Great to be here. Some of you fellas will know me as being the guy who took some flak & walked the plank elsewhere. I'm happy to field any questions you may have in regard to my company, the shaving brushes we manufacture or any shaving issues whatsoever. Looks a cool vibe & nice crew. Mark
Welcome! Glad to have you with us...their loss is our gain By the way...love your product. My Wee Scot is my favorite (and only Simpson) brush...used in my rotation every other day for about 6 months now and has yet to lose a hair.
:sihns011 Welcome, I know some of us had a simular experience. I find this forum just to be more welcoming than many of the others. Not that the others are bad they are just different beasts.
Thanks fellas. Any questions you feel you need answering, I'll be here. In the meantime, happy shaving. Mark
Well, here's a couple of questions I always wondered about: - How many knots can be produced by a knot maker in one day? - What are the benefits of a hand-tied knot over a resin plug knot? Also, are the hand tied knots longer and therefore go deeper into the handle compared to a resin plug knot? - A personal question (which you don't have to answer if you don't want to, i'm just interested in the history). Were you the MD of Vulfix and bought out Simpson from Carter?
I frequent a number of different sites concerning my hobbies. This site I must say has the most polite and generous, helpful and classly folks of any. Welcome and may your presence here be enjoyable.
Hey Nav, No worries ... How many knots can be produced by a single knot maker in one day? The answer is open. It would depend on the knot shape, the density, the material, the experience of the craftsman/woman. Let's take an average knot, say 22mm, in Best badger ... I'd say anywhere between 50 & 200 per day. If my factory was in China, you could multiply that figure by 100 Hand tied knots, in my opinion, are generally more durable long term 'IF' made correctly. They do also have the added benefit of being able to be seated deeper into the handle. You effectively can dictate how you want them set. There is no contest as far as I'm concerned between machine made & hand tied. We are, as far as I can gather, and until somebody provides me conclusive evidence to the contrary, the only brush maker in Great Britain that still makes shaving brushes in the traditional way. That may come as a shock to many but I believe it to be true. We have an open door policy at our factory, visitors are always made welcome. My father was actually the MD at the time of the Simpson purchase from David Carter & Francis Woodhouse. David contacted my father and nobody else when he considered selling the business. I won't repeat his exact words but he expressed huge reservations about any other brush maker in Britain even getting wind of the sale. He believed at the time and more importantly, still does, that selling to Vulfix & my father was the only option. My father and I have tried to do what we can to continue the Simpson brush making tradition. History will be the judge on how we've done. Cheers, Mark
There is Morris & Forndran, however not exactly a large scale operation such as Simpsons, but Lee does form the knots by hand. Many of our members are fans of artisan brushes and tend to shy away from name brand brushes for various reasons, however this being said, they're used to handles turned by hand on a lathe with a plug for a knot. I'm not trying to incite Peter to jump in or even create drama, but rather inform, Simpsons are the opposite of this, you offer a CNC'ed handle with a hand tied knot. I'm only mentioning this for members who may read your post thinking the entire brush is made in the traditional method. Lastly and excitedly my GF has been wanting to plan a trip to England this year, I think she actually wants to visit the shaving establishments more than I do. Paying a visit to the factory would be quite a memorable experience, assuming we make it across the pond. :love029
I would have to walk the factory floor before I'm convinced that there is another British brush maker employing traditional manufacturing methods. I'm not dismissing the notion out of hand, but I harbour real doubts & concerns. You refer to the M&F brand who do look like they produce a nice brush from the pictures I've seen & the reports posted here and elsewhere. I'm yet to come across anyone that can verify their production methods as a result of an actual factory visit. Has anyone been? I'd love to hear from them. The pictures you have provided, although revealing, prove very little & are far from conclusive. Maybe it's the old cynic in me? PS - Aaron, I'd love you to buy me lunch after a factory visit!!! ...
Not cynical at all Mark considering the lack of information from Rooney even from Lee. I'm not even sure there is an M&F factory, rather than perhaps Lee's own personal workshop? Lunch, only if I get to buy the exact brush I like, I promise I won't hold production up too long.
Thanks Mark, very insightful indeed. A tour of the factory would be awesome! I would have to hand my credit card over to my girlfriend otherwise, there could be trouble! Do you ever let visitors design and/or make their own brush (with the help of the craftsman ofcourse)?
Haha ... We've done a few custom jobs for wealthy Gulf state sheiks in the past, even a Gold shave set for a Harrods customer. The factory has a handle for everyone in our stock 'bins' ... there's 90 years + of work here!!! Cheers, Mark
