Rooney Rooney Everywhere, But Not a Knot to Think

So I'm looking very seriously at the Rooney 1/1 brush for my next and just wondering which type of hair would suit me. I find the difference in sensation between my EJ Best Badger and my Thomas Anthony Super Silver Tip to be almost negligible. Once the brush is wet it's very soft. One of the most important factors for me is firmness of bristle as opposed to floppiness. As we move up the hair levels in the Rooney's, do they get floppier or is there one type of hair that is firmer? Wouldn't want to get a Super Silver Tip Rooney only to discover that the Best or Genuine Silver would have been a better choice for me.

X

IME the 'Finest' is the firmest with scritchyness. The Heritage , while it doesn't come in a shape 1, is very firm but not scitchy. The Super is firmer then say a Kent BK4 but not as firm as the Heritage. The couple of Supers I have had havent been scritcy either.

I got a Rooney 1/1 Heritage "stubby" in what they call super silvertip from Vintage blades, it is not scratchy at all however due to it being so densely packed it tends to not feel as soft on the face when lathering as the tips feel when dry, the brush is extremely firm more so then my custom Shavemac

Well, badger brushes are one of life mysteries.

Generally, the badger hair tips get softer the more you pay.

Most Silver tip that I have seen or used have been super soft and this tends to mask the density. Some are just plain floppy because they are not filled well. Generally though, I have found them to be floppy unless you buy a top end make and pay a lot of money.

If you look at the Kent BK2, BK4 and T4, you will get an idea of stiffness.

The BK2 is made from a stiffer cheaper badger hair. The BK4 is the same brush in silver tip and its quite soft and the T4 is made from a lower grade badger hair altogether and is stiffer again.

If you don't like the BK4, you probably don't like the softness of silver tip. Many men think its too soft.

If you fall in this camp, you are either very lucky and you don't need to spend a lot to be satisfied.

However, the best badger hair is springier than silver tip and feels stiffer. Its tips are spikier than silver tip but pleasantly so. It is great at making a fine lather, it holds the lather well and it release the lather well onto the face. Its also very expensive and more than most are prepared to fork out for a shaving brush. You can tell the best badger hair brushes because they are white tipped with a black band beneath the tip. The black extends almost to the base, with a hint of yellow below the black. It looks almost two banded in colour rather than the three distinctive bands on silver tip brushes.

I had an EJ silver tip and it was the highest grade in their range. Great brush but not what I would describe as stiff. It was very well filled with a nice big dome head, but ...

Simpsons, best badger "chubby" is generally regarded as a stiffer brush. This manufacturer makes some of the best brushes you can buy. I'd ask a reputable supplier of Simpsons brushes for advice and I am sure you will get exactly what you want for a fair price.

Some folks like the 1/1 in finest, but IME it is a bit too stiff. The less expensive super is just right, and has plenty of backbone while having soft tips. I sold mine, since it was a bit too small for me, but if that is the size you are looking for, I'd say get the super from Jim at VB. May also be worth asking Jim for some guidance. He is very knowledgeable and helpful.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

IME the 'Finest' is the firmest with scritchyness. ... The couple of Supers I have had havent been scritcy either.

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Odd that the top line would be 'scritchier' than the Super. :thinking

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Originally Posted by English

... the best badger hair is springier than silver tip and feels stiffer. Its tips are spikier than silver tip but pleasantly so. It is great at making a fine lather, it holds the lather well and it release the lather well onto the face. ...

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Do you mean the Rooney 1/1 specifically or are you only talking generally?

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Originally Posted by English

Simpsons, best badger "chubby" is generally regarded as a stiffer brush. This manufacturer makes some of the best brushes you can buy. I'd ask a reputable supplier of Simpsons brushes for advice and I am sure you will get exactly what you want for a fair price.

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Yes, I'm also considering the Simpsons Keyhole, Eagle and Beaufort all in their smallest sizes, although I suspect the latter of the two will have knots that may not be as dense and backboned as I want.

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Originally Posted by RayG

May also be worth asking Jim for some guidance. He is very knowledgeable and helpful.

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Good idea. Thanks again.

X

PS Ray, I find your avatar intimidating. :roflmao

If you want something with backbone after being wet you definitely will not be disappointed with the Finest. It is without a doubt the only brand of hair that holds that strong backbone...IMHO

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Originally Posted by IsaacRN

If you want something with backbone after being wet you definitely will not be disappointed with the Finest. It is without a doubt the only brand of hair that holds that strong backbone...IMHO

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Well it's out of my price range so I WON'T be getting that brush. Besides, it's a ridiculously opulent brush for a bare bones guy like me. I could never take myself seriously while lathering. :D

X

I absolutely love my Rooney 1/1 in super. It is very dense and firm, but the tips are very soft. The perfect combination IMO. I would not in any way call this brush floppy. It has a great amount of backbone and for me it maintains it wet or dry, lathered or not. Mine is a 42mm loft, which is a bit shorter than the average of 48mm, so that may play in here. When you order from your vendor you can request one that is to your liking (whatever that may be).

I've not tried one, but from what I've read and heard, the Rooney 1/1 in finest is in fact scritchier. Not that this is a bad thing, though, some people prefer scritchier. Also, I think a big reason for the price jump is the two banded bristles in the finest brushes. From what I understand they are harder to come by and therefore more expensive. Some people also really like the aesthetics of two banded brushes.

Personally, even if I had the money to spend, based on what I've heard of the finest, I would still get the super. It's easily one of the best bang for your buck brushes out there.

Either way you decide, on any of these more popular brushes, though, if it turns out that you aren't digging it, they are really easy to sell for nearly what you paid and then you can try something else.

Well I currently own two brushes.

One is a Rooney Style 1 in medium size, suoer badger, current price about $100.
The other is a reject Rooney Style 1 medium style, finest badger bought off Ebay for about $70.

I use the reject, because it is stiffer and much much better. I actually think I preferred the Kent BK2 to the Rooney super badger which for me is just hand picked silver tip with all the floppy softness that comes from that type of bristle.

If you want to buy my Rooney super badger send me a message. Its boxed and like new and I'll ship it over to you for $70. It's the best bang for your buck "silver tip" on the market but in all honesty from the way you are talking, silver tip will unlikely fit your demands. In my opinion, they are all soft and tend to floppiness.

The Rooneys get softer and a bit floppier as you go up the scale until you get to the Finest which is really a whole new ballgame. These are very firm and very soft, but not silky like the "Super Silvertip" - the finest has a more velvety feel to it. To me the differences between Finest and the lower grades of badger are almost as great as the differences between badger and boar; it's really kind of difficult to explain because they're so different.

I got my Rooney 1/1 finest a bit over three years ago, and it immediately shoved all my other brushes off the shelf. It has got an ideal combination of stiffness, softness, and size for working soaps quickly into a great lather, without making a mess even with those little wooden bowls. I've heard that the Plisson HMW with a small knot is an even better brush than the Rooney, but Plisson uses a bulb cut instead of a fan cut and IMO the fan cut is better for soaps. Plus Plisson has an iffy reputation for QC.

The only quirk about the Rooney is that it was a bit hydrophobic when new, but that went away after about a week. It has also gotten softer as it's broken in. Also my Rooney has very little splay - I'd guess it's about 45 degrees or so after it's dried out (only slightly more splay than the one on the classic shaving page), and I suspect this contributes to its firmness. Still, after all this use I'm kind of impressed with the way it's held up. The thing is a tank.

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Originally Posted by xman

Well it's out of my price range so I WON'T be getting that brush. Besides, it's a ridiculously opulent brush for a bare bones guy like me. I could never take myself seriously while lathering.

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You really should consider the finest, out of your price range or not. I thought it was an excessive, silly, impulsive buy when I first ordered it, but this brush is really an amazing piece of work, and well worth the $200 price tag.

Hi i a will ad my worthless 2 cents to this thread. i have the rooney's style one in finest. I have a few others in my little collection of former furry friends. I think it is really a matter of taste in regards to what each of us like in a brush. However it is a little stiffer at the ends more so than many silver tips i have or have tried. I do think most of the rooney brushes are really so well made you cant go wrong no matter which style you choose. Enjoy your search..

Thanks Curtis and welcome to SRP.

I ended up getting the 1/1 silvertip [attached] because it was here in Canada and didn't really cost me too much more than having a pure shipped in would. I am really liking it. I also picked up a pure Simpson Beaufort (no pics yet) and although it is not as dense as the Rooney, the short loft is much more to my liking. I've got a boar brush now too and I'm just fine with all of them from a facial sensation perspective.

X

Nice brush! Well done.