You said it, Ted! Ordering directly from Lee is significantly less. This price increase is right on top of the one from late last year. Is Vintage Blades piggybacking on to Simpsons MAP policy? It would make sense as they could always point to Simpsons pricing and say they're cheaper.
I don't believe you can order Rooney brushes directly from Lee. You can order a Morris & Forndran brush directly from Lee. That requires some some patience at times. This may be one of those times.