I received an email this morning announcing Classic Shaving's "private sale" of vintage Rooney brushes with a link to a hidden page on their website. Here is how they described the offering:
"From the way-back shelves of the Classic Shaving warehouse vaults comes an assortment of old-style R. A. Rooney Shaving Brushes that we are releasing to the public. Currently only accessible through this newsletter, weve created a hidden page of discontinued Rooney treasures that are brand new and never-been-used but wont be available again once they are sold. And because we want these babies to move, were knocking 15% off their original retail prices.
The Backstory: In the past, Rooney brushes were divided into FIVE grades of Badger Hair: The basic Pure Badger Hair brushes were the least expensive, next came the Best Badger, then the Silvertip, then a step up from that, the Super Badger, and finally, the crème de la crème of Badger Hair brushes: Rooneys Finest. The lettering on the old-style brush handles is indicative of this old system of grading: the name ROONEY in block letters (which is now replaced with Rooney in script on brushes in their current lines which is all we now sell openly on our website). A while back, Rooney decided to combine two of the badger grades (Silvertip and Super Silvertip) into one grade called "Genuine Silvertip." Here is your chance to grab some brushes that still differentiate between "Silvertip" and "Super" badger. While we cant say we have any of Rooneys Finest to offer you this time around, here is your chance to get a new a brush whose fillings are based on this old-style of badger hair grading. Shaving brush aficionados will understand just what sort of one-of-a-kind opportunity this is."
It's me again - Classic describes their current Rooney brushes simply as "silvertip", but vintageblades.com describes their current Rooneys as "super silvertip" (the same description Classic used for these vintage brushes).
So the question is whether the knots on these vintage brushes (they are already sold out) really were superior to Rooney's current output - or are the current "Super Silvertips" the same as the vintage "Super Silvertips"? I guess I will find out soon enough - I bought a vintage "super silvertip" that is essentially a twin to a Simpson Polo 10.
"From the way-back shelves of the Classic Shaving warehouse vaults comes an assortment of old-style R. A. Rooney Shaving Brushes that we are releasing to the public. Currently only accessible through this newsletter, weve created a hidden page of discontinued Rooney treasures that are brand new and never-been-used but wont be available again once they are sold. And because we want these babies to move, were knocking 15% off their original retail prices.
The Backstory: In the past, Rooney brushes were divided into FIVE grades of Badger Hair: The basic Pure Badger Hair brushes were the least expensive, next came the Best Badger, then the Silvertip, then a step up from that, the Super Badger, and finally, the crème de la crème of Badger Hair brushes: Rooneys Finest. The lettering on the old-style brush handles is indicative of this old system of grading: the name ROONEY in block letters (which is now replaced with Rooney in script on brushes in their current lines which is all we now sell openly on our website). A while back, Rooney decided to combine two of the badger grades (Silvertip and Super Silvertip) into one grade called "Genuine Silvertip." Here is your chance to grab some brushes that still differentiate between "Silvertip" and "Super" badger. While we cant say we have any of Rooneys Finest to offer you this time around, here is your chance to get a new a brush whose fillings are based on this old-style of badger hair grading. Shaving brush aficionados will understand just what sort of one-of-a-kind opportunity this is."
It's me again - Classic describes their current Rooney brushes simply as "silvertip", but vintageblades.com describes their current Rooneys as "super silvertip" (the same description Classic used for these vintage brushes).
So the question is whether the knots on these vintage brushes (they are already sold out) really were superior to Rooney's current output - or are the current "Super Silvertips" the same as the vintage "Super Silvertips"? I guess I will find out soon enough - I bought a vintage "super silvertip" that is essentially a twin to a Simpson Polo 10.
