathing of the pinkie:

IMG_5977.jpg


Below: underside, typical lathing of the "later" or more commonly-seen Carter-era brushes:

IMG_5995.jpg
 
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