Plisson vs Rooney

[petr]

I've seen the pictures, but never held a Plisson.

I understand Rooney well, especially the heritage series 1/medium. Can anyone compare and contrast how the Plisson measures against it?

I see the bulb shape is obviously different.

What about flop?

I generally like a firm brush for soaps.

 

[alabamalawyer]

I depends on what grade Plisson you have. I have both HMW and EW. The EW bristle has a bit more "scritch" to me than the Super Silvertip used in the Heritage line. The Plisson's knot is not as dense as some of the earliest Heritage brushes. The Plisson EW will soften during use. The knot size and density provide plenty of lather without any problems with the brush holding onto it. The size 12s that I have are good with soaps despite the slightly longer loft, in comparison to the Rooney Heritage line.

The HMW three-band is a super soft bristle that is truly unique in terms of softness and firmness. The HMW two-band has softer tips than the EW but performs similarly.

A couple of my original Herigate line brushes, Stubby 2 and Emillion, had some issues with lather retention due to the density of the knots. The bristles had soft tips but were firm due to the knot's density and loft. I have a new Rooney Beehive and it seems a bit less dense, which is a good thing to me. It has nice white tips and is soft but with firmness in the bristle.

I happen to love my Plissons and find their performance outstanding. However, the two-band Beehive that I have has been excellent so far, and will certainly encourage my AD for some more of the Heritage line.

 

[Scissors]

My $0.02:

The Plisson HMW (High Mountain White) is an unusual type of hair. It's soft but I'd say it doesn't have backbone as much as a sort of "springiness"—when compressed, the bristles will bend but when the compression is released, the bristles will snap back into place quite smartly. The Rooney, by comparison, offers a fair amount of resistance to compression, much more so in the Heritage line (I have a large Beehive as well) than with the regular super silver. I think this is a function of the density of the knot in the Beehive.

If you're looking for a "soap" brush, I found the Plisson able to build lather from some notoriously difficult soaps. That post was a bit of a joke, but I actually used the same brush and some Williams for today's shave. I had plenty of lather and had to exert no extra effort.

Mind, I performed the same experiment with the Rooney Beehive, with similarly positive results.

You can find a more serious discussion and evaluation of lathering capabilities of a Plisson in this review of a size 16 HWM. I would say both Rooney and Plisson brushes are excellent, but I think the Plisson is a somewhat better performer when it comes to applying lather. I think you'd be pleased with one.