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Bad/great experience with Simpson/Beard and Blade

K

karol.elec

Member
2025 Sabbattical
Hi
I just wanted to share with you quick story what just happened to me. I have contacted Beard and Blade:


“I bought a Simpson Specials best budger brush from you in 07.2022. I was using that in rotation with a few other brushes. It was always shredding a few hairs every shaving but recently after maybe 3 months brake it lost like 50 hairs at once. I did cleaning and brushing as recommended. Was shredding again a few (like 5) hairs per shave. Today I took it after maybe 2 weeks brake and it lost over 20 hairs again. This is not normal. Other brushes are loosing 1-2 hairs every few shavings. I have another Simpson brush and it's brilliant. My father was using cheap brushes and they lasted for 10 years. Can you please replace that one as I really like this small brush.”

I was very disappointed. The brush is a basic model but Simpson supposed to be one of the best brash makers. Tye brush works really well but shredding gone crazy.

And now the final. I have got answer from Michael from Beards and Blades:

“Thanks for your order and sorry to learn this!
It is now outside of warranty but we are still happy to help here.
You don't need to return it and we've issued a full credit”

What a great service from Michael.
That is the seller I can really recommend👍🏻
 
Nanook said:
That's really unusual for a Simpson brush as they really are an excellent brand. Beard and Blade are fantastic and will always stand by what they sell.
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Because of the problem I have read a lot about that and unfortunately there were more people complaining. Mostly best badger hair.
In my opinion it can happen to any product sometimes as long as the producer or in this case seller take responsibility.

But just talking about that brush. This little budget brush gives amazing leather. Mo matter hard soap or cream. I would not hesitate to try it again but Beard and Blade do not have any.
 
Simpson has it's fair share of duds like anyone else. I am honestly not a fan of their cheapness of late with their synthetic brushes though but that is just me.

The staff at Beard and Blade are truly wonderful. They are always helpful and give out some of the best customer service in any industry in Australia.
Although we do not have many shaving stores in Australia but of the ones we do have they are all pretty great. I have had many good experiences with Beard and Blade as well as several other local stores.

Shout out also to VSHOD and The Stray Whisker too for generally fantastic customer service and just generally be fantastic people.

It's good to hear you were able to get a satisfactory resolve to your problem. I generally find if I lose more than 5 hairs in one shave I take a note of it and if it sheds as many or more on the next shave then its definitely a problem. If you are losing badger hairs in the double digit it is certainly a huge red flag.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
Simpson has it's fair share of duds like anyone else. I am honestly not a fan of their cheapness of late with their synthetic brushes though but that is just me.

The staff at Beard and Blade are truly wonderful. They are always helpful and give out some of the best customer service in any industry in Australia.
Although we do not have many shaving stores in Australia but of the ones we do have they are all pretty great. I have had many good experiences with Beard and Blade as well as several other local stores.

Shout out also to VSHOD and The Stray Whisker too for generally fantastic customer service and just generally be fantastic people.

It's good to hear you were able to get a satisfactory resolve to your problem. I generally find if I lose more than 5 hairs in one shave I take a note of it and if it sheds as many or more on the next shave then its definitely a problem. If you are losing badger hairs in the double digit it is certainly a huge red flag.
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I could be a Simpson’s fun but the prices are a bit shocking. I have one more Simpson brush - Chubby 1 and it is brilliant👍🏻 Love it.
Lucky I do not mind smaller brushes as the big ones cost the fortune🫣
 
I had a huge, sumptuous Simpson badger I bought from an equally sumptuous shop in Portman Square in 1982. The first time I saw it in the window I fell in love with it, but it was some weeks before I was able to put together that kind of money. By 2015 it had to be retired though, it was really getting a bit too sparse. Maybe I should have complained. It really should have lasted much more than 33 years. :(
 
Gargravarr said:
I had a huge, sumptuous Simpson badger I bought from an equally sumptuous shop in Portman Square in 1982. The first time I saw it in the window I fell in love with it, but it was some weeks before I was able to put together that kind of money. By 2015 it had to be retired though, it was really getting a bit too sparse. Maybe I should have complained. It really should have lasted much more than 33 years. :(
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33 years👍🏻. Not bad👍🏻
I am afraid if you have gotten even full store credit today it might be not enough for a single soap😂
 
Gargravarr said:
Not sure about that, it was a LOT of money even then, like over £200. A big brush with a huge knot (30mm+). That's worth a lot of soap, except maybe Yardley... :unsure:
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£200 in 1982???
Wow😳
Now chubby2 manchurian for £225 on sale looks like a bargain 😂

So how much was it those days compared to the weekly salaries?

Yardley - I have never heard about that soap. But from what you have said I assume it is too expensive for me anyway😂
 
karol.elec said:
£200 in 1982???
Wow😳
Now chubby2 manchurian for £225 on sale looks like a bargain 😂

So how much was it those days compared to the weekly salaries?

Yardley - I have never heard about that soap. But from what you have said I assume it is too expensive for me anyway😂
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I don't even know what model it was, it only had the Simpson stamp on the handle. I was on good pay at the time (paid monthly though, which was difficult to say the least) and that brush took a good chunk out of it.

You're new here, so you haven't had time to be bored by my enthusiasm for Yardley. It was still in production in the 80s, though most of the NOS stuff we find now is much older. The puck in my today's SOTD is about 70 years old. This was my Yardley stash last February...
PXL-20230214-005215237-PORTRAIT.jpg


... but there have been a few additions since. Some arising from late-night purchases after multiple libations, and others from the generosity of fellow P&C members. Suffice to say, I consider it to be the finest shaving soap ever produced - with the possible exception of Valobra.
 
Gargravarr said:
I don't even know what model it was, it only had the Simpson stamp on the handle. I was on good pay at the time (paid monthly though, which was difficult to say the least) and that brush took a good chunk out of it.

You're new here, so you haven't had time to be bored by my enthusiasm for Yardley. It was still in production in the 80s, though most of the NOS stuff we find now is much older. The puck in my today's SOTD is about 70 years old. This was my Yardley stash last February...
PXL-20230214-005215237-PORTRAIT.jpg


... but there have been a few additions since. Some arising from late-night purchases after multiple libations, and others from the generosity of fellow P&C members. Suffice to say, I consider it to be the finest shaving soap ever produced - with the possible exception of Valobra.
Click to expand...
Yardley BASTARD!!
 
Gargravarr said:
I don't even know what model it was, it only had the Simpson stamp on the handle. I was on good pay at the time (paid monthly though, which was difficult to say the least) and that brush took a good chunk out of it.

You're new here, so you haven't had time to be bored by my enthusiasm for Yardley. It was still in production in the 80s, though most of the NOS stuff we find now is much older. The puck in my today's SOTD is about 70 years old. This was my Yardley stash last February...
PXL-20230214-005215237-PORTRAIT.jpg


... but there have been a few additions since. Some arising from late-night purchases after multiple libations, and others from the generosity of fellow P&C members. Suffice to say, I consider it to be the finest shaving soap ever produced - with the possible exception of Valobra.
Click to expand...
Thank you for an interesting explanation. I have seen this soap in your SOTD posts but it was just another product I did not know😂
I am just curious how it is possible that 70 y.o. soap is better than modern products. And I am talking both we have modern technology, hundreds of producers, but also the 70 y.o. soap is old. Must have lose the properties. Ppl are saying a few years old pucks loose scent and some of them are non usable. It is hard to believe such an old puck is soooo good.
And Volabra I think is not produced any more as well😂
And by the way why all the soaps are in plastic bags? Whatever I have bought was only in paper boxes or wraps (or plastic/aluminium containers) but never im plastic sealed bags
 
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karol.elec said:
Thank you for an interesting explanation. I have seen this soap in your SOTD posts but it was just another product I did not know😂
I am just curious how it is possible that 70 y.o. soap is better than modern products. And I am talking both we have modern technology, hundreds of producers, but also the 70 y.o. soap is old. Must have lose the properties. Ppl are saying a few years old pucks loose scent and some of them are non usable. It is hard to believe such an old puck is soooo good.
And Volabra I think is not produced any more as well😂
And by the way why all the soaps are in plastic bags? Whatever I have bought was only in paper boxes or wraps (or plastic/aluminium containers) but never im plastic sealed bags
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OK, last question first -

I vacuum-seal any pucks of soap that I want to be able to store indefinitely. Since in the case of Yardley the soap isn't (usually) separable from its wooden bowl, I vac-pack the bottom half of the bowl with its contents and plonk the lid on top.

The soap isn't great because it's old, it's great soap that happens to be old. Yes, the scent can dissipate somewhat over time. I've mostly found it still there in unused pucks, particularly with the non-lavender flavours. It's quite stunning to see how such an ancient soap explodes into beautiful, slick lather so instantly. It doesn't really dry out (much) because it's triple-milled, so it's pretty dry in the first place.

Yes, Valobra (which also appeared under the labels of Czech & Speake and Art of Shaving) closed its doors a few years ago. Finding NOS pucks of that nowadays is very nearly impossible. I have a few, but when they're gone, they're gone.
 
Gargravarr said:
OK, last question first -

I vacuum-seal any pucks of soap that I want to be able to store indefinitely. Since in the case of Yardley the soap isn't (usually) separable from its wooden bowl, I vac-pack the bottom half of the bowl with its contents and plonk the lid on top.

The soap isn't great because it's old, it's great soap that happens to be old. Yes, the scent can dissipate somewhat over time. I've mostly found it still there in unused pucks, particularly with the non-lavender flavours. It's quite stunning to see how such an ancient soap explodes into beautiful, slick lather so instantly. It doesn't really dry out (much) because it's triple-milled, so it's pretty dry in the first place.

Yes, Valobra (which also appeared under the labels of Czech & Speake and Art of Shaving) closed its doors a few years ago. Finding NOS pucks of that nowadays is very nearly impossible. I have a few, but when they're gone, they're gone.
Click to expand...
Thanks again.
I am learning something new every day👍🏻
So one more question
If I have a spare Tabac and MWF, one each, and probably I will be using that within 3-5 years can I just keep it in original packaging or should I pack them in a plastic bags?(I do not have a vacuum seal packs (unless you are talking just about normal plastic zipper bags with the air pressed out as much as it is possible.
 
karol.elec said:
Thanks again.
I am learning something new every day👍🏻
So one more question
If I have a spare Tabac and MWF, one each, and probably I will be using that within 3-5 years can I just keep it in original packaging or should I pack them in a plastic bags?(I do not have a vacuum seal packs (unless you are talking just about normal plastic zipper bags with the air pressed out as much as it is possible.
Click to expand...
They'll most likely be OK within that timeframe, since they're (presumably) fairly new right now. I rather doubt if just using ziplock bags will do much, since there will still be oxygen inside them. It's more worth doing if you already have the machine (or access to one, eg at supermarkets or delis).
 
Gargravarr said:
They'll most likely be OK within that timeframe, since they're (presumably) fairly new right now. I rather doubt if just using ziplock bags will do much, since there will still be oxygen inside them. It's more worth doing if you already have the machine (or access to one, eg at supermarkets or delis).
Click to expand...
Thank you for advice👍🏻
 
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