INCOMING! Rooney Heritage Victorian

[brothers]

Micheal, I see that you used it twice and sold it on B&B already. What happened?

[EL Alamein]

Micheal, I see that you used it twice and sold it on B&B already. What happened?

Say it isn't so!

[bernards66]

TWICE and gone!? And you sold a Somerset Simpson Duke #3 to get it!?....wow!...doesn't sound good...condolences...
Regards,
Gordon

[woodsrider]

I have an early Emillion from the same era as Gordon's....it is very dense with soft, fine tips. At one time, I had a Victorian with very similar loft characteristics. For that reason alone, I ended up selling the Victorian. I hope you got one of the earlier generation brushes, but there's probably no way to tell from looks alone. Keep us updated on your findings!

Edit: Oops....just read that it might be gone already?!

[Antique Hoosier]

Sorry guys...been a bit busy...YES, those issues did happen...Duke 3 Somerset poof...after several years together....The Vicky and I didn't mesh....But TODAY I received the most beautiful little Tulip 1 in the mail...This porridge is just right!

[Squire]

And that's the bear truth.

[bernards66]

Michael, What was it exactly about the Rooney that clearly did not float your boat?
Regards,
Gordon

[Antique Hoosier]

All that beautiful handle and the knot ended up leaving almost me immediately cold. At first I thought I better tough it out, give it a chance, but the next day it so failed to wow me in the least. Now on the other hand my newly acquired Tulip 1 that arrived today performed like a smaller version of one of my favorite brushes of all time, the Plisson HMW. Love at first swipe...and it is the ONLY badger in my den, with one other vintage boar. Also purchased it from Fendrihan, like the Rooney. Great service and pricing there. $111 shipped for the Tulip 1. Beautiful brush, feels like a substantial weighted "chess piece" in the handle. Curvy, with that perfect Tulip "gutter" Knot is bulb and like VELVET but with backbone. Oh yes!

[Squire]

That's a voluptuous description Michael and I know exactly how you feel.

[bernards66]

Michael, Okay, so are you saying that the Rooney worked well but just didn't appeal on some sort of aesthetic level? I'm partially being so nosey because I'm wondering if this brush was much like the older Emillion that I have or whether these Heritage models are different now than they were.
Regards,
Gordon

[Antique Hoosier]

Gordon, the Rooney "worked" and the handle itself is superb. Something was just missing. I felt the knot was a tad blah. My newly acquired Tulip 1 is small but the knot is totally what I wanted. It reminds me of the density and flowthru of my Plisson HMW. I finally found a great brush. Having owned 40 plus brushes of all marques, I have only had a handful that truly suited me. I was going to procure another Plisson HMw if this Tulip didn't suffice. Now that won't happen.

[Squire]

All's well than ends well.

[bernards66]

Michael, Okay...interesting. My older Emillion is a fine piece of craftsmanship, and the handle is also very nicely done. But, it's so bloody dense that it really doesn't actually 'work' all that well. I too am very keen on the Plisson HMWs ( and EWs ) and I'm glad to hear that the Tulip #1 is doing the trick for you. I'm also fond of my older T3.
Regards,
Gordon

[Squire]

I've still got a Rooney Ali Baba in the box because it's just a bit too dense for my use. Beautiful brush and admirably crafted, but, it stays in the box.

[bernards66]

Squire, That's your take also eh? Interesting. But posts from members who have purchased Heritage models more recently seemed to suggest that they're not nearly that dense anymore. That's why I was so curious about the one that Michael had ( however briefly ).
Regards,
Gordon

[Squire]

I've noticed those posts as well Gordon which causes me to believe the newer models have been modified to be less dense, which should result in slightly better performance.

[blantyre]

I have had three of the older heritage series - a Victorian that I still have, a large Alibaba (sold) and a large Alibaba filled with finest. All 3 are stuffed about as tight as you could ever fill a knot - more even that a chubby IMO. The Victorian is filled with very fine silky hair so it works very well - perhaps a bit larger than optimum but nevertheless a great brush to keep in the rotation. The Alibaba finest has backbone to spare with very soft tips - one of my favorite soap brushes, especially good for breaking in a new soap puck and developing a nice concave region without a lot of overflow and other problems normally associated with new soap pucks.

download/file.php?mode=view&id=915

[bernards66]

Rick, Nice to hear further confirmation regarding the unusual density of the older Heritage models. IMO, only a few of the Simpson Chubby brushes I've used/handled were even in the same league. The problem I have with my Emillion is that it is so dense that it hoards too much of the lather down in it's core; it won't release the lather short of manually squeezing it out. It has little 'flow through'. I wish I was happier with it's performance as in all other respects it is a really top shelf brush; craftsmanship, feel in the hand, quality of the bristle, etc.
Regards,
Gordon

[blantyre]

This may be one of the rare cases where a brush that sheds (at least for a time) would actually get better with age! Rooney seemed to figure out long ago how to make knots that don't shed so it's not likely to be a fix for the heritage brushes.

[bernards66]

Rick, No....I suppose not. Really I think that all the 'better' makers 'know how' to make knots that don't shed ( at least don't shed significantly ) but that sometimes it's not actually done exactly correctly. Those notorious Simpson shedders we saw a number of years ago were, we were told, a result of the owners son deciding to order the knot cement from a different firm than they always had in the past. I've been fortunate I guess because I've never gotten a real shedder from any of the firms whose brushes I've bought or otherwise gotten; Rooney, Simpson, Plisson, Kent, or Vulfix.
Regards,
Gordon