First shave with Rooney 1/1 early report

[Audiolab]

I took my newly acquired Rooney stubby 1 in super from Fido out for its first outing this morning. Next to my Simpsons Major this is the smallest brush I own but like the Simpsons it had no trouble producing copious amounts of lather from a glycerin spoap (GFT Rose). This brush has a 22mm knot and 45mm loft, the Major is a 17 mm knot and 41mm loft. There is something satisfying about getting so much lather out if such a small brush but having said that it does confirm to me I prefer a larger brush in my hand on an every day use, maybe at the weekend it is a nice novelty but I want bigger for that morning shave against the clock. The small brushes function perfectly, in fact the shorter loft of this is really different and I like it but I like a bigger tool in my hand most days

Fist impressions of it are it is a great little brush probably and worth the £50 if you could get one new for that (without excessive postage and/or import duties). This brush has a decent backbone although not too scrubby, considering it has probably been broken by Fido this is as likely as soft as it is going to get. It has more of a fan shaped head like all Rooneys do, I now have five Rooneys and will try to write some sort of garble on them when finished trying them.

Tomorrow is the Alibaba Heritage, I have a Stubby 3 band heritage so this will be interesting.

 

[Ecosse]

I have a Rooney 3/1 that I got about a year ago. I'm of the belief looking back that it took about a half year to reach its max softness.

 

[IanM]

I thought that Trumper's Rose was a Palmate soap, not glycerin?

Ian

 

[Audiolab]

Sorry you could be right there, I really meant non tallow which is a lot of the soaps I have.

 

[antdad]

I bought Fido's Heritage Stubby 2 which I think belonged to jhclaire...surprised nobody jumped on it but it's easily the densest brush I have. After a couple of owners it really is no where near being broken in which is not a criticism it just hasn't seen much use. The fan shape is an ideal partner to the density of this brush because it needs to bloom to really breathe, I actually prefer larger brushes so I think and hope this will turn into a great brush after a bit more use.

 

[Audiolab]

I have a Stubby 2 Heritage or I would have had it as well, I have a 3 band one but they are essentially the same knot, quite a bit of backbone and . The Alibaba is exactly what you would expect if you took a Colonel X2L and added a little more density and the feeling that fan shape gives when lathering, this one is a bit away from being broken and I suspect it will be good at everything but not spectacular either, which is praise the Alibaba seems to be a good all round brush, I tried it with some cream last night and the same GFT Roses this morning and it lathers easily. It is very pleasant to use and I like the handle size on this more then the 1/1.

I have to admit the more I use the 2/1 the more I like it, it is incredibly dense but not floppy and not scratchy, a worthy contender to the CH2 but I do have a soft spot for the Simpsons range, the bulb shape has its advantages as well.

 

[antdad]

I think the bulb shape really gives you a chance to feel those soft tips at work whereas the flatter fan shape especially on a highly dense knot seems to act like a uniform mass of tips. Its nice but different.

 

[Audiolab]

I know what you mean,, they are different but I don;t think one is better. I still find myself going for the Simpsons regularly and can;t see that changing even though these are very pleasant to use.

 

[IanM]

Sorry you could be right there, I really meant non tallow which is a lot of the soaps I have.

Thank goodness for that. For one awful moment the word 'reformualtion' was in my head.

Ian