I'm looking to upgrade my brush soon, and I'm sitting on the fence between a Simpson or Rooney under 100 USD. Thoughts, suggestions, pros/cons.
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I'm looking to upgrade my brush soon, and I'm sitting on the fence between a Simpson or Rooney under 100 USD. Thoughts, suggestions, pros/cons.
I have a Simpson wee scott, way under 100 dollars, it saves cream or soap, and it works great, imo. It is small though.
Rooney and Simpson brushes are great high-end brushes. Firstly, you need to ask yourself what kind of brush do you want. Do you want a brush for creams, for soaps, or an all-rounder? Frankly, any brush will work with soaps and creams, but this is how people see brushes.
If you are going for a Rooney brush:
* The Style 1 brushes are considered "soap brushes."
* The Style 2 brushes are considered "cream brushes."
* The Style 3 brushes are considered "all-rounders."
Note: These are very loosely defined brushes. You'll probably find that any of these brushes can work with whatever you throw at it.
I would recommend a Rooney 3/1 in Super Silvertip Badger. The handle is very ergonomic and attractive. You'll have money left over for a high-end English shaving cream as well.
If you are going for a Simpson brush:
You have a lot of options - a lot of options. For your price point, you probably will want to get a brush in their Best Badger grade. Vulfix-Simpson's Best Badger is every bit as good as Rooney's Super Silvertip.
Simpson "Soap Brushes":
Chubby, Classic, Duke
Simpson "All-Rounder Brushes":
Persian Jar, 50 Series
Simpson "Cream Brushes":
Milk Churn, Key Hole
Again, these brushes are loosely defined.
I would recommend a Simpson 57 or a Persian Jar 1 in Best Badger.
As far as Rooney and Simpson go business wise, Vulfix bought out the Simpson brand and is now manufacturing Simpson branded brushes, while no one outside of vendors knows anything about Rooney. Vulfix is pretty open about their operations, and Rooney is not very open about its operations. Vulfix made brushes are known to be made on the Isle of Man. Rooney brushes are supposedly made in London. As far as Rooney goes, we only have the word of the vendors that the brushes are made in the UK. For me, that is enough, but you'll have to ask yourself if you believe the vendors or if you even care at all where or by whom Rooney brushes are made.
Another note about Simpson brushes: Vulfix is known to be really good with its customers. If you have a problem with your brush, and your vendor won't work with you, then Vulfix will fix your problem. So with a Simpson brush, you get two layers of consumer protection: Vendor Returns and Manufacturer Returns. However, given that most vendors are honest, good people, you shouldn't have to contact the brush manufacturer if you have a problem.
Good Luck! Let us know what you get.
Edit: If you have preference for fan-shaped brushes, then Rooney will probably be the better choice. If you prefer bulb-shaped brushes, then a Simpson is probably the better choice.
Great post Alt.
I've had several of both.
I prefer the chubby series the most in Simpsons, and Stubby heritage in Rooney.
You're going to get a softer brush and bigger knot brush for the money with a Rooney. I just gifted a buddy a Rooney 1/1 for 75$. I was surprised at how firm and soft the bristles were, but it's a small brush. If 100 was my limit I would get a style 1 size 2 medium Rooney.
The simpson two bands silvertip are very good though, and my current favorite of all my brushes. I prefer that stiffer bristle now days.
Consider a Thater also. They tend to have more backbone for a silver tip than what you would get from Vulfix or Simpson.
+1 on the Thater,the best bang for your buck by far!!!!!!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigspendur
I would also suggest looking at a thatėr I own one that I feel is every bit the equal of my Simpson or the silver tip vulfix knot custom brush I have at a slightly lower price.
+1 on Thater. I love mine!
I've been through lots of brushes (Simpson, Rooney, Vulfix, Plisson, goldennib, Semogue, etc.) and have settled on a Thater, which I love. Super soft tips with enough backbone. Key word is enough. Sometimes enough is really just perfect and I've found that to be the case when it comes to backbone for me. There was a rush a little while back on ultra stiff backboned brushes and I fell for it, but have settled on enough is enough.
Quote:
Originally Posted by altshaver
This is a great post. You can see several of these brushes on my Fido's Shaving Brush Blog.
I agree with the Rooney 3/1 in Super suggestion. Would go for the next size up Persian Jar (PJ2) Both great examples of these fine brands.
I recently picked up a Simpson PJ2, awesome brush...It seems to be in between my Thater and Rooney...which is exactly what I was looking for.
I started with a Rooney Style 3 Super Silvertip and have been perfectly happy with it for close to a year. A couple of weeks ago I picked up a Franks Shaving Company Fine badger because what the heck it was only $19 plus shipping. I have been very surprised by it. I like everything about it better than the almost four times as expensive Rooney. It is bigger, loads better, holds more lather, it the perfect balance of body and softness (both better body and better softness than the Rooney) and it works fine both with hard soaps like MWF and soft creams like Castle Forbes. It lost one hair the first time I used it and has lost one more since. The Rooney dropped a few hairs out of the box and loses another hair from time to time. When I ordered The Franks I was hoping it wouldn't be too markedly inferior to my Rooney. To have it perform better in every area that matters to me just blows me away.
I've owned a Rooney 3/1 Super, 1/1 Finest, and 1/2 Finest.
I sold both the 3/1 and 1/1. The 3/1 was too dense and the 1/1 was a combination of too dense and too stubby. I really love the 1/2 but you cannot get the finest anymore. Not sure how the Super in this size would be, but this is my favorite size for rooney's.
For simpson's I've owned a CH1 best, CH2 best, CH1 super 3-band, Simfix Grosvenor 2-band, and a Tulip T2 super 3-band.
The CH1 super in 3-band is my favorite, though out of your price range. Simpson's best grade of hair is very good though and I've heard great things about the colonel X2L and Duke 3, which seem to fit your price range more.
Shavemac's are another brush to look at and seem to be as well regarded as the Thater's.
Best of luck in your pick, but you really can't go wrong with any of these brands.
What are the Simpson Beaufort brushes designed for? Soap, Cream, All 'Round.
This brush will probably work with whatever you throw at it. Many people consider this brush a beginner's brush due to its price point and grade of badger hair. This brush only comes in Pure Badger, which is considered the coarsest of all badger grades. Given that, most people would consider it a "soap brush." I have never used this brush and hope that someone with experience with this brush will chime in to help you out.Quote:
Originally Posted by bconl205
Again, good luck!
I think I've settled on a Simpson as I will be ordering from SRD. Is is worth the money to spend the extra 50 to get a super as I'm looking for something I will be happy with for a while, or will I even be able to tell a difference in the next few years?
I would stick with the simpson's best grade of hair. I've owned several simpson's and have sold many off. The only 2 I own now are in best and I don't think at this point it is worth it for the "upgrade" to super.Quote:
Originally Posted by bconl205
Then again I'm completely sold on shavemacs so take that as you will.
Why not upgrade to a New Forest?
I've got Simpson's, Kent's, Semogues etc, but they've seen little use since the New Forest brushes have arrived. I've used them almost exclusively since I got them and been very happy indeed!
They'll also leave you with a bit of change in your wallet, which never hurts!
I was just reading about them. Does anyone know anything about the High Mountain Brushes he will be releasing next year and when next year?
All I know is what is posted on the website..
It looks like early in the New Year. But, I've got the current brush, the Finest Silvertip, and can vouch for it's performance and quality. I just don't use much else anymore...