Brush line-up: Omega, Penworks, and Rooney

[mblakele]

I thought it would be interesting to compare the five brushes I have, side by side (or... maybe I'm just looking for a reason to show off the new-to-me Rooney 3/1/F). I'm not a great photographer, and I used a Canon that has a little bit of lens curvature. But I hope these shots will be useful to someone who is trying to compare brush dimensions. I enjoy face-lathering with each of these brushes, but they certainly have different personalities. The blade packs are included for scale and color balance.

From left to right:

• Omega 10049 (in rotation for about four months)
• Omega 81052 (ca. one month)
• Omega 10066 (ca. two months)
• Penworks STR1-22 (ca. four months)
• Rooney 3/1/F (less that one month)

The next shot compares the Penworks hair with the Rooney hair, from above. The last shot does the same for the 10066 bristles and the Rooney. There's quite a bit of visible flagging in the 10066, and I don't think it's fully broken in yet.

It's amazing how closely the Penworks handle is modeled after the Rooney 3/1 style. I expected them to be very similar, but they are almost identical. The hair is much different, though. Besides the obvious three-band vs two-band comparison, the Penworks has a slightly higher loft. The Rooney leans toward a fan-shape, while the Penworks leans toward a bulb shape. I'm not sure if it's the hair density or the hairs themselves, but the Rooney finest makes the Penworks seem downright floppy. It almost makes the 10066 seem floppy.

 

[Dpflaum]

I think there should be a brush collections thread. Someone with more brushes than I should start it though...

 

[BillC]

I've got an Omega 10065 (yellow handled version of the 10066) that is too floppy for me. Two weeks of breaking it in and getting a tip from someone here to only soak the tips of the bristles and not the whole brush have helped some, but I still wish it had a denser knot and more backbone. How's the Rooney compare since you have both?

 

[rm71]

Nice little collection you have. How do you like the Omega 10049?

 

[alabamalawyer]

Nice set of brushes.

but the Rooney finest makes the Penworks seem downright floppy. It almost makes the 10066 seem floppy.

The Rooney Finest bristles tend to do that. Now you need to try a Rooney 1/1 Finest . . . talk about making other brushes seem floppy.

 

[Rudy Vey]

The Penworks handle is an original Rooney handle, Tony was lucky and got some of the Rooney handles!

 

[mblakele]

I've got an Omega 10065 (yellow handled version of the 10066) that is too floppy for me. Two weeks of breaking it in and getting a tip from someone here to only soak the tips of the bristles and not the whole brush have helped some, but I still wish it had a denser knot and more backbone. How's the Rooney compare since you have both?

They are really pretty close as far as backbone goes, and softness of tips too. It's amazing, considering the price difference. I like the 10066 quite a bit. It didn't hold enough lather at first, but that changed as it broke in. If I remember your thread correctly, I though that either your 10065 needed more time to break in, or it's possible that it had a bad knot.

Nice little collection you have. How do you like the Omega 10049?

Thanks - the 10049 was my first boar. As you can see from the photo, the loft is pretty high. That can make it a little tricky to face-lather, but notetheless I find it very effective with both soaps and creams.

The Penworks handle is an original Rooney handle, Tony was lucky and got some of the Rooney handles!

Ah, that explains it - thanks. The Rooney does seem to be just a little bit more nicely polished, but the faux ivory grain looks identical.