Thread: Rooney Butterscotch Score. Some Advice, Please.

Hi guys. I picked up what appears to be an old Rooney brush. It has a partial Rooney sticker that looks like it came loose and slipped down the handle a bit. It has good weight, and is IMO a high quality, lathe turned handle, every bit the quality of the handle on my Duke 2. I believe it to be genuine.
The glue bump at the base measures 22.44mm, and guesstimates with my caliper put the knot opening at Approximately 1mm larger.
It has turned a nice butterscotch over time. I know enough not to try polishing it out with polishing compound, thus ruining that butterscotch goodness, so I will soak it in hot tap water and some Dawn, and clean it well with a nice, soft cloth.
Here are a few pictures.




But, now to the 6 million dollar question, how do I remove the knot?
By this I mean that I plan to drill it out. But, from the weight of this handle I assume it is solid. In other words, I believe the floor that the knot rests on is solid, and most likely has not hollow area underneath.
How would I know when to stop drilling? I have done a few restores, but nothing like this brush handle.
I would greatly appreciate advise from anyone who has done a restore on Rooney, Simpson, any type of vintage handle similar to this. Also, any information on what model this is would also be appreciated.

And, I believe I have at least bought some use from this knot until I can afford a reknot.
Before



After



Now, how I did it.
Originally, the knot looked small, narrow, like it had lost a ton of hair over the years. It was also quite stiff, and felt like I was pushing the palm of my hand into a bundle of straw.
Firstly, I lathered it 2 or 3 times with a very strong antibacterial soap. I did not want to soak it in a glass in a vinegar solution, as I was afraid the vinegar might contact the handle and somehow mare the butterscotch patina. After this I buffed it on a towel, ran it under a hot tap, shook it out and lathered it 3 or 4 times with shampoo. Once again, buffed dry on a towel.
It was a bit softer, but not to my liking.
The next part I do not recommend, but I figured I had nothing to lose. The knot was no good to me as it was.
I remember reading speculation that a certain grade of badger hair (super, or HMW?) might have the tips of the knots bleached.
Why not try that?
So I soaked the final third of the tips in bleach for 4 minutes, rinse, shampoo. Tips are getting a bit softer. Repeat for 3 more minutes. Rinse thoroughly, then lather with shampoo. I could feel the tips in the palm of my hand as I lathered. There was a remarkable difference in softness. 95% of the prickliness is gone. Rinse, shampoo again. Rinse and apply hair conditioner. Rinse thoroughly, buff vigorously on a towel, using circular as well as painting strokes. Comb out the knot, and buff some more. Finally using the palm of my hand to fluff out and shape the knot.
The above pics show the knot still in it's wet state. It is soft, with just a hint of prickle, IMO just the barest shade under the feel of my Simpson Duke 2 in Best. Density and backbone are very good as well, IMO.
I do not know what it will look like after it dries, but I'm very optimistic, and think with a few uses it may even get a bit better. Thanks for looking.

nice handle

Thank you.

Nice brush. If it were mine, I'd keep using it the way it is. Sounds like you have the badger hair softened and working well.

Thanks. I'll definitely be using it for a while until I can afford the knot to re knot it.
But the loft is quite low(48mm), I believe it is Pure Badger, and that it has seen it's best days. I will probably put a TGN Finest or Best in it at a later date, but I'm stoked to use it in the meantime. IMHO the handle is quite beautiful.
Thanks for looking in.

I need to make a correction. I got some information from GD Carrington on another forum. I highly respect his opinion/knowledge. According to him, Rooney used a "very high grade of 3 band Silvertip badger for that [this] particular brush". On closer inspection of this knot, it is indeed a 3 band knot. So I will be using this knot for quite a while before making a decision on what I will finally do.

Still look like it could use some more cleaning, soak for 15-20 mins in 50 percent warm water and white vinegar, with the brush submerged up to the handle.

Shampoo in the palm of your hand with a good hair shampoo, about a dime size dollop. Work up a good lather and rinse well.

Keep doing the vinager soak until the water is clear. Once all the soap is desolved from the base of the brush it will bloom nicely.

Out of vinegar at the moment.
I'm also afraid the vinegar will turn or remove the butterscotch patina built up over time.
Besides, I shampooed it like 8 times.

Bored out the knot today. 22mm hole. I debated leaving it like it was, but it is clear to me that the knot has seen better days. In my opinion, and for my use, it needs replacement.



I have ordered a 20mm TGN Silvertip Standard.
From what I've read this knot has a bt more scritch than their Finest, but scritch or prickliness is a non issue for me. For one I don't mind a bit of it, and two, I bowl lather, so the brush is not spending as much time on my face.
Besides, I have 2 brushes in Finest, and on in the Finest F2. I think it's time to try something else in their line.
I'll set the knot with silicone, and if it doesn't suit me it will be easy to pop it out and order something else, possibly their Silvertip Grade A, which is hear is an excellent knot.