Stubby 2 question

**edgerunner** · 04-05-2012, 12:56 PM

Does someone now how the 'regular' Stubby Heritage compares to the 'regular' Rooney Silvertip? Is there a significant difference between the two knots? I have the T&H Medium version and am curious now about the Stubby 2 in particular.

**cvac** · 04-05-2012, 01:34 PM

All the heritage knots from VB now use 2-band hair...it is nothing like the Silvertip hair used in the regular Rooney line. Much more backbone, tips not quite as soft, but soft as far as 2-bands go. Check out some threads on 2-band brushes...

**edgerunner** · 04-05-2012, 01:43 PM

I'm curious about the difference in softness the most. Some refer to the Heritage hair as 'gel soft'. It surprises me because my T&H is not that 'gel soft' IMO, and usually, as you said, the 2-band knots have some more scrub than the 3-band.

**cvac** · 04-05-2012, 01:50 PM

You really need to try it yourself. If you have never used a 2-band brush, I would suggest a New Forest as an affordable option that will give you an idea of what 2 band hair feels like...I bought that first before buying a couple more expensive 2-bands including a Rooney Heritage 2XL. For $65, you can't really go wrong with the NF. I've had no problems with mine (24mm faux horn) and I still use it even though I have a dozen brushes and the more expensive 2-bands.

That said, pretty much no 2-band is going to *quite* as soft as as a good 3-band silvertip. So maybe Rooney Heritage isn't for you.

If you T&H/Rooney is starting to feel scratchy, give it a gentle shampoo or use dish liquid (not the stuff for dish machines!) to get all the shave soap/cream residue out.

**edgerunner** · 04-05-2012, 01:54 PM

Thank you, this was helpful.

**cvac** · 04-05-2012, 01:56 PM

If you need super soft tips, get a Thater 3-band Silvertip. Vie Long and Semogue Silvertips are also very soft, but Thater wins for super soft tips.

**edgerunner** · 04-05-2012, 02:06 PM

You said Vie-Long. Did you mean 16510? How soft is it in comparison with the Rooneys, Thaters, and Shavemac Silvertip?

**malocchio** · 04-05-2012, 02:15 PM

the vie-long 16510 is probably the softest of all,with kents coming in second....every now and a a barely used 16510 will come up for sale on the forums at almost half the price of a new one,almost always by shavers who underestimated the cotton candy softness of the 16510 tips.As for backbone,not much,but enough to do a better job on whipping up lasther than my kent bk4,and yes,the knot and the bloom are larger than the bk4,perhaps the bk8 would be a fairer comparison,although the tips on the 4 and 8 are equally as soft.

**cvac** · 04-05-2012, 02:16 PM

By Vie Long, I'm referring specifically to the BGS2012 Beehive model. Superb brush. Thater is the softest of what I have though. Have not tried Shavemac Silvertip, but Thater beats Rooney easily. Again, Thater also beats the Vie Long in softness. Thater is very, very soft. Cloudlike.

There was a thread on softest brush with tons of comments recently...might want to check it.

**Face&Head** · 04-05-2012, 02:41 PM

The Kent BK8 feels soft because of high loft and low density creating a huge floppy bloom. The hair is decent but doesn't compare to the Thater which has plenty of backbone and genuinely extrodinarily soft tips. I have a couple of the Rooney 2-bands and they are wonderful but if you're looking for really soft tips they are not at the top of the list.

**edgerunner** · 04-05-2012, 03:33 PM

You guys made me think how I rate the softness of my current badgers collection. I just put them in order of softness as per my perception, and took a couple of photos. They start with the softest on top left and end up with the scrubbiest on the bottom right.

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**cvac** · 04-05-2012, 04:20 PM

Your Tulip 2 is a 2-band Super right? Well I have the Tulip 3 in 2-band Super. The Simpsons 2-band Super Hair feels very similar to the Rooney 2-band Heritage hair but it is a touch softer than my 2XL's hair at the tips. Also, the 2XL is more densely filled than the Tulip. Nice collection you have there, btw. What is the brush to the left of the Omega in the top row?

**edgerunner** · 04-05-2012, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by cvac

By Vie Long, I'm referring specifically to the BGS2012 Beehive model. Superb brush. Thater is the softest of what I have though. Have not tried Shavemac Silvertip, but Thater beats Rooney easily. Again, Thater also beats the Vie Long in softness. Thater is very, very soft. Cloudlike.
There was a thread on softest brush with tons of comments recently...might want to check it.

I couldn't help it. I just ordered a Beehive Silvertip from Phil for company of my BGS2012LE Natural Horse. I've been thinking how soft it's in comparison with my VL 2-band E16510.

**edgerunner** · 04-05-2012, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by cvac

Your Tulip 2 is a 2-band Super right? Well I have the Tulip 3 in 2-band Super. The Simpsons 2-band Super Hair feels very similar to the Rooney 2-band Heritage hair but it is a touch softer than my 2XL's hair at the tips. Also, the 2XL is more densely filled than the Tulip. Nice collection you have there, btw. What is the brush to the left of the Omega in the top row?

Both the Omega and the Duke 3 shape handle are TGN Finest 2 band. I re-knoted the Omega myself, and Rudy made the Duke for me together with the Emperor TGN Silvergrade Grade A (the 3rd on top left). BTW the red-black Tulip alike is also from Rudy with Shavemac Sivlvertip as in #177.

**cvac** · 04-05-2012, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by edgerunner

I couldn't help it. I just ordered a Beehive Silvertip from Phil for company of my BGS2012LE Natural Horse. I've been thinking how soft it's in comparison with my VL 2-band E16510.

Edge,

I think you're going to love the Beehive Silvertip. I got the natural horse model first as well, then had to have the Silvertip. I've only used the Silvertip twice so far but it is an amazing brush.

**cvac** · 04-05-2012, 04:47 PM

Originally Posted by edgerunner

Both the Omega and the Duke 3 shape handle are TGN Finest 2 band. I re-knoted the Omega myself, and Rudy made the Duke for me together with the Emperor TGN Silvergrade Grade A (the 3rd on top left). BTW the red-black Tulip alike is also from Rudy with Shavemac Sivlvertip as in #177.

Nice. One day I will get a Shavemac/RV. How do you like your SOC badger? Do you find it to be overly prickly/scratchy? I have been on the fence about getting one for quite some time.

**edgerunner** · 04-05-2012, 04:56 PM

I like my SOC a lot. It's not scritchy but very scrubby because of the incredible backbone. The tips are about the same like the LE 2011 Finest 2 which has a ticker and denser knot. Also the SOC has superb flow through. You know well all this is YMMV but my Simpsons in Best, VL 2-band, and TGN Silvertip are scritchy which means I feel them a little prickly when pressed harder on the face. The SOC is just very scrubby