I got mine from Jim at Vintage Blades as the "Limited Edition" - it has a tortoise-colored ring about halfway up the handle, hence its name Two Tone, but it's the same three band Super Silvertip 24mm Heritage grade knot. The current Heritage series is now only available in the two-band Super Silvertip, so if you want three-band Heritage grade Super Silvertip, check out the "Limited" series at Vintage Blades while they last.
This brush is a great value even at the $155 I paid. It will make quick lather of any triple milled soap. Mine bloomed into even more of a fan than the one pictured above, but it also has a bulb-shaped dome. Looking down from the top, the hairs are very dense; like the one on the left pictured above. The backbone is sturdy yet the tips are soft on my face, although not as soft as my 1940s Erskine pure badger but to be fair, the Erskine is a "flopmeister" at this stage of it's life; I just use it for creams and soft soaps these days.
Back to the Rooney: it's my first Rooney brush and I'll never sell it. This brush has lost maybe 3 hairs total the first few shaves since I got it about 6 weeks ago. While it is somewhat of a "lather hog", I face lather most of the time, so I see this as a plus - the brush itself will hold enough lather for 4 passes with the right soaps; just add a little water to the tips as you go. I can't speak highly enough about this brush.
Thank you to all who recommended it, and a big thank you to Jim and Erin at Vintage Blades.
This brush is a great value even at the $155 I paid. It will make quick lather of any triple milled soap. Mine bloomed into even more of a fan than the one pictured above, but it also has a bulb-shaped dome. Looking down from the top, the hairs are very dense; like the one on the left pictured above. The backbone is sturdy yet the tips are soft on my face, although not as soft as my 1940s Erskine pure badger but to be fair, the Erskine is a "flopmeister" at this stage of it's life; I just use it for creams and soft soaps these days.
Back to the Rooney: it's my first Rooney brush and I'll never sell it. This brush has lost maybe 3 hairs total the first few shaves since I got it about 6 weeks ago. While it is somewhat of a "lather hog", I face lather most of the time, so I see this as a plus - the brush itself will hold enough lather for 4 passes with the right soaps; just add a little water to the tips as you go. I can't speak highly enough about this brush.
Thank you to all who recommended it, and a big thank you to Jim and Erin at Vintage Blades.