I'm thinking of getting a Rooney silvertip style 1 small brush...any suggestion?

[Doctor]

1- Is that brush just too small? and what's type 1 exactly? in the picture i can see that it has a flat top.. is that correct? I need a brush that I can use both for face lathering and bowl lathering.

2- How does Ronney silvertip compare to other silvertips like Edwin Jager etc... because I noticed Ronney's highest grade is NOT silvertip, It's finest or something.

Thanks a lot guys

 

[mblakele]

The style 1 small, or 1/1, is a nice face-lathering brush. It might be too small for bowl-lathering. I had one and the knot was a good size for me, but I found that I preferred the slightly larger style 3 handle (50-mm vs 44-mm tall). Now I have a 3/1 in super: I mostly face-lather, but it is a fine all-purpose brush. It is much like the Simpson Colonel, but slightly softer and less scrubby. My 3/1 has a nice fan-shaped knot, which I like. The 1/1 knot is very similar but tends to be set with a little lower loft than the 3/1, which tends to make it a little more bulb-shaped.

For the styles 1, 2, and 3 the "super" hair is very nice silvertip hair. The "finest" hair was a two-band grade and has not been available for years now: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Shave_Brush_Hair_Grades#Rooney is a little out of date. I think the most expensive grade is now two-band "heritage", which http://www.vintagebladesllc.com/vshop/xcart/home.php?cat=170 says is reminiscent of the old "finest" hair. But that hair is limited to the heritage line, so you might look at the stubby rather than the style 1, or one of the "turned beauties" rather than the style 2 or 3.

Here are some of my brushes for comparison. The 3/1 super is at the front, next to the Colonel. There is a 3/1 finest is at the back: same handle, different hair.

 

[Doctor]

Is the "super" same as the Genuine silvertip? classicshaving and vintagebladesLLC have different names... are they the same?

 

[Oscroft]

Is the "super" same as the Genuine silvertip? classicshaving and vintagebladesLLC have different names... are they the same?

Rooney used to do 2 grades of silvertip - "Genuine" and "Super", but now they only do one labelled "silvertip". As far as I can tell, the current silvertip is the same as the old super, and is what Vintage Blades sells. I think the Classic Shaving "Genuine silvertip" is old stock - the handles have the old lettering on them.

 

[Doctor]

Rooney used to do 2 grades of silvertip - "Genuine" and "Super", but now they only do one labelled "silvertip". As far as I can tell, the current silvertip is the same as the old super, and is what Vintage Blades sells. I think the Classic Shaving "Genuine silvertip" is old stock - the handles have the old lettering on them.

So is the old better or the new?

 

[Oscroft]

So is the old better or the new?

I think the newer "silvertip" is a higher grade than the old "genuine silvertip", and is the equivalent of the old "super". I have a silvertip 3/1 just like the ones sold by Vintage Blades, and I think it's a superb brush.