The umbrella, cane, riding crop and miscellaneous accessories Appreciation thread

Originally Posted by gdl203

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Didn't know that. So no connection at all?

The Fox umbrella company was founded in London in the 1860s by one Thomas Fox, who offered umbrellas with frames made of whalebone. The lighter Fox frame was invented independently by Samuel Fox, who was not related to Thomas Fox. Fox umbrellas, however, began using the Fox frame, as did umbrella manufacturers in general.

The brolly in the picture cost around 90 euro's and solid sticks are from 145 to 170 euro's.

Original thread: http://www.stijlforum.nl/SMF/index.p...ic,133.30.html

Originally Posted by gdl203

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Was it very windy? Is it a 10-rib umbrella? As I've reported here a couple times, one of my Briggs umbrella bent a rib against NY's strong wind like it was warm butter.

It wasn't consistent storm force winds - rather those sorts of heavy gusts (maybe 25 to 30mph) that sweep in when a thunderstorm arrives. I find they can be more difficult for an umbrella to handle because they take you by surprise and can catch the underside of the brolly if you are not careful. It's a normal 8 rib black nylon Brigg with cherrywood shaft which I have had for about 6 years. It gets a LOT of use as I live in Brighton on the south coast and work in Brighton and London so it has seen its fair share of bad weather! Sorry to hear about your Brigg - how bad was the weather when the umbrella was damaged - I hope you were able to get it repaired...

Originally Posted by chorse123

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That's a good price for a Brigg solid stick, assuming that they have all the top-of-the-line construction and materials. Are they branded with the shop's name and not labeled Brigg?


Those posts were about two different types of umbrellas Brigg makes (the top-of-the-line gentleman's umbrella and the thin metal shafted. It just so happened that the ones I had available at the time for reference were bark ash solid stick and the thin metal shafted malacca. If they're both made to the top-of-the-line specs, I wouldn't say that the bark ash is an objectively better umbrella, although I haven't put them through a decade of wear and tear. It's mostly a matter of preference.

Right. But my question is then, which are the "top of the line" umbrellas then? All solid sticks? Judging from your remark to entrero, it is not as simple as that.

None of the websites I have seen, seem to mention any of the things on the "quality check list" that you posted. And again, on the official site, there is not that great price difference.

I am sorry, if I am being difficult, I am just trying to figgure out exactly what is the best quality and worth buying and what is just a "brand name"...

Originally Posted by tricota

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Right. But my question is then, which are the "top of the line" umbrellas then? All solid sticks? Judging from your remark to entrero, it is not as simple as that.

None of the websites I have seen, seem to mention any of the things on the "quality check list" that you posted. And again, on the official site, there is not that great price difference.

I am sorry, if I am being difficult, I am just trying to figgure out exactly what is the best quality and worth buying and what is just a "brand name"...

I'm not sure that Brigg do the metal shaft "tube" umbrellas (certainly not in their St James's shop but possibly they do in Papworth).

I bought my current cherrywood Brigg to replace a metal tube Fox umbrella which blew out completely in a bad storm in Brighton. A couple of the ribs broke and whilst I was hanging on to the brolly and struggling to get it down, the gusts were still battering the underside of the cover. When I got the umbrella under control I discovered that the central metal shaft had also been badly bent by the experience, and that is what encouraged me to go for a solid wood shaft for my next purchase. Not sure if that answers your question but I hope it helps....

Originally Posted by tricota

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Right. But my question is then, which are the "top of the line" umbrellas then? All solid sticks? Judging from your remark to entrero, it is not as simple as that.
Entrero was talking about a store in the Netherlands which apparently carries house branded Brigg. I've never been there, and I have no idea if these are made with all the bells and whistles. I seem to recall seeing Brigg for other private labels in the past that didn't have things like a rosette. I only mentioned it because he said they didn't have the Warrant, and the price was very good.

Originally Posted by tricota

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None of the websites I have seen, seem to mention any of the things on the "quality check list" that you posted. And again, on the official site, there is not that great price difference.
Well, too bad for them! I put the list together based on the materials I have from Brigg on all the umbrellas in the line, since there was a discussion on what constituted a quality umbrella. You should watch the video from the how it's made show: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3w...ellas_business

Originally Posted by tricota

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I am sorry, if I am being difficult, I am just trying to figgure out exactly what is the best quality and worth buying and what is just a "brand name"...
You might be paying more for Brigg's name (and distribution--the frequently cited alternative of Smith is not available wholesale and so is harder to buy) but the difference is a lot less than with other luxury brands. I mean, they're not taking out full page ads in Vanity Fair with a half naked Giselle. Although that might more some more brollies.

Let's get this back on track!

FYI: the pics are hyperlinking to your admin site.

A while back I went up to the Brigg factory on the day of some new deliveries, managed to pick up an apple that was priced at £275 for £125 and a custom made (owner no longer wanted it) brigg umbrella with gold/silk canopy for £75 (What a misprice!)!

Originally Posted by chorse123

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Entrero was talking about a store in the Netherlands which apparently carries house branded Brigg. I've never been there, and I have no idea if these are made with all the bells and whistles. I seem to recall seeing Brigg for other private labels in the past that didn't have things like a rosette. I only mentioned it because he said they didn't have the Warrant, and the price was very good.

And most of the Brigg solid sticks fall into the "top of the line" category you mentioned?

Originally Posted by chorse123

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Well, too bad for them!

I put the list together based on the materials I have from Brigg on all the umbrellas in the line, since there was a discussion on what constituted a quality umbrella. You should watch the video from the how it's made show:


.

Hmm...Bad link I think...

Applewood has a very nice grain and color if I remember correctly. I would treasure it if I were you, because they don't source applewood anymore. Quote from Michael Stevens, Senior Salesman for Brigg:

"Whangee wood [Asian bamboo] from Japan is becoming very hard to source because as the country becomes more urbanised, these trees are disappearing. You used to get umbrellas made out of apple wood, but that's all gone because they're growing the apple trees in a different direction these days - they used to grow up but now they grow them sideways so that machines can pick the apples rather than humans. But there's still quite a choice of wood - whangee, cherry, hickory, chestnut, malacca, oak, maple and ash - and they may well be in two different forms, polished or natural."

James Smith & Son Elsbeere solid stick with navy canopy and metal ferrule. Measured for 1.7M tall individual. Gaz

Gaz, when they measure you, is it the length of your arm compared to your legs or is it overall height?

Originally Posted by Ich_Dien

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Gaz, when they measure you, is it the length of your arm compared to your legs or is it overall height?
They only asked for my height.