R.A. Rooney's Style 1, Medium in "Finest"

Price: Yes it's a $300 brush. Is it worth it? Well, I would have never even LOOKED at a $300 brush six months ago. I got it because I wanted to try it, fully expecting to resell it at cost a week or two later. I didn't sell it. There you go. It was a great price for the people who have one. A horrible price for the people who don't have one.

Quality: You could kill someone with this brush, rinse it off and no one would be the wiser.

Density: (See Quality, but add in the words "the knot of..." right before "this brush"). Nothing even comes close to this thing in terms of density. The next closest brush I've got is another Rooney, a Heritage Super 3 band that I believe was part of a LE run a few years back. Chubbys, which several people find 'too dense' are THINLY packed compared to this thing.

Stiffness of tips: The only thing that compares is black badger. These things could probably tear your clothes.

Softness: The surprise is that once you get past the noticeable scritch and stiffness of the tips, unlike black badger, this hair is actually quite soft. I have several 3 band super brushes that are softer, but this one is definitely up there in the "soft" region.

Ergonomic: I like the Rooney style 1. It's not my favorite handle, but it gets good marks.

Latherability: Is that a joke. Nothing will outdo this brush on lather. Ever.

Thought I should finally throw a review up for one of my favorite brushes - The Rooney 1/2 Finest.

Price - 10 - Ten you say??? For a brush that costs $290 new? That is right! I initially was hesitant in paying that much for a brush, but after having owned it for a little more than a month I can honestly say it is worth every cent.

Quality - 10 - I have the horn imitation handle that is beautiful. The brush has not shed a single hair ever. The knot has a perfect fan shape and perfect loft.

Density - 10 - This is a Rooney and they are about density. One of, if not my most dense brush I own.

Stiffness - 10 - You want backbone, well the Rooney Finest has serious backbone. So much so that I had to sell my Rooney 1/1 finest because of the shortened loft it just had far too much backbone. The 1/2 with a bigger knot and taller loft compensates for this and is just right.

Softness - 9 - Rooney finest hair is quite simply unlike any other badger hair I've encountered. It has a little scritch when you get it, but after breaking in I find it plently soft and all in all quite fabulous.

Ergonomic - 10 - I love the style 1 handle, but again the 1/1 was too small for me. The larger handle of the 1/2 works so much better and is one of my favorite handles.

Latherability - 10 - The finest will lather anything it sees like mad and I find if you load your product adequately you will have no problem with this knot releasing lather for a 3 pass shave.

Overall - If you spot one of these near extinct brushes, grab it! don't worry about the price tag. I've been able to get rid of 5-10 other brushes since getting this and the money I spent on all those other ones would have been better used towards this one brush. Pure awesomeness!

This brush has it all. It's dense, stiff, soft, great for soaps and creams. It's not cheap but it's the finest brush I own.

Price: This brush can be had for between $290 and $320 which puts it in the top tier of pricing along side Kent and Simpsons..

Quality: As would be expected of a brush of this price, the quality is top notch. Hand made in England, these brushes are perfect in every respect. The quality of the handle, materials used, the knot and the quality of the hair all leave little to be desired. There is a certain heft to the handle and it's well balanced in one's hand.

Density: Very dense knot, however not quite as dense as the Simpsons brush in my small collection. Still a good bit more dense than the C&E brushes I've handled or my EM's place "Horn Silvertip" brush, although to be fair those are brushes that are in the $100 range, not the $300 range. The knot is 24mm, packed quite densely and hold a good bit of water for the size of the brush.

Stiffness & Softness: This brush is stiff, and hold it's shape quite well, weather wet or dry. Springs back nicely and feels great on the face. Not quite as nice as my Simpsons, maybe due to the slightly less dense knot, or maybe the hairs are not as soft. The tips of the Simpson's "Super" felt a but softer to my hands, but this doesn't take away from the softness of the Rooney, which is still first rate.

Ergonomics: The handle of this brush is perfect, and the control of the brush is perfect. The shape of the bulb when wet is nice, a bit narrow yet quite thick and able to paint on on a great face covering lather.

Latherability: This is a suds making machine, for being 3mm smaller than my Chubby 3, it's every bit as able to create a great foam. But where it feels better (and maybe this is due to it's slightly less dense knot) is in it's ability to hold the lather.. You almost don't have to go back into the bowl to get another face full of lather.. It just keeps on going, and going..