Rooney Large Super Style 3 - Review

[McNutt]

This monster has a 26mm knot and a realy large handle. Let's get one thing straight. This brush is huge. The handle is huge. The bloom is huge. The loft is huge. Everything is huge. The long handle makes whipping up a lather quick and easy.

Here I'm about to whip up some Proraso soap. Notice how the faux ivory has darker stripes on the backside. These stripes have drawn a lot of criticism, but I'm quite fond of them. I think the handle looks and feels incredible. Really top notch.

Ready for the shaving bowl.

Five seconds of whipping.

Thirty seconds of whipping. To be honest I don't need more than twenty to get fantastic lather. I didn't add any water to the mix and only used what was in the brush.

The hair on this brush is really nice. It's somewhat firm in the shaft but the tips are incredibly soft. It's by far the softest brush I've ever encountered. It really has a luxurious feel to it. It splays out when I want it to, but for the most part the bristles hold together and never feel moppish. You'd think it would be moppish when you see the bloom on it, but it's quite enjoyable. The brush lost ten hairs with the first lather, but it didn't lose many more (two maybe) during subsequent lathers.

The brush is pretty dense. Not as dense as a Chubby, but denser than my Shavemac. It's also whiter than my Shavemac by a small margin, but that might have to do with heavily-dyed Trumper creams staining my Shavemac's tips.

Rooneys don't seem to get mentioned much on the forums, but I think they are fantastic brushes. Mine cost $159 and I believe it was well worth it. Great brush.

 

[Austin]

Thanks for the review. Classy looking brush.

 

[roughrider]

Thanks for the review. Very nice looking handle.

 

[Agent86]

Nice brush. I'm considering the same thing in medium.

 

[bladerunner]

I purchased on from Classic Shaving, and it is big! I used it with Harris Arlington shave cream, whipped up a shaving mug and it didn't generate a generous amount of lather. I think its the way the head is flat and not rounded out. Nonetheless, it was at a good price $159. I might buy the best badger same size, but in style 3

 

[McNutt]

I have a Shavemac with the lightbulb-shaped head and I think they are equal at whipping up lather. Play around with it a bit and you'll probably get better lather. My first runs weren't quite right as it took some time to get the water/cream ratio just right, but when I figured it out the lather exploded. It got everywhere.

 

[Agent86]

McNutt,

Is your Shavemac a silvertip? If so, how does the hair stiffness on the Rooney compare?

 

[McNutt]

My Shavemac is a Silvertip. It's not quite as soft as the Rooney, which is the softest brush I've ever used. Stiffness is about equal, but the Rooney is denser. The Shavemac's shape helps even out Rooney's density by supporting the inner hair. They splay out with about the same amount of pressure.

I wouldn't call one superior to the other. Very different brushes, but both are very good.

 

[Sam]

Thanks Tony, can you compare the brush to any Simpsons

Sam

 

[McNutt]

The only Simpson I own is a Major in Super. The Major's tips aren't as soft as the Rooney and the loft is much shorter. Combine that with a denser brush and you get a very stiff brush. I think the Rooney would be a good bit stiffer if the loft wasn't so big. The long hairs are more prone to flex. That's not a bad thing as the Rooney is dense enough to keep the hair from flopping. But shaving with a high-loft Rooney is going to be a lot different than shaving with a short-loft Simpson.