Rooney brushes

[Aztecface]

Fido, that explains some of the D.R. Harris brushes but it doesn't explain the answer you received from the "respected" contact at Taylor's. It also doesn't explain a few other things. Unless they are made elsewhere, presumably in the US, where do the Rooney brushes that are sold in America come from? We've had statements from vendors confirming their manufacture in England. This development only brings up a myriad of other questions. Someone has been hiding the cheese and it's only recently started to stink.

[bernards66]

Fido, Those brushes in Truefitt & Hill etc. that look like Rooney's, are Rooneys. Just as those brushes in Taylors that look a hell of a lot like Vulfixes, ARE Vulfixes. All those shops sell rebranded brushes from Vulfix, Simpson, and Rooney, and have for ages. Even when Rooney was still being run by Priscella Rooney, the majority of their production was in brushes for rebrand to better shops. So there is nothing the slightest bit new, or mysterious, in what you saw in St. James's.
Regards,
Gordon

[Fido]

Fido, Those brushes in Truefitt & Hill etc. that look like Rooney's, are Rooneys. Just as those brushes in Taylors that look a hell of a lot like Vulfixes, ARE Vulfixes. All those shops sell rebranded brushes from Vulfix, Simpson, and Rooney, and have for ages. Even when Rooney was still being run by Priscella Rooney, the majority of their production was in brushes for rebrand to better shops. So there is nothing the slightest bit new, or mysterious, in what you saw in St. James's.
Regards,
Gordon

Bernard

I have long been well aware that the likes of Vulfix, Rooney et al make other branded brushes. I was commenting on just how many "Rooney" style brushes were on display. Nothing new or mysterious, just fact. Shows how popular they are. And rightly too, many are very fine brushes.

That wasn't the issue I was highlighting earlier.

[bernards66]

Fido, Ah....okay. I'd wondered, after I'd posted the above, if I might have misunderstood your post. Clearly I did. My apologies. Have you had any luck with your plans to visit the Vulfix/Simpson operation on the Isle of Man?....or the Kent plant?
Regards,
Gordon

[Fido]

Bernard

This was the reply I received from Kent:

Hello,

Unfortunately we do not allow public tours of our factory. Many of our handmade products, including shaving brushes, are made using traditional craftsmanship that in some cases date back to the 1700's that we would prefer to keep private. With increasing pressure from Far East counterfeits on luxury goods we feel that a few of our processes we would like to keep a secret!

End of message.

Now, I have great admiration for Kent brushes - I have four of them. But bearing in mind stories circulating about who makes brushes for whom I wonder still why a Factory visit is not permitted.

My visit to the Isle of Man is on hold. I am working hard to complete my shaving brush blog.Then I might put the knowledge I have built up about the making and marketing of shaving brushes to some practical use which might benefit other enthusiasts.

[drP]

Mr. Holmes,

The Dukes name is actually Gordon, who used to live in Bernards, USA... just read his posts in full lenght....

[Fido]

Whoops!

Sorry Gordon.

Sad thing senility.

[suffolksupplies]

I was in St James's and Jermyn Street, London today and I visited the 3 Ts and DR Harris. It is widely known that RA Rooney has been dissolved, and the Rooney brand name remains with Mr Sabini. No Rooney brushes were in any of the shops. Rooney lookalikes with the shops brand name were everywhere.

R. A. Rooney & Sons Ltd has been dissolved but obviously they're still trading as a sole proprietor or partnership. They were located in Woodford Green but have moved since.

[Ecosse]

Mr. Holmes,

The Dukes name is actually Gordon, who used to live in Bernards, USA... just read his posts in full lenght....

Is that the 6th borough?

[CMur12]

Mr. Holmes,

The Dukes name is actually Gordon, who used to live in Bernards, USA... just read his posts in full lenght....

Thank you, Peter!

I have been wondering for three years what "Bernards" was, and what its significance was, to Gordon.

- Murray

[bernards66]

Peter was very close....but no banana. I grew up in Bernardsville, NJ and attended Bernards High School ( along with Meryl Streep, among other interesting fellow students ). I graduated from Bernards High in 1966, hence, 'Bernards66'. When I was first signing up for Wetshavers, my wife was doing the sign-in procedure ( that's how clueless I was about computers at that point ) and she asked me what handle I wanted to use and 'Bernards66' was the first thing that popped into my head.
Regards,
Gordon

[CMur12]

Thanks, Gordon. Now, at long last, we know!

- Murray

[DEF]

I think there's a similar story behind user "GED92."

[SiR-ed8]

What a pissing contest this turned out though a quite informative and appreciate info provided.

I have owned 6 Rooney brushes. Here are my experiences:

- Three copies of a 3/1 in Super. First one very dense and soft, but shed, second less dense and more prickly tips, third has a ludicrously high loft (53mm). So, there are QC issues, at least in terms of the brush lofts.

- All three brushes were from Charles Nichcolls, which is (I think) affiliated with Executive Shaving. Both companies are quick to take your money but never, ever, respond to emails. Really shoddy customer service.

- An Alibaba 1, later exchanged for a 2. Also a 1/1 Super. All from Classic Shaving, great service and good communication. A real shame to have to pay import duty.

- A Stubby 2 - From Executive Shaving. A superb brush in every way, not a single hair shed yet. I do not know or care where it is made - it is my favourite brush.

Now, this is the interesting part, I don't know if anyone else has noticed this: My current 3/1 says "Sterilised", while my 1/1 from Classic Shaving says "Sterilzed", American spelling.

So - does this mean that at least some brushes are part-manufactured in the States?

John

John,

Have sold them all? If not which one is your favourite brush? Noticed the Heritage Stubby 2 super you sold.

As far as spelling I checked Executive along with both Classic and Vintage these have the plain font and "Sterilized" spelling:

Here's one in Style 1 Size 1 Best from Executive at 47GBP ~ 71USD

Style 1 Size 1 Best from Classic at $55.99

Style 1 Size 1 Silvertip at 57.50GBP ~ 86.91USD

While perusing sites, Classic Shaving's description threw me off with their "Genuine Silvertip" I didn't know there was even such a thing as phony silvertips. I ascertained that this "genuine silvertip" was in fact a silvertip and not the "super silvertip."

From Vintageblade in Style 1 Size 1 Super-Silver for $74.99 ~ 49.GBP. At that price which is cheaper and higher badger grade when compared to the aforementioned brushes I reckon it's a no-brainer what the obvious choice is no? This isn't the case, review by Mike in Style 1 Size 1 Finest made this even more confusing.

Mike asserts Rooney has reputation for being stiff and dense brush. So much so that the Finest is such a brush to the point of being uncomfortable to use. Mike further purports, out of the box it's scrubby and can be slightly prickly. The latter I'd like to avoid if possible.

All this time I gathered badgers with nice stiffness in spine/shaft and provided somewhat of decent spring rate would be Pure grade. Of course with different manufacturers this can change and as it turns out there is no internationally recognized grading of badgers only that it generally consists of pure, best and silvertip. Performances can vary greatly even with 2 same models of one brand.

So what would you suggest for someone who likes scrubby brush nice stiff shaft? Soft tips are nice but not necessary. Thanks

[notthesharpest]

Hi Ivan

- Badger hair grades from all makers are mostly nonsense. Don't judge brushes based on "Silvertip" etc except in the most general way.

- If two brushes have the same hair in them & packed to the same density, then the one with a lower height:width ratio in the knot will feel scrubbier.

- Most of the time, (and ONLY most of the time), the blacker hair is stiffer, and the lighter brown or grey hair is more flexible. (talking about the colour in the middle of the hair, not at either end)

You may want to look into Simpson 2-band brushes at this time, for example Ehsan, Chubby 1 or 2, Duke, Tulip, others. Rooney seems not to be using the stiff hair that they were previously, but have gone to something much more flexible. However, some of their Heritage 2-band brushes might be another good choice, for example Stubby or Emillion.

I have a Rooney Finest - it was prickly at first but didn't take long to break in and become my favourite brush.

[Janus]

So what would you suggest for someone who likes scrubby brush nice stiff shaft? Soft tips are nice but not necessary. Thanks

If you can, wait untill these are back in stock:

http://www.bullgooseshaving.net/sigrleintwob.html

[notthesharpest]

Janus's choice fits your description perfectly.

[SiR-ed8]

You guys are truly awesome!

Janus,

Funny thing happened I was actually trying to buy the brush awhile back for it had the "add to cart" and when I got to cart page it mentioned how I can't check out for the brush had sold. I thought it was a bug or some kind then I went back and checked to see if it was still available. I reckon system had been updated to where the last one had just sold but the "sold out" prompt didn't replace the "add to cart" function

That's what I get for waiting too long someone must've checked out within those few minutes or something. Will keep an eye out for sure. Many thanks gentlemen!

[Sodapopjones]

Just out of curiosity are the Rooney 1/1's still the old logo and old hair(Super), or have they been bastardized as well?

[SiR-ed8]

Just out of curiosity are the Rooney 1/1's still the old logo and old hair(Super), or have they been bastardized as well?

Aaron,

I'm just finding these things out so I don't know which came before what you know? The plain font or the stylized one. It appears that Vintage carries both style fonts while Classic does not.

What I'm curious of is if either carry "stiffer" scrubby knots not to mention Executive and whomever carried them at one point.