I purchased this many years ago, because the silver tip badger brush is very thick, soft, and certainly on par with my Simpson Manchurians. And the handle of imitation bone is really well made. Forgot I had this and wondered what happened to Rooney. I know there were questions when I purchased it about who really made it and where, but it is of such a high quality I didn't think I could go wrong. Looking forward to trying it soon.
Rooney Brushes - What Happened?
- Thread starter electrum
- Start date
They seized operations years ago.
www.badgerandblade.com
www.badgerandblade.com
What Happened to Rooney?
Coming back to the hobby after a few years off and I find out that my favorite brush company is kind of maybe gone? I see lots of stuff like this: Rooney made some great brushes, it's a shame what the company has been reduced to. But I can't find any definitive info. What happened? I'm kind of...
www.badgerandblade.com
Whatever happened to Rooney brushes?
I began wet shaving probably 25 years ago and remember Rooney brushes were highly recommended. Grew a beard, took time off from shaving for a decade or so. Returned to find some things different. This appears to be one of them. What happened Rooney brushes? They used to be all over the place it...
www.badgerandblade.com
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- Thread starter
- #3
Long story very short, no UK company associated with brush making and named Rooney has existed for many years. I have more detailed info stashed around here somewhere (e.g., incorporation dates, company filings, dissolution, etc.) but it would take me a while to find it.
I've looked but never found "Rooney" as a registered trademark associated with any shaving-brush or brush-maker.
The original Rooney dates back to the first half of the 19th century and possibly to the late 1700s.
In 2003, Lee Sabini became involved with Rooney as a board member and then, as I understand it, purchased the company, which had been in decline for some time. Not long after that, the entity was liquidated for the benefit of creditors. Not long after that, Lee formed a new entity, which was also dissolved within a few years. There might have been a third company with Rooney in the name, but I can't remember off-hand. There were also one or two Morris & Forndrans that Lee was involved in creating, but neither of those companies had any legal relationship with the original M&F, which as far as I've been able to discover never made shaving brushes branded as Morris & Forndran.
Before the M&F Group Buy on B&B in 2013, Lee told me he had sold Rooney. I pried for details, but he never shared much about that with me. He made reference to "royalties" a few time as well as some off-and-on continuing involvement; however, I didn't have an impression that there was much, if any, substantive involvement during the course of our collaboration with Lee from August 2014 through July 2015.
The Rooney Heritage brushes were produced during Lee's involvement. Frank McInroy made those handles. He retired in 2012 after the the M&F Group Buy. (He also turned all of those handles.)
There were a couple of well-into-middle-aged knot-makers (both women, whom Lee referred to as "the girls") Lee continued to use after Rooney's dissolution. I don't know how long. In any case, according to McInroy, they weren't able to keep up with demand, and Lee began sourcing knots from China. There's a very interested longer story connected to that, but I only heard part of it.
I'd guess your brush was originally purchased from either Classic Shaving or Vintage Blades. Handles with the script logo were not Heritage handles, and I suspect Frank didn't make those, although I'm not sure about that. I do know there were some M&F labeled handles that were made in India. I'd guess the knot in your handle was made in China, but I don't know. I could offer a better informed opinion by cutting the brush in half, but I doubt you'd want to do that.
I've looked but never found "Rooney" as a registered trademark associated with any shaving-brush or brush-maker.
The original Rooney dates back to the first half of the 19th century and possibly to the late 1700s.
In 2003, Lee Sabini became involved with Rooney as a board member and then, as I understand it, purchased the company, which had been in decline for some time. Not long after that, the entity was liquidated for the benefit of creditors. Not long after that, Lee formed a new entity, which was also dissolved within a few years. There might have been a third company with Rooney in the name, but I can't remember off-hand. There were also one or two Morris & Forndrans that Lee was involved in creating, but neither of those companies had any legal relationship with the original M&F, which as far as I've been able to discover never made shaving brushes branded as Morris & Forndran.
Before the M&F Group Buy on B&B in 2013, Lee told me he had sold Rooney. I pried for details, but he never shared much about that with me. He made reference to "royalties" a few time as well as some off-and-on continuing involvement; however, I didn't have an impression that there was much, if any, substantive involvement during the course of our collaboration with Lee from August 2014 through July 2015.
The Rooney Heritage brushes were produced during Lee's involvement. Frank McInroy made those handles. He retired in 2012 after the the M&F Group Buy. (He also turned all of those handles.)
There were a couple of well-into-middle-aged knot-makers (both women, whom Lee referred to as "the girls") Lee continued to use after Rooney's dissolution. I don't know how long. In any case, according to McInroy, they weren't able to keep up with demand, and Lee began sourcing knots from China. There's a very interested longer story connected to that, but I only heard part of it.
I'd guess your brush was originally purchased from either Classic Shaving or Vintage Blades. Handles with the script logo were not Heritage handles, and I suspect Frank didn't make those, although I'm not sure about that. I do know there were some M&F labeled handles that were made in India. I'd guess the knot in your handle was made in China, but I don't know. I could offer a better informed opinion by cutting the brush in half, but I doubt you'd want to do that.
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