Paladins......lets see them

Twitter got a little ugly.

#TeamPaladin

I couldn't follow it all. Was it basically Simpson questioning some shapes and knot construction?

Twitter got a little ugly.

#TeamPaladin

I couldn't follow it all. Was it basically Simpson questioning some shapes and knot construction?

Yeah pretty much, done in a passive-aggressive way.

I don't follow Twitter but I do recall that when Paladin came out a year or so ago with some brushes there were comments about the smilarities to Simpson designs. Mark Waterson didn't seem put off by it then as he said something about imitation being a form of flattery. I had an opportunity to buy a brush last night but passed for a couple of reasons. I had bought one of the early PK 47 brushes and was really disappointed with the knot in that brush. I do have a couple of Falstaff brushes with much better knots and decided to not take a chance for now on these new knots. While looking last night I did think at the time the handle designs were a bit too much like Simpson offerings.

Haters always gonna hate.

I have 2 brushes I took delivery of today. Will post back more later.

Haters always gonna hate.

I have 2 brushes I took delivery of today. Will post back more later.

This is incredible. For months now, we all know that Ken has been trying to put up a website for all of us, so that he could sell more brushes and satisfy more folks since he was having a difficult time with the custom requests. I truly believe the man worked very hard. So then, on the night of his launch, he has to deal with drama, after he has a beautiful site filled with outstanding looking brushes? What in the world is going on in this freaking hobby?? I honestly do not know why these artisans deal with it sometimes.

I just want to clarify my comments on my early post. There was nothing wrong with the Pk47 I sold other than the knot did not have enough backbone for me. This was a disappointment for me as I had several blond badger knots in the past and still have several of them that were quite a bit firmer. The brush was beautiful and I was quite sorry to have to let it go but such things happen.

I would be happy to have another Paladin PK 47 at some point but decided to wait and see the reviews on the new knots.

I would like to see some different designs on the Paladin brushes but Ken always gave credit to Simpson for their influence. Many have used Simpson designs and Mark Waterson didn't seem upset about it until now.

I just want to clarify my comments on my early post. There was nothing wrong with the Pk47 I sold other than the knot did not have enough backbone for me. This was a disappointment for me as I had several blond badger knots in the past and still have several of them that were quite a bit firmer. The brush was beautiful and I was quite sorry to have to let it go but such things happen.

I would be happy to have another Paladin PK 47 at some point but decided to wait and see the reviews on the new knots.

I would like to see some different designs on the Paladin brushes but Ken always gave credit to Simpson for their influence. Many have used Simpson designs and Mark Waterson didn't seem upset about it until now.

Thanks for posting the clarification.

It's ironic -- or something like it -- that most disappointment expressed to me with regard to Blonde Badger knots set into our first and second-batch brushes was on account of their being too scrubby rather than too soft. When I have alluded to inconsistency, the intent hasn't been to imply that there were good knots and bad knots. It was just that I couldn't match brushes to expectations. Most who wanted a Blonde Badger (or Finest) knot had something in mind based on another Blonde Badger brush they'd used or read about. Blonde Badger was/is, IMO, really more a label than a grade of badger hair. I've probably said that over 100 times. But without much apparent effect.

With regard to Simpson influences, I'd like to say the following:

1) We're a small and very young company, and we have our hands full right now with brushes combining 6 styles, 3 sizes, and over 15 materials. We'll add more in due course. But we needed to make a launch with what we had.

2) Many handle styles are attributed to Simpsons that have clear pre-Simpson antecedents. Those include the M7, the AS handles, and the Keyhole. Rubberset, a US company, was a prolific originator. It is seldom given the credit I believe it is due.

3) We consistently acknowledge our debt and gratitude to Simpson influences whether or not Simpson's examples were derivative in themselves.

4) The family-owned, England-based companies responsible for most, if not all, of the iconic Simpson designs no longer exist. Our Sumo and Falstaff were inspired by handle designs (as distinguished from names of designs) that Progress Vulfix has, to the best of my knowledge, never produced. The Somerset-era Chubby is very different, at least to my eye and hand, from a current Simpson Chubby. But we still give due credit.

6) Our Sherlock bears close resemblance to the current Simpson Keyhole, but it incorporates design modifications that while subtle are also significant. Moreover, the Keyhole's basic shape has been around for a long time, and variations on the same theme have been produced by several companies.

FWIW, we have a policy not to disparage or otherwise disrespect other brush-makers, large or small. This is just to set some facts straight.

Awww . Apparently I missed the website and the rush for brushes. I'm always just a couple days too slow lol.

NeoXerxes I didn't even know they had a website now. But now I do I think I might try grab a PK47 at some point.

In fact their website is very nice, well laid out.

Awww . Apparently I missed the website and the rush for brushes. I'm always just a couple days too slow lol.

NeoXerxes I didn't even know they had a website now. But now I do I think I might try grab a PK47 at some point.

In fact their website is very nice, well laid out.

Not to worry guys. A batch of brushes is on the way!