Rooney super silvertip vs finest: Subjective differences?

[sofauxboho]

I've decided my first truly fine brush will be some manner of Rooney size one in faux ivory, most likely a 2/1.

But now, which grade of badger?

Everything I have now is merely pure. I'd like to try something denser that builds lather ever better, but I'm a soap guy and I enjoy some degree of scrubbyness, so I don't want anything overly soft or floppy.

Would fellows who have tried both Rooney's silvertip and their finest be willing to give me their thoughts on the differences between the grades?

 

[texbilly]

Would fellows who have tried both Rooney's silvertip and their finest be willing to give me their thoughts on the differences between the grades?

I have both. The Finest's combination of backbone and luxurious tips has no equal, IMO. Plenty of stiffness to work the lather, slightly prickly (a good thing) because of its backbone and the softest tips I've ever experienced. The downside? Expensive.

On the other hand, I think the 1/2 Super is one of the best values around: nice density, scrubby without being scratchy, and soft in its own right. Wonderful with soaps or creams.

To me, it comes down to budget. But if you're leaning to the Finest, hurry! Inventories are dwindling fast!

EDIT: If you want a size 1, Finest is no longer available new.

 

[sofauxboho]

Thanks for the quick and informative response, Bill!

A shame that the little ones are no longer available in Finest. Then again, it sounds like I won't likely be disappointed by the Super.

Perhaps I'll keep an eye on the BST while I contemplate my purchase and possibly moving up a size.

 

[riooso]

Rooney Finest in small sizes still available at Classic Shaving last time that I looked.

Take Care,
Richard

 

[Sueto]

Classicshaving.com seems to have 2/1s in Finest, just not in faux ivory. Horn and Black look just as stunning I would say. The 1/1s and 2/1s are out.

Finest is pretty amazing. I have a 3/1 in finest and for me it has the right about of scritchyness and softness. It lathers soaps and creams really well. It doesn't seem to hog the lather as bad as the one in Super, which is relative I suppose.

The Rooney I have in super is a Heritage Stubby. It's a little more dense than the 1/1 I had in super. The brush is soft, feels like it's massaging my face when I use it. The loft is definitely shorter on this guy. Great face lathering brush. I find it does creams better than soaps, but that being said it does soaps really well. The soaps I pirmarily use are Harris, PdP, and CADE.

I don't think you could go wrong with either. It might even be preference. Some people might not like the feel of finest but love super. There was a trade on BST recently of someone that felt that way. If you can spring for the Finest, go for it! Super grade Rooney seem to be readily available, and is a great value. The 1/1 in super is what got me hooked on Rooney brushes. Given your description and desire for density and soaps, maybe a Rooney 2/1 Super or... Alibaba size 1 or 2 in Super.

 

[sofauxboho]

Thanks for your reply, Michael. I'm a bit curious, though: You describe the Finest as just the right amount of scrtichyness (great description!) and the Super as quite soft.

Is the Super softer than the Finest? As I mentioned, I'm looking for something that's still somewhat scrubby, so that would factor into my choice.

I must say, though, it sounds like I can hardly go wrong with the Rooneys I'm looking at!

 

[Sueto]

I suppose you could say that the Super is more coarse than the Finest. This is all subjective to my tastes however, so take it with a grain of salt. I was mostly referring to the tips of the brush. I find finest to be a little more scratchy, and the super not so. Both I feel are scrubby. Finest perhaps prickly, in a pleasant way.

Finest will be harder to come by if you are considering it. If you didn't like it I am sure people here would be glad to take it off your hands heh.

 

[cfriend]

The Rooney I have in super is a Heritage Stubby. It's a little more dense than the 1/1 I had in super. The brush is soft, feels like it's massaging my face when I use it. The loft is definitely shorter on this guy. Great face lathering brush. I find it does creams better than soaps, but that being said it does soaps really well. The soaps I pirmarily use are Harris, PdP, and CADE.

I'll slap a big ol' +1 on the Heritage Stubby 1. Super dense, super soft; a really luxurious experience on the whole. I face lather soaps, and this brush is built for it. My normal soaps are AOS, GFT, Harris, and occasionally QED. Unfortunately I've no experience with Rooney Finest.

 

[GoldenMonkey]

Agreed with everybody. The finest is truly in a class by itself. I have a 3/1 super and a 1/2 finest, and I love them both, but the super feels thin and floppy in comparison, lol...it isn't by any means, but man...the finest...

 

[Frowzy]

In *my* experience, the Rooney finest is a little over-hyped. There is no doubt after using it that it is the ultimate soap brush, but my Rooney heritage is softer and gives me a more pleasurable experience lathering and shaving. The Rooney finest does have soft tips, spectacularly so considering its backbone, but it is a bit harsh on the face. Even after extensively breaking the brush in, if I did a 3, or 4 pass shave, my face would be irritated from the aggressive "scrubbing" "prickly" "exfoliating" etc. effect of the bristles. I have a very sensitive face: your mileage will vary. If I were to recommend a brush purely on the criteria of excellence in regards to loading and lathering soaps, and aggressively prepping facial hair to be cut, I would recommend the finest; however, a big factor for me is comfort, and I can say without hesitation that *I* enjoy my shaves more with a Rooney Heritage in Super Silvertip. That brush gives me what I need (proficiency with soaps, great backbone, "scrubby") without making me feel like my face got in a fight with a badger and lost.

tl;dr *My* personal recommendation would be a Rooney Super Silvertip brush. It's a better value and an incredible brush.

At the very least don't buy a Rooney finest out of the fear that if you don't act, the grade of hair will go "extinct" and you'll never be able to experience it; fear leads to bad decisions. Brushes with two-band hair will continue to be made in the future and are being made today (Simpson, Plisson). If the demand is there, someone will supply the product. Who's to say that the Rooney finest grade of hair won't return, perhaps slightly changed, perhaps better?

ymmv

 

[jkh]

In *my* experience, the Rooney finest is a little over-hyped. There is no doubt after using it that it is the ultimate soap brush, but my Rooney heritage is softer and gives me a more pleasurable experience lathering and shaving. The Rooney finest does have soft tips, spectacularly so considering its backbone, but it is a bit harsh on the face. Even after extensively breaking the brush in, if I did a 3, or 4 pass shave, my face would be irritated from the aggressive "scrubbing" "prickly" "exfoliating" etc. effect of the bristles. I have a very sensitive face: your mileage will vary. If I were to recommend a brush purely on the criteria of excellence in regards to loading and lathering soaps, and aggressively prepping facial hair to be cut, I would recommend the finest; however, a big factor for me is comfort, and I can say without hesitation that *I* enjoy my shaves more with a Rooney Heritage in Super Silvertip. That brush gives me what I need (proficiency with soaps, great backbone, "scrubby") without making me feel like my face got in a fight with a badger and lost.

tl;dr *My* personal recommendation would be a Rooney Super Silvertip brush. It's a better value and an incredible brush.

At the very least don't buy a Rooney finest out of the fear that if you don't act, the grade of hair will go "extinct" and you'll never be able to experience it; fear leads to bad decisions. Brushes with two-band hair will continue to be made in the future and are being made today (Simpson, Plisson). If the demand is there, someone will supply the product. Who's to say that the Rooney finest grade of hair won't return, perhaps slightly changed, perhaps better?

ymmv

Well put, sir.

 

[Sueto]

sofauxboho(Reed),

Frowzy's post is a great counter point to what has been posted so far. He was the one I was refering to earlier in the thread.

@Frowzy
I hope you don't hold it against me that I backed out on that trade heh. Now that you have the Stubby I hope you can understand why I couldn't give it up.

 

[Frowzy]

Well put, sir.

Thank you.

sofauxboho(Reed),

Frowzy's post is a great counter point to what has been posted so far. He was the one I was refering to earlier in the thread.

@Frowzy
I hope you don't hold it against me that I backed out on that trade heh. Now that you have the Stubby I hope you can understand why I couldn't give it up.

No hard feelings! The Heritage Stubby line are great brushes.

 

[Drubbing]

I can't offer an opinion on the Finest, but I have the Super, and I really think diminishing returns would kick in hard after that.

After getting used to it, I really do get get the mythical mounds of lather from just a few swirls on the soap, and its both dense and soft enough to face lather for as long as I care to. In my limited experience, Rooney's do appear to be what shaving brushes really are about.

I'm sure the finest is a great brush, but unlikely to be worth an extra $100 in performance, but we justify the cost of anything for the pleasure it gives.

 

[GoldenMonkey]

I can't offer an opinion on the Finest, but I have the Super, and I really think diminishing returns would kick in hard after that.
...I'm sure the finest is a great brush, but unlikely to be worth an extra $100 in performance, but we justify the cost of anything for the pleasure it gives.

Wrong.

 

[huntmol]

There's such a HUGE price difference that I definitely think you should go with the Super, but I do have to say...

Rooney Finest is really something else. No, I mean it really is something else. As in, I have never felt any brush that feels exactly like they do. It really is insane to think about - they have the most backbone out of any brush I've ever used, but also have the absolute softest tips of any brush I've ever used. Really mindblowing. I recently had someone offer to buy my Rooney 3-1 in Finest and I told them that I don't think I'd let it go for anything less than three times what I paid for it. It's that unique.

 

[sofauxboho]

Frowzy,

TL,DR? Hardly! I hung on every insightful word. Thanks so much for your carefully explained and well supported post. I'm lucky to have had you and Sueto to listen to and learn from, and you've greatly helped me in making my choice.

At this point I'm planning to purchase myself a Rooney 2/1 in Super Silvertip, but then to keep my eye on the BST looking for a gently used Finest of some stripe as well.

In the end, after hearing so much positive about both grades, I figure I'll simply have to try both myself!

 

[riooso]

Regarding the Rooney finest. One thing that I have noticed comparing the Rooney finest with any of the other Rooney brush, in the same brush size, is that the finest isn't as tightly packed. The finest brush does not have to have as many hairs to be as stiff because every individual hair is stiffer. Another benefit is that the finest doesn't seem to absorb as much water and lather. This gives the brush the nice quality of not being as big a lather hog as the super, in the same size. Price...that is the killer!

All that being said the heritage "Emillion" is one of the finest bushes that I own, it is an excellent brush. The heritage line of brushes are awesome and to be quite honest pretty much all most people will need. I did not like the stubby in the heritage line size 2 because is was a real lather hog.


Take Care,
Richard

 

[Sueto]

Now the kicker... If you were ready to pay for a Finest anyway and have settled on super... take a look at the Heritage Alibaba if you like the shape of the 2/1.

 

[nwman]

i have a finest and a heritage and i agree with frowzy.