Simpson 2-band - a conspiracy theory

[RayG]

I have been curious about the new Simpson/Vulfix 2-band supers, and this week got a PL8. It is too early to do a review, but looking at the knot, the hair looks really, really similar to my Rooney Finest. Darker and thicker strands than the old pre-vulfix 2-bands. Same springiness as the finest, with similar soft white tips.

The abundance of the new Simpson 2-bands eerily coincides with a shortage of Rooney finest brushes. Last time I looked, the Rooneys were not exactly flying off the shelves, mainly due to price.

If Vulfix is getting the badger hair from the same supplier in China, well, that would make the new Simpsons that much more of a bargain.

Of course, I could be totally wrong.

Anyone with a Rooney Finest and new Simpson 2-band with their observations?

[heirkb]

I have been curious about the new Simpson/Vulfix 2-band supers, and this week got a PL8. It is too early to do a review, but looking at the knot, the hair looks really, really similar to my Rooney Finest. Darker and thicker strands than the old pre-vulfix 2-bands. Same springiness as the finest, with similar soft white tips.

The abundance of the new Simpson 2-bands eerily coincides with a shortage of Rooney finest brushes. Last time I looked, the Rooneys were not exactly flying off the shelves, mainly due to price.

If Vulfix is getting the badger hair from the same supplier in China, well, that would make the new Simpsons that much more of a bargain.

Of course, I could be totally wrong.

Anyone with a Rooney Finest and new Simpson 2-band with their observations?

Mine don't look similar, but feel similar. The Rooney has softer looking bristles, and they are thinner. The Simpson's bristles look thicker. I would say more Rooney is a bit springier and stiffer, but the difference isn't that significant. The Rooney is also slightly scritchier, but it's still a pretty soft brush.

[ZethLent]

Not a Rooney observation but a two band observation all the same.

I owned a Tulip 4 in two band (old Somerset version) and a Polo 10 two band (new Isle of Mann version) and I have to say that were totally different in look and feel. The older one had a more 'natural' look to it. Whereas the new one looked almost dyed/bleached. It has the same look as my golden nib 'finest' knot, although much more dense. The feel of the older one was more prickly and the new one much more soft.

I am personally suspect that the hair in the golden nib is the same as the new simpson hair but really packed into an extremely dense knot. I liked the feel of the older two band better, but presently own neither brush.

[riooso]

I have a Rooney 3/2 Finest 2-banded and a Chubby 1 and 2 in two-banded super. All bought within the last 6 months.

The Rooney is just such a classy brush with a lot of backbone, doesn't tend to be a lather hog and is a little scritchy when you lean into it, which I love. The Rooney finest is the nicest brush that I own. It is not as densely packed as the Chubby 2. One would think looking at the Rooney that it would be a little floppy because the hairs are pretty thin and not very densely packed, but not so! It has a backbone that is very hard to describe, very springy yet not to stiff. Because it is not so densely packed it doesn't hog lather. It is a wonderful brush!

The Chubby 2 is a pretty stiff brush and is densely packed and because of that it does tend to hog lather a bit. I am hooked on the way that it lathers and feels on my face. It has a very different feel compared to the Rooney it is just "softer" and just not have the same authority that the Rooney puts forth. It is a dynamo when it comes to making lather. The Chub 1 is stiffer than the 2 but also a very nice brush but the size is a little small. It is a hell of face lathering brush.

I really have gotten over the Brush Acquisition thing which is great! The brushes were starting to cost more than the razors. If one can afford the Rooney finest it is worth the money but I would make sure that I bought from someone that know brushes. I absolutely love Jim at Vintage because he really makes sure that you get what you pay for. But Alas! Concerning Rooney's I just checked his site and did not find a finest in any of the brush lines.

Take Care,
Richard

[thebigspendur]

There has been a shortage of the top grade for some time now. I wonder if the stuff Simpson is using now is really totally different stuff. I also wonder how Golden Nib is sourcing the stuff when Rooney apparently can't. The brushes I have are all years old now so I can't speak as to how the new compares to the old.

[Maximilian]

I can't compare to Rooney's finest (as I hate any sign of scritchy or scratchy) but I now have 3 SimFix - 2 band brushes (chubby II, Polo 10, PJ III) from the first simfix 2 band batch to the last and all 3 brushes share the exact same characteristics, softness, stiffness, density and backbone. At least I have to give them credit as they have kept the 2 band quality hair consistent throughout the different batch stages and none has shed 1 hair. And Vulfix customer service is top notch.

[JimmyHAD]

I have done a lot of reading on the topic of badger hair and Simpson back when I came around and got a bad case of SBAD. I remember reading that the badger hair used in Simpson brushes varied over time even back in the Somerset days. IIRC drP, the foremost Simpson collector known to man, posted that there was a period where Supers were coming out with barbed tips from that particular batch. The Simpsons I have are all Somerset Supers and all are scritchy and are from the time subsequent to the shedders that were out a few years ago. I love them BTW 'cause I dig scritchy but my point being that the characteristics of the hair will change depending on what is available over time no matter who is manufacturing the brush.

[Lynn]

I guess I have almost as many brushes as most guys, but what is interesting is that the Rooney Finest knot is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is extremely dense. These have always been very stiff brushes which is what I have always liked about them. I don't find them all that scratchy. The Chinese finest that I have seen are no where near as densely packed and although they have some backbone, they are not as stiff as the Rooney finest. The Simpson Two Bands have very good back bone and also are not as densely packed a knot as the Rooney Finest. On the Two Bands I actually like a Plisson EW better than their HMW. To me none of these brushes are what I would call scratchy although some to feel a little softer than others.

Conspiracy????? Don't know..... Availability?????? Don't know...... It has been a long while since there has been any new Rooney Finest Knots available other than old stock from my understanding.

Lynn

[heirkb]

Conspiracy????? Don't know..... Availability?????? Don't know...... It has been a long while since there has been any new Rooney Finest Knots available other than old stock from my understanding.

Lynn

I agree with you here. I think the Rooney Finest hair, though similar to Simpson's 2 band, is indeed a distinct type of hair. It's like how two species of primates have a lot of similarities, but are still different species.

The 2 bands I've tried, I'll list with ratings of 1-5 (5 being the most):

-Simpson (PJ2, supposedly original Somerset though the brush looks like a Simfix. Complicated story with this one): thin bristles similar to the Rooney Finest, but not as dense.
Softness when wet: 3.75
Backbone: 4.5

-Simfix ("Ehsan" brush, i.e. 2 band XL2): hair looks similar to GoldenNib 2 band but has longer white shafts. Less dense than my Simpson and Rooney Finest, but denser than GN.
Softness when wet: 4
Backbone: 4

-GoldenNib 2 band (fan and bulb knots in a few sizes and a few lofts): softest of all these brushes when wet. Also less dense and with less backbone.
Softness: 4.75
Backbone: 3.75

-Rooney Finest (two different 3/1's):

1st 3/1: Not as stiff or dense as my Simpson's PJ2 or XL2 2 band.
Softness: 3.5
Backbone: 3.5

2nd 3/1: Denser and stiffer than all the other brushes.
Softness: 3.5
Backbone: 5

-Plisson 2 band HMW (size 16): Prickliest of the bunch. Also the least dense and with the least backbone (probably the high loft was the culprit here, but the hair did feel less springy just as a quality of the hair itself as well).
Softness: 3
Backbone: 3

Those are just my impressions, YMMV as always. I would conclude that they are all indeed different types of hair, though they are very similar. They all feel slightly different when wet, they hold water differently (e.g., GN soaks it up and starts to feel like silk, while water almost stays on the surface on the Rooney), etc...

[akhorosh]

I have four Rooney Finest and three Two banded Simpson Super brushes.
Somehow I always enjoy the Rooney more…