Simpson should be ashamed of themselves for this razor.

Slapping their name on a made-in-Taiwan Sabi razor (quite ugly IMHO and not even the "revered logo" as they claim) and selling it for the ridiculous sum of £29.95 which equals $46.92 at this time, plus shipping... They can call it limited edition all they want but in the end, it's still just a Sabi.

IMHO again, limited editions for commercial businesses should be more classy than this. I can understand these as razor forum support/fund raising items but not from a classic, revered company like Simpson.

It just seems since the company has new owners, they've changed their business model more from quality to $$$$$$$$. Hell, even my latest purchase of a Simpson brush sheds more than my cat which is why I don't use it much anymore.

http://www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com/cgi-bin/trolleyed_public.cgi?action=showprod_DERAZORIVORY



Save yourself $32.92 and buy it for $14.00 elsewhere sans the Simpson printing (not going to mention the vendor since they are banned from TSD - find 'em ya'self! ).

Disclaimer: Yes, I woke up in an ornery mood this morning but even if I had woken up with a Cheshire cat grin and pooping rainbows and glitter, I'd still say the same thing in this instance.

 

It should read "For a limited time only, order a Simpsons brush, and receive a free razor now through Father's day or as long as supplies last!" or "Send in five "famous English brand" shaving cream or soap box tops and get a free razor. Offer expires 12/31/13."

 

That's the exact point I was trying to make. I just expect better from Simpson. Even more so when you're a revered company "known for quality", it's your first ever razor offering and you hail it as "limited edition".

 

Remember, it wasn't that long ago that Simpsons was crying "for shame" when Trumper abandoned them to make their own brushes. At least Simpsons had reason to cry foul, because not only were the brushes of inferior quality (for the prices Trumper is charging), they closely resembled Simpson's Trumper brushes. This would not have been a problem except for the fact that everyone knew Simpson's made Trumper's brushes.

Here we also have a company with a longer and nobler legacy than Trumper's pulling the same kind of stunt. Simpson is re-branding a razor that looks nice but is considered an inferior product (for the price that Simpson's is charging). This is less bashing and more of a whistle blowing thread. I don't think you will find one person commenting on this thread who does not own a Simpsons brush or wishes to own a Simpson's brush. My vintage Simpson's is the pride and joy of my brush collection.

I wonder if they would get the same prices if they said in their spiel "...and on the other side of the handle, this razor carries the revered 'Made in Taiwan' logo".

 

"Designing a brush that can stand the test of time for as long as the Chubby has shows how much time, and money, was invested in its conception. Vulfix, the current owners of Simpson, have every right to profit from the original design and it's well respected name. They paid good money for the privilege of owning the Simpson brand and all the heritage and quality styles that came with their acquisition. " Gary Young - Simpson family member
Quote is from another forum where they were discussing the Trumper/Simpson split.

And Neolithium, when one company has worked with another (Simpson's and Trumper) for over 80 years the legacy thing becomes moot.

What we have here is Vulfix capitalizing on the Simpson's name, even at the cost of dragging that same name down.

 

I'm sorry, your argument fails.
There are almost 100 years worth of expired Gillette patents they could have used to market their own razor. I know many forumites, myself included, would have no problem dropping $150 or even $200 on a "new" Gillette 3 piece or TTO razor, especially with the Simpson's name on it.

 

They could CNC machine the heads out of blocks of stainless steel, aluminum or brass. For a limited run of say 500 pcs. a year, They would make money. The handles could be made almost anywhere, including China. Assuming 1 small CNC wire cutting machine could cut out 5 heads a day (lowball est.) they could do a year's production run in 100 days. The process is almost entirely automated and would require little oversight. If Ikon could do it as an unestablished start-up, I would think that a company like Vulfix Simpson's could certainly do it. I would not call them "a small brush manufacturer".

There would be no tooling or mould costs, development costs would likewise be almost nil as they would have original patent drawings as well as existing razors to copy. Inital cost would be for a used CNC machine and CNC programmer, plus cost of materials. They might take a loss on the razors for the first year, but after that, as demand continues to grow for high quality wet shaving equipment, who knows?

Edit: With respect to Blobster, he is right about casting, molds, labor, etc. being too cost prohibitive to consider reproducing old style TTOs. The company(ies) that makes a modern TTO is primarily a razor manufacturer and as such, I cannot see a brush mfg. company ever making a TTO razor. Unfortunately.