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Are the older Rooney Shaving brushes with gel tips a myth?

I used to read about these brushes but never from someone who owned one.

Do these gel tips exist?

If so, when did they stop making them?

Take care,
Jason
 
I used to read about these brushes but never from someone who owned one.

Do these gel tips exist?

If so, when did they stop making them?

Take care,
Jason
1. Buy elite razor manchurian.
2. Experiance gellies.
3. Thank me.
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They definitely exist. I used to have the Rooney Stubby 1XL, 2XL and 3XL and they were just lovely. :001_smile

Now, I only have one gel-tipped brush; my M&F 3XL Tortoise.

 
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26 mm Manchurian Knot (I think the handle is drilled to 28mm) with a turquoise handle. Handle is probably 64mm tall.

He sells the knots as separates, so you could put it in a handle of you choice.
 

Space_Cadet

I don't have a funny description.
They definitely exist. I used to have the Rooney Stubby 1XL, 2XL and 3XL and they were just lovely. :001_smile

Now, I only have one gel-tipped brush; my M&F 3XL Tortoise.



I don't even want to know how much was the cost of this one.
 
My understanding is that with gel tips, the tips of the bristles curve and come back around instead of staying straight. Think of the very tips of the bristles being shaped like a fish hook. So the tips can be a bit softer this way. I don't know that they stopped making these, nor do I know if they did anything special to make this occur. If you let your brushes dry you can take a look with a magnify glass to see what the tips are doing.

Some may do this but even with the same brand there are different batches of knots so there's no guarantee of what you'll get.

I have a newer Rooney Heritage brush that does this and several others with tips that are sort of bent but not nearly as pronounced. I wouldn't call any of them official gel tipped brushes though the Rooney is the softest brush I own. I'd think that this might occur in some brushes naturally and that the famous M&F and Rooney gel tipped brushes from way back when were just a really nice batch of top quality knots that seemed to exhibit this quality. I know that if you search for it here you can find some threads with some great pics because I remember doing it a while back myself.
 
1. Buy elite razor manchurian.
2. Experiance gellies.
3. Thank me.
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Derek, if you can show a close up pic of the tips of the hair that would be helpful in seeing if this is exhibiting the same qualities of a gel tip knot. I was interested in the Elite razor knots before you mentioned this so I'm even more curious now.
 
something like this....though I just pulled this image from the internet and don't know what brush it's from.

$rooney gel tip.jpg

You can see the curved bristle tips. The curve should be very obvious and pronounced. Maybe someone else has a better pic of an actual era gel tip M&F or Rooney brush that might be a better example with more curved hairs. I suspect this may be a TGN knot from the site I downloaded it. It gives you the idea but might not be the real thing.
 
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I'll try to take a shot tomorrow (I don't have a macro lens). I can tell you the tips are very hooked and dry to the hardest badger tips I've ever felt (pretty sure I could stab someone). My Shavemac 2 bad silvertip is very gel like, but it isn't the full on gel tips this knot has. It is straight up mushy on the face and I have trouble picking up soap off pucks.

Bottom line, I bought a spare knot from Bob just in case it was this batch only. Talking to Bob after the fact, he stated that the knots are extremely consistent and I've since held off from buying two 28 mm knots for spares.

Also, I always thought that the hooked nature was not why they are so soft. I thought it was the fact that the tip of the hair is so thin/soft, that when it dries out, it curls in. When wet I don't think they are curled. I very much could be wrong without going and really looking at the knot.
 
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I'll try to take a shot tomorrow (I don't have a macro lens). I can tell you the tips are very hooked and dry to the hardest badger tips I've ever felt (pretty sure I could stab someone). My Shavemac 2 bad silvertip is very gel like, but it isn't the full on gel tips this knot has. It is straight up mushy on the face and I have trouble picking up soap off pucks.

Hey Derek, so would you not recommend one of Bob's Manchurian knots? I'm interested in a really soft brush, but I'm hesitant after reading your critique. What do you mean you have trouble picking up soap with the brush? Is it that floppy/lacking backbone?
 
Hey Derek, so would you not recommend one of Bob's Manchurian knots? I'm interested in a really soft brush, but I'm hesitant after reading your critique. What do you mean you have trouble picking up soap with the brush? Is it that floppy/lacking backbone?
Highly recommend it. The tips are so soft that they don't easily pick up soap.
 
I agree ↑
My WD high mountain has gel-like hooked tips.
It is the softest tipped brush I own and yet has good backbone.
 
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