I've always been interested in the look of a Mason Pearson brush and have never been able to justify the price of purchasing one. I did, though, manage to secure a new and unused Mason Pearson on eBay recently for a very reasonable price and, as there is a general lack of information available on these brushes, thought I'd do a quick review. It came complete with a very nice presentation box which is a little different to the norm. It has not, to my knowledge, been substantiated who makes this brush, however, the hair used (which appears to me to be the same as used in Simpsons Best Badger knots), and the lettering on the handle would strongly suggest that this a Vulfix / Simpsons manufactured brush. The brush measurements are: Knot: 19mm x 54mm Handle: 65mm x 38mm The knot is fan-shaped and with these measurements, I expected there to be a significant amount of splay in the knot and very little backbone. Well, that's exactly how this brush performs. This is most definitely a bowl-lathering brush and conventional wisdom would suggest that it would be good with creams and croaps and not so good when lathering hard soaps. It's great for lathering soaps and creams and this is the result I got when bowl-lathering some Meissner Tremonia Pink Grapefruit soap this morning: It's not the best lather I've ever had with Meissner soaps, but it's more than adequate for the task in hand. Applying the lather can be a bit more difficult with this brush when using painting strokes as the lack of sufficient backbone does tend to help create a bit of a moppy, floppy mess at times. The lack of density in the knot of this brush is evident in the post-shave bloom seen in the picture below: Given that the handle clearly can accommodate a larger knot and I am somewhat confused why the makers of the brush chose to place such a small knot in the handle. Unfortunately, the brush is currently shedding 3 to 5 hairs a shave. This is not a major concern to me as this brush will make a great candidate for a a re-knot, and is worth doing so as the handle is one of the most comfortable handles I've ever used. In summary, I would say that this is an interesting brush with a great handle. It is let down by what I can only describe as a poor knot which makes it one of the floppiest brushes I've ever owned. There are, in my view, far better brushes out there for the money and, unless you can find one going really cheaply, this is not a brush I would recommend.
