Thread: Simpsons Manchurian .. What's the fuss?

Originally Posted by Phrank

Somerset days? Do tell, was that one of the famous knot makers...Lee or something?

Before Vulfix bought them, and moved them to the Isle of Man, they were made by a few little old ladies in Somerset, England.

Originally Posted by Phrank

The Polo 10 I have appears to be two band Super Badger, looking right at the bottom, might be three band??

Thanks for posting those photos. The reason I asked was that what Simpsons calls Super Badger currently are 3 band badger knots. The only 2 band badger knots I see them list are Manchurians. I had read that the older Simpsons Super Badger knots were 2 band which like the others have said your Polo brush is. I think if you tried one of the current ones you'd feel a difference. The older 2 band Simpsons are well liked and a lot of people look for them.

Sorry for the late reply but the old guy fell asleep watching TV.

Bob

Originally Posted by Phrank

Somerset days? Do tell, was that one of the famous knot makers...Lee or something?

May be thinking of Lee Sabini who resurrected Rooney and Morris&Forndran. I assume him to be still around although I do not see many new M&F's lately. One vendor sells used ones as kind of a "cult thing .."

Yea, the brush maker Lee Sabini is extremely hard to/ impossible to contact from what I have read on other forums. The Rooney Victorian I bought is a 3 band badger but certainly not as nice imho as either the Shavemac 2 band Silvertip or Simpsons Manchurian. It is still a decent knot but .....

Bob

All the grade names get a bit confusing as different companies call their grades different things.
Simpsons three band is called super, 2 band silvertip and then manchurian. Confusingly in the past 2 band was also called super.
Ive got the best, super and manchurian grades but in different models so comparing them is hard.

Ive spoken to Mark Waterson a few times and hes always happy to chat to you. He said value and performance wise best grade wins hands down.

I love my manchurian, I could probably use it every day for the next 10 or so years so if you break it down to price per use they are practically giving them away!

All this begs another question ..

Why lately the dearth of Simpsons Two Ban Super hair... My long time favorite?

Originally Posted by BobH

Yea, the brush maker Lee Sabini is extremely hard to/ impossible to contact from what I have read on other forums. The Rooney Victorian I bought is a 3 band badger but certainly not as nice imho as either the Shavemac 2 band Silvertip or Simpsons Manchurian. It is still a decent knot but .....

Bob

He'a always been a bit elusive, although I never had much trouble contacting him, but that was years ago. Perhaps it adds to the brands' mystique??
In any case, he's a great chap, IMHO!!

Originally Posted by Druid

He'a always been a bit elusive, although I never had much trouble contacting him, but that was years ago. Perhaps it adds to the brands' mystique??
In any case, he's a great chap, IMHO!!

Yea, you are probably right in that it does add to the brands exclusivity and makes it even more attractive to some.

Bob

Classic two band was never in great supply and only a very few makers had access to it. Simpson, Rooney and Plisson are the only ones I've seen.

I'm told it's Global Warming. The animals simply don't produce that hair anymore. The Manchurian is an attempt to get hair the closest to it.

To add to the confusion there are other brush makers out there that are offering "Manchurian" knots in their brushes too.

You literally have to try a number of different 2 band knots from different makers to see what you prefer.

Bob