High End Brushes

Boab

Boab

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LeJog 2022 Finisher
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Reading about the possibility that Rooney brushes could be manufactured in China then imported to the UK and passed off as British got me thinking about the mark up on 'high end' shaving products.
It seems to be a logical progression for a lot of people who 'get into' traditional shaving but are we being taken for fools? I can see the appeal of finding a high end brush which suits your needs and could possibly last you for the rest of your natural but I would love to see more details on the production process.Fido has been discussing the 'Rooney Question' recently and I agree with his stand on not buying a Rooney until he has concrete evidence that it is made here (as it is advertised as such) but this was not the only reason I was thinking that we are being ripped off by brush manufacturers/sellers.The limited edition semogue was produced recently and by all accounts is proving to be an excellent performer, the production run was 100 and the selling price seemed to be very reasonable so how can this be done? is boar hair really that much cheaper than badger? I cant help feeling we are being ripped off on purchases like these but saying that I haven't used one of these brushes so I may well be in the wrong.
 
Assuming Golden Nib is not selling his knots for charity, he's probably buying most of his knots for less that $5 each. His premium "English" made knots retail for around $40 + so he's must be buying them for say $10 - $15 + so you can work that one out. A premium brush from a UK maker probably costs them £5 - £15 to make if that. I doubt there's a huge difference in cost between the very largest and average sized brushes despite quite a difference in the quantity of hair.

Multiply by three or four and you have a price to work with, you've got to pay staff, run a factory, make profit. Probably like the car industry they make the most money on the largest luxury brushes but now we know how much the engines cost.

Actually a friend of mine wanted his engine replaced (fault of dealership) on a monstrous 4x4 (yes he is a cock). The vehicle was worth £25 - £30K when new, a brand new engine to the dealership was less than 4K. A relatively small proportion compared to the overall cost...everybody wets their beak.
 
It's many years since I studied economics, but I seem to remember words like supply and demand as well as cost. Crank up demand by clever marketing and the price might be considerably higher than the cost of production. Where there is not much to choose between brands and there are many of them, profit margins will be lower. Another concept is to charge what the market will bear. A much hyped product in short supply therefore commands a premium price.
Buyer beware - worth bearing in mind no one is forced to buy anything and we all need to be streetwise whatever we are buying.
I hate being ripped off. And I don't like to be deliberately misled. Having said this, I don't feel any of the brushes I have bought so far have been overpriced for what they are. But the most I've paid is about £75.
 
I've recently seen a picture of a Rooney "Finest" brush, a near $300 brush, this mountain hair, 2 band looks mighty similar to the latest Simpsons 2 band offering, yet there is a $100 difference. This latest 2 band isn't quite as black 'n' white as previous hair because it is less processed, in other words they don't dye the hair or bleach the tips "as much".

The GN Finest knot is NOT the same hair but is the Simpson/Rooney so much better? Absolutely not.

Choosing a knot and getting one made is easily the best pound for pound solution.


Henk you have my PAYPAL address.
 
i think the standard business model is sell for 3x's your costs - roughly :?

taken for mugs, i don't know

you certainly think that way when like Tony and myself have done (as i'm sure have others) is to buy a knot and fix it in a donor handle of your choice, 404 or VS5, for a fraction of the cost.

but we don't have staff and overheads etc etc

if you don't think it's worth it, don't buy it.

probably more relevant to our American cousins, but i think we're a pretty thrifty bunch over here :lol:
 
I think that we are being ripped off.About six months ago a Vie Long distributor told me(and I dont doubt him but either can prove it right)that Plisson and Vie Long shares the same badger hair distributor for the white and grey badger europen hair(for what I understood the hair comes from Hungary).Plisson 12 white european hair shaving brush is about 180 euros while the Vie Long olive wood handle with two band badger hair(looks the same than the Plisson white european) is around 70 euros...I wont buy a Plisson for sure,either the Rooney that I had in mind since Fido make that brilliant thread about Rooney not proving if theyre UK made.
 
Actually, I would be quite careful believing any of that. European badger is protected, and may NOT be used in any products, including shaving brushes. Not too long ago, Chinese badger brushes that had European badger (Meles meles) hair instead of hog badger (Arctonyx collaris) hair were confiscated by customs -- even though the hair was most likely derived from Chinese European badgers (there's a Meles meles subspecies that occurs in, and is legally hunted in) western Mongolia).

Henk
 
henkverhaar said:
Actually, I would be quite careful believing any of that. European badger is protected, and may NOT be used in any products, including shaving brushes. Not too long ago, Chinese badger brushes that had European badger (Meles meles) hair instead of hog badger (Arctonyx collaris) hair were confiscated by customs -- even though the hair was most likely derived from Chinese European badgers (there's a Meles meles subspecies that occurs in, and is legally hunted in) western Mongolia).

Henk
Click to expand...
MMMM,so Plisson is stating something in their website that is wrong referring about the brushes made with european grey/white badger hair?or does this hair comes from China under the name of european grey/white badger?Do they inbreed the meles meles in China?Gosh this is confusing too....I dont remember if he said that the hair came from Hungary or the hair distributor was in Hungary(Im sorry).
 
What I see on their website is names (European white, Chinese gray), not actual claims that the hair comes from either European badgers or hog badgers. I'm hoping here that what they mean is that the 'Mountain' and 'European' grades are knotted in Europe, from hair imported from China, whereas the 'Chinese' grades are made with knots imported from China. If they really imply that they use European badger (there shouldn't even be a source for European European badger (i.e. Meles meles from Europe), and I would guesstimate that the amount of hair that IS available (some will undoubtedly be available) wouldn't be nearly enough for Plisson to satisfy their needs for making those brushes), they are in flagrant and open violation (even contempt) of the law...

My guess is that these grade names are just that; names.
 
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