Thread: Upgrade to Simpson or Rooney?

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.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

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!!!!!!!!!!

I would also suggest looking at a thatër 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.

Originally Posted by altshaver

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.

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.