Thread: Help! My Rooney is shedding

I do not think that you have much to worry about, lightly used brushes shed a bit. To give you an idea, I recently bought a new brush but not a Rooney. It did not shed a hair in the first 2 or 3 weeks but then it started shedding. Since I started counting, it has lost 29 hairs in 14 non consecutive days, this is an average of 2.09 hairs per/day but the brush did not shed 4 of those days, which brings the average to 2.9 hairs per day when it shed ;-). I am evaluating the process. The funny thing is that when I think it is done losing hair, it starts again ;-).

Al raz.

Originally Posted by Moe

I recently bought a lightly used Rooney 3/1 in best. It has lost a few (literally ~ 3) hairs over a dozen uses. As I said, it was lightly used, perhaps the original owner had a problem at the beginning that i'm not aware of. Also, I seldom use the same brush more than 3 days in a row.

While it is not uncommon for a brush to lose a hair now and then, I agree that the amount of loss described here seems a bit excessive. Be aware though, that many times initial hair loss is due to loose hairs that were left in the bristle bundle at the factory when the brush was made and were not combed out properly before shipment. This problem is most common with the more densely filled brushes.

However, what we ask our customers to do first is this. Give the brush a good aggressive shampoo with their normal hair shampoo. Thoroughly rinse it out and let it dry out. When it is dry, comb it thoroughly with whatever wide gap comp or brush is available. Then use it exclusively for a week or so to see if the shedding continues. At that point, everything would have been done that I would do with my own brushes before I classify them a “true shedder” and banish them to the shaving brush wasteland.

As you are aware, Vintage Blades sells a variety of brushes from several manufactures. The problem described in this thread, while not common, occurs with all brands from time to time. It is, as one poster pointed out, sometimes traced back to a batch issue associated with a specific mix of glue that was done for a limited run of brushes. More times than not however, it is limited to one or two brushes in a lot.

I hope this information helps put the matter in perspective.

I wish I could help, but my Rooney ain't shedding.

Jim - that Rooney special that you offer is just a peach of a brush, not to mention with that "coral?" handle, it's really easy to pick it out of the crowd.

It's the first time I've ever heard of this happening with a Rooney so it must be a bad run. Question since I don't have a Rooney. Are the knots handmade? An apprentice maybe?

Rooney brushes are completely handmade at the Rooney factory. By this I mean they do not use pre-made badger hair "plugs" from an outside source. Each brush is individually crafted by a brushmaker, who selects a bundle of badger hair at their work station and shapes it by hand into the desired shape. In addition, Rooney does not machine trim the tips of their brushes, but leaves the natural bristle ends in place. Some have commented on the "irregular shape" of a Rooney brush head that can be seen on occasion. While not that common, and something that is rarely apparent post-bloom, I have always looked upon this as a sign of their handmade character.

As to whether the "shedder" was due to the error of an apprentice, not likely. Having sold literally thousands of brushes, you have to understand that this just happens from time to time regardless of the manufacturer.

If it becomes too irritating just cut and scrape the hairs out of the handle and replace the knot.

bj

I had a Rooney that shed like crazy. Fortunately it had a good warranty and I had it replaced. The second one seemed fine. It was a SMF one, like bullgoose has.

If you want, you could try asking classicshaving if it was ok to try the brush out for a month. If it keeps it up then get a refund or replacement. Sometimes they shed alot at first then stop.

I shampooed the brush and brushed it out per Jim's advice and it solved the problem. For the past several uses the brush has not shed a single hair.