Rooney Style 1 Size 1 question

[Boogie]

For the past 2-3 weeks I’ve been using my new Rooney Style 1, Size 1 exclusively. I seem to be having some issues with it though. It’s an unbelievably dense brush, and this may be part of my problem. I can work up great mounds of lather, no problem there, but once I move to apply it to my face it seems that all the lather migrates towards the center of the brush. I try to swirl, scrub, paint and mash the brush over my face trying to get the lather out of the center of the brush and on my face, but all I get is a thin layer. I’ve tried to use more soap and more water, but I usually end up with the same thing. I’ve tried using less water and working up a lather in a bowl, but still get a thin application layer. If I squeeze the brush I get a bunch of later, but I don’t want to have to squeeze the lather out of my brush, just to smear it over my face.

Anyone have any suggestions? I’m not sure if this issue is because the brush is new, or if I’m doing something wrong.

 

[usqview]

clay-

first, i dont have a rooney...yet. have you tried face lathering? lately i have really been enjoying lathering on my face. especially with hard soaps. i would think that such a dense small brush would be perfectly suited for this.

just my 2 cents,

cheers,
ryan

 

[Boogie]

Thanks for the reply Ryan. I am usually a 100% face lather guy. I just tried to whip up some lather in a bowl after having trouble with getting a good layer of lather using my usual face lather technique.

I’m sure the issue I am having is all me, I must be doing something wrong. I’m going to keep at it as this is a really nice brush, I just need to work on hitting it’s sweet spot.

 

[biomesh]

What I have found is that you have to do a scrub then paint series of motions to get the lather distributed evenly. The dense brushes with shorter lofts can build lather with ease, but since there isn't as much room between each hair to hold the lather, a lot of it tends to move up inside or outside of the brush.

The scrubbing motion builds the lather while the painting motion spreads out the lather on the outside as well as the inside of the brush (since it is using a mild squeezing motion during the painting move).

This has worked well for me with my Rooney Stubby 2.

 

[JCMH]

What I have found is that you have to do a scrub then paint series of motions to get the lather distributed evenly. The dense brushes with shorter lofts can build lather with ease, but since there isn't as much room between each hair to hold the lather, a lot of it tends to move up inside or outside of the brush.

The scrubbing motion builds the lather while the painting motion spreads out the lather on the outside as well as the inside of the brush (since it is using a mild squeezing motion during the painting move).

This has worked well for me with my Rooney Stubby 2.

I have the S3 S1 and I make the lather in the bowl...then I use a circular scrubbing action first then paint on more lather. I hope this works for you.

Regards,

 

[LWF]

What I don't like about the Rooney Style 1 in Small is that the handle and brush always fall into the lathering bowl.

Also--it's so dense and firm. I prefer a brush with a bit more give. And finesse. It's all one thing--tight and wound. And the handle really is too short and isn't designed to rest on the side of a bowl.

Only design that is worse is the Simpson Stubby which for some inexplicable reason many people seem to adore.

 

[yomuppet]

What I don't like about the Rooney Style 1 in Small is that the handle and brush always fall into the lathering bowl.

Also--it's so dense and firm. I prefer a brush with a bit more give. And finesse. It's all one thing--tight and wound. And the handle really is too short and isn't designed to rest on the side of a bowl.

Only design that is worse is the Simpson Stubby which for some inexplicable reason many people seem to adore.

That's an interesting comment, but let's try to answer the gentleman's questions.

Clay, I found all my very dense brushes to require an exceptionally long break-in period (15-20+ shaves), before really hitting their stride. I expect that you may be encountering a similar phenomenon, as I definitely did with my Rooney 1/1's. After this period, however, I rarely find myself reaching for anything else (for soap especially).

One technique that may help, is to not be shy with the 'pumping' as Gordon calls it. That is, mashing the center of the brush down into the lathering bowl, or onto your face, and swirling. I found myself having to do this less and less as the brush broke in, or maybe my technique got better as we got to know each other, but it definitely helped at the beginning. Also, I think you've got the right idea by thinking more water. I'm always surprised by the amount of water these can take, without the lather becoming runny. Definitely play with it.

One last thing you can do, if none of the above works, is give the brush a squeeze at the base of the bristles. This will force the lather out to the tips, and either allow you to apply as you wish, or at least see what consistency lather you actually have, and whether you may want to consider adding more water.

Best of luck.

J

 

[JimmyHAD]

What I don't like about the Rooney Style 1 in Small is that the handle and brush always fall into the lathering bowl.

Also--it's so dense and firm. I prefer a brush with a bit more give. And finesse. It's all one thing--tight and wound. And the handle really is too short and isn't designed to rest on the side of a bowl.

Only design that is worse is the Simpson Stubby which for some inexplicable reason many people seem to adore.

Rooney style 1 small is one of my favorite brushes and I don't have any of those problems with it. The Simpson Duke 1 is smaller and it too is one of my favs. There again I find it very convenient and a pleasure to use. Perhaps it has something to do with where I grip the handles ? I have found that I prefer smaller brushes. Those with a larger loft are a bit messier for me to lather with while they may be perfect for others. I like the stiffness and prickliness of the shorter lofts. I recently bought a Kent BK4 and it is about as large as I am comfortable with while others consider it on the small side. Large medium or small I tend to hold the brush at the very end of the handle. I guess that is why having a short or longer handle isn't an issue for me.

 

[scoopster]

What I don't like about the Rooney Style 1 in Small is that the handle and brush always fall into the lathering bowl.

Also--it's so dense and firm. I prefer a brush with a bit more give. And finesse. It's all one thing--tight and wound. And the handle really is too short and isn't designed to rest on the side of a bowl.

Only design that is worse is the Simpson Stubby which for some inexplicable reason many people seem to adore.

Love the Chubby but I agree it doesn't stay put well at all when trying to soak it in a bowl, which is the only thing I don't like about the Chub. I make due with a smaller diameter bowl and not filling it full.

 

[Suzuki]

There's lots of good advice in the posts above.

I think you need to give your brush more time to soften up - another couple of weeks should make a difference. You can also try giving it a shampoo and conditioning, which can help as well.

The Rooney #1 small and Simpsond Duke (and likely the Chubby) - along with any other short handled brushes - are going to fall into your lather bowl/mug. I sometimes just mash the brush down into the centre of the mug and between the lather and the bristles splaying out it generally stays put.

As for lather migrating to the centre of the brush - just squeeze it from the base to the tips as others have suggested.

As for spreading the lather over your face, try using light painting strokes after you work up your lather. Not only will this even up the lather on your face, but its a good way to collect the lather on the tips of the brush instead of mashing it towards the centre. I might also use a little more soap at the start to help create more, better lather.

Also, I find putting some water on my face between passes and doing a little scrub and paint (like when you first build your lather - but only for 5 - 10 seconds) also helps - obviously, you don't want to use too much water or you'll end up with runny lather.

In my view, the best way to perfect face-lathering is with a shave stick or a soft puck of soap used the same way. If you rub a generous amount of soap onto your face (including your neck), you should easily have enough to build enough good slick lather for several pases.

Keep at it and post any specific questions.

FWIW, in my view, the Rooney #1 small and the Simpson Dukes are optimized for use with soaps and face lathering, so my suspicion is that you'll get this down once you give your brush more time to break in and adjust your technique to the brush.

Good luck!

 

[Boogie]

J, thanks for the great advice. I agree that my brush may just need to be broken in. It’s still pretty new, so I plan to give it a lot more use. I will start using more of a “pumping” technique to see if this helps.

I actually love the size of this brush, and think the handle size and the loft size are perfect for me.

Thanks again for the great advice.

That's an interesting comment, but let's try to answer the gentleman's questions.

Clay, I found all my very dense brushes to require an exceptionally long break-in period (15-20+ shaves), before really hitting their stride. I expect that you may be encountering a similar phenomenon, as I definitely did with my Rooney 1/1's. After this period, however, I rarely find myself reaching for anything else (for soap especially).

One technique that may help, is to not be shy with the 'pumping' as Gordon calls it. That is, mashing the center of the brush down into the lathering bowl, or onto your face, and swirling. I found myself having to do this less and less as the brush broke in, or maybe my technique got better as we got to know each other, but it definitely helped at the beginning. Also, I think you've got the right idea by thinking more water. I'm always surprised by the amount of water these can take, without the lather becoming runny. Definitely play with it.

One last thing you can do, if none of the above works, is give the brush a squeeze at the base of the bristles. This will force the lather out to the tips, and either allow you to apply as you wish, or at least see what consistency lather you actually have, and whether you may want to consider adding more water.

Best of luck.

J

 

[Boogie]

I'm with ya, I found out after having a Shavemac 429 that I prefer the little brushes much better. The 429 isn't what you would really call a "big" brush by some standards, but it was much too big for me.

Rooney style 1 small is one of my favorite brushes and I don't have any of those problems with it. The Simpson Duke 1 is smaller and it too is one of my favs. There again I find it very convenient and a pleasure to use. Perhaps it has something to do with where I grip the handles ? I have found that I prefer smaller brushes. Those with a larger loft are a bit messier for me to lather with while they may be perfect for others. I like the stiffness and prickliness of the shorter lofts. I recently bought a Kent BK4 and it is about as large as I am comfortable with while others consider it on the small side. Large medium or small I tend to hold the brush at the very end of the handle. I guess that is why having a short or longer handle isn't an issue for me.

 

[Boogie]

Suzuki, great advice here and along with a “pumping” technique I shall also incorporate the paint stroke. I can see where that would be helpful for gathering extra lather at the tips of the brush, which seems to be my problem.

I was pretty sure that my problems were just due to having a new brush that I need to get used to. That, and I just need to break it in a little bit.

Thanks again!

There's lots of good advice in the posts above.

I think you need to give your brush more time to soften up - another couple of weeks should make a difference. You can also try giving it a shampoo and conditioning, which can help as well.

The Rooney #1 small and Simpsond Duke (and likely the Chubby) - along with any other short handled brushes - are going to fall into your lather bowl/mug. I sometimes just mash the brush down into the centre of the mug and between the lather and the bristles splaying out it generally stays put.

As for lather migrating to the centre of the brush - just squeeze it from the base to the tips as others have suggested.

As for spreading the lather over your face, try using light painting strokes after you work up your lather. Not only will this even up the lather on your face, but its a good way to collect the lather on the tips of the brush instead of mashing it towards the centre. I might also use a little more soap at the start to help create more, better lather.

Also, I find putting some water on my face between passes and doing a little scrub and paint (like when you first build your lather - but only for 5 - 10 seconds) also helps - obviously, you don't want to use too much water or you'll end up with runny lather.

In my view, the best way to perfect face-lathering is with a shave stick or a soft puck of soap used the same way. If you rub a generous amount of soap onto your face (including your neck), you should easily have enough to build enough good slick lather for several pases.

Keep at it and post any specific questions.

FWIW, in my view, the Rooney #1 small and the Simpson Dukes are optimized for use with soaps and face lathering, so my suspicion is that you'll get this down once you give your brush more time to break in and adjust your technique to the brush.

Good luck!

 

[usqview]

clay-


you know, if all else fails you can send me the brush for inspection and possible disposal.

by and chance, could you take a side by side of your 3118 and the rooney 1/1?

i am very curious about the size difference. an over head shot would be great too.

cheers,
ryan