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Rooney finest in genuine horn?

Not as of yet, unless someone has had a "Bespoke" brush made. The closest are the ones filled with "Heritage" grade hair.

Would you know if Rooney ever plans to make one? My guess would be no because the price would probably be too high for most people.
 
Anything is possible; however, the Finest grade of hair is the limiting factor right now. No brushes in the Finest grade have been available to me for quite some time.
 
It would go head to head with the Plisson horn HMWs - although those mostly seem to be 3-band these days. I am sure that there would be a market for such brushes.
 
I always wanted a Rooney in Genuine Horn, but with a smaller (22mm) knot size. 26mm just seems a bit too much for me.
 
I always wanted a Rooney in Genuine Horn, but with a smaller (22mm) knot size. 26mm just seems a bit too much for me.

I agree with you on this. As much as I love all my Rooneys, 26mm just seems too big for my needs so I ended up getting both a Shavemac and a Plisson HMW as examples of real horn handled brushes. If Rooney ever comes out with a smaller version of this brush I'll probably get one. If it comes out with Finest badger hair, I'll definitely get one! :wink2:
 
No brushes in the Finest grade have been available to me for quite some time.

I applaud them for at least not diluting their grade with substandard hair. Far better they just not sell a hair grade they can't provide. Compare them with Plisson, who started putting out 3-band HMW when they couldn't come by 2-band any more, which makes the whole grading system meaningless.
 
....Compare them with Plisson, who started putting out 3-band HMW when they couldn't come by 2-band any more, which makes the whole grading system meaningless.
FYI, Plisson continues to sell two band brushes. If you order one online and want to make sure it's a two band, just drop them an email. That said, there appears to be little discernible difference at times between Plisson's European White and High Mountain White badger grades.
 
FYI, Plisson continues to sell two band brushes. If you order one online and want to make sure it's a two band, just drop them an email. That said, there appears to be little discernible difference at times between Plisson's European White and High Mountain White badger grades.

Good to know. I haven't needed a new brush in quite some time, but the last time I was in touch with Colonial Drug, they hadn't seen any two-banded HMW in quite a while. Having said that, that was quite a while ago. There was a time when I thought HMW inherently meant two band. Seems to me, if one has to specify either two-band or three-band within a given grade, the standards for that grade are too loose; two-band should be its own grade. As far as I know, a Rooney Finest will always be two-band, which, imo, is how it should be.
 
I spoke with Colonial Drug a couple of months ago and at that time they had one horn handled two band brush in HMW.I ordered a Plisson from AOS not long ago, requested a two band brush and that's what I got. They claimed that they only sell two banded Plissons. Atkinsons did not have any two banded Plissons. Before buying the brush at AOS, I had emailed Plisson about the possibility of ordering a two band brush and they said they were available. Any way you look at it, the two band HMW is probably going away soon.
 
Any way you look at it, the two band HMW is probably going away soon.


~Sigh~ That's what I'm afraid of. And not just HMW, from what I understand; there seems to be a shortage of two-banded hair among all makers. On the other hand, it's possible these things are cyclical. We may just be in a dry spell, and two-band hair might yet make a resurgence. If not, I guess it's a good thing I've got enough two-banded brushes to last me until I'm so senile I get stuck in a home where I'm only allowed to use an electric shaver.
 
Could someone explain why these two-band brushes are so difficult to find? I understand it may have something to do with the Chinese market, where most badger hair is imported from (or maybe I'm mistaken).
 
I don't know the complete answer. When I spoke with Jim at VB about it a few weeks ago he commented that the Rooney finest grade, which I am guessing is the same as Plisson's HMW, came from a different species of badger than the super badger grade. To support that, Plisson does divide their categories by European and Chinese badger hair. Vulfix was asked to come up with 2 banded hair for a SMF group buy on a Simpson brush and couldn't do it. Since Jim has been unable to obtain additional stock on his Rooney brushes and Plisson has started going to three band, there must be a real shortage of this species or its a controlled situation to keep the prices up and the supply low.
 
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