Holy grail brush??

I would say any of the European badger knots from the 70s or 80s , Simpson , Plisson. I’m more into the natural hair now and moved away from the bleached two band stuff.

Ok very interesting Im yet to try a brush from that era so can't comment but they sound amazing I really hope I can get one but they are very rare to find

I had the vintage horn Plisson brush that has circulated around for awhile, and I can state that hair was quite extraordinary. The softest I've tried out of 3-band hair. A bit too soft for my tastes. I like a soft 3-band badger brush, but it needs to have a bit of tip presence at least for my tastes when in use. It's the closest you would find to the unnatural softness of current day synthetics in badger form, at least for that one specific brush. I well imagine the others hold up quite well too. Even the Pre-Vulfix Simpson hair is quite good and special. When it comes down to it though, I can name something from every year that for me is special and worthwhile, hence why I don't try to go into the holy grail debate. I have far too many brushes with varying qualities that I love them for their unique qualities, and I would be surprised if I ever found a holy grail brush. I guess I'm too much of a collector to settle down to any one thing, at least in regards to brushes.

Simpson Astoria

What I have:                                 What I want:

Rooney 2XL Super                          Rooney 2XL Finest

Declaration Grooming B2 Unicorn Ivory Franklin

Declaration Grooming B2 Unicorn Ivory Franklin

Does this actually exist? I’ve only seen them in SSB (w/B2). I have a B2 uni ivory Jeffo and that’s the only B2 in uni ivory I recall seeing.

Declaration Grooming B2 Unicorn Ivory Franklin

Does this actually exist? I’ve only seen them in SSB (w/B2). I have a B2 uni ivory Jeffo and that’s the only B2 in uni ivory I recall seeing.

I've never seen one but no reason it couldn't exist. Even if you found a B2 it could always be re-homed into a new pour of Unicorn Ivory.

But, as a collectable, is it "less well pedigreed" than if maintained as originally sold

Valid point, it's an interesting situation: would a B2 that was originally in a C&R handle or some other handle put into a new wholly declaration handle be less valuable? Realistically I'll never find out lol