Stinking Rooney!

I just got a new Rooney Type 3 Size 2 "Super Silvertip" from Vintage Blades and boy does it stink! Rather strong musky smell.

In all the brushes I've owned I've never experienced anything quite this. My other brushes are a Duke 3, Thater 4292/3 and a Rooney Heritage Stubby 3. The Stubby is from VB itself. And none of them had any smell.

I've run it through several shampoo washes and also a couple of lather runs but the smell persists. And its losing a lot of hair too but that might just be the break in hair loss.

I am also fairly paranoid about it being clean so I am actually contemplating running it through diluted disinfectant to be sure its sterilized. But fear that it may damage the hair in the long run.

Anyone else experience something similar with a Rooney? I thought of them as the gold standard of shaving brushes and wouldn't have expected them to stink.

Soap and water. I wouldn't use any kind of disinfectant of any kind. The stink will go away. Be patient. Use the opportunity to work on your lathering technique or test out new soaps or something. The hair has already been sterilized by the maker. Soap and water. Congratulations on your brush.... you have a very nice collection BTW.

Ben

My Rooney brushes both came to me used, but every new brush I have acquired has had some degree of funk, including Simpsons and Shavemac. But How_to_Break_in_a_Shaving_Brush has always done the job.

Whippeddog brushes come with a small packet of oxi clean and it works very well. I used the same method yestetday for defunking my b&b boar brush. I shampood it, used dish soap, oveovernight lather - none put a dent in that smell. Three 5 minute soaks in a cup of water with a teaspoon of oxi sealed the deal.

I'll try that tonight with my week old brush. Thanks

Just use it. The smell will be severely diminished within several shaves and gone completely not long thereafter.

GreekGuy said:

Just use it. The smell will be severely diminished within several shaves and gone completely not long thereafter.

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Like Nick says Just use it a few times and let it dry thoroughly between uses to aid in the process. Sitting it in the sun to dry may be of help as well. Within a week or so of daily lathering it should subside.

Thanks for the advice! I will resist the urge to run it through some disinfectant. Hopefully soap and water does the job, and I don't need to get me some oxi clean.

UPDATE

After a week of using the Rooney and frequent shampooing/ lathering even when I wasn't shaving... the stink is all gone now. The brush has stopped shedding hair, and its incredibly soft! I dare say the bristles are even softer than my Rooney Heritage!

Thanks again for the advice, gents!

No need to thank us. A simple brush passaround will suffice

life2short1971 said:

No need to thank us. A simple brush passaround will suffice

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Hahaha nice try!

I had the VDH badger brush and it STUNK! Like a pack of wet dogs that tolled in manure. I did several shampoos, a wash or two with Dawn, and lots of test lathers. It was three weeks of daily use in before it got to a point where at least it didn't spoil my shave. Some brushes are stinkier tha others. Next time I get a stinky one I'll try Oxy Clean. Life is too short for stinky shaves.

Scott

Ducati Scotty said:

I had the VDH badger brush and it STUNK! Like a pack of wet dogs that tolled in manure. I did several shampoos, a wash or two with Dawn, and lots of test lathers. It was three weeks of daily use in before it got to a point where at least it didn't spoil my shave. Some brushes are stinkier tha others. Next time I get a stinky one I'll try Oxy Clean. Life is too short for stinky shaves.

Scott

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Interesting, the only merit I'd give the VDH boar I had was that it did not smell at all. I bought the package in my local supermarket so maybe they were afraid someone would call the health department. My B&B brush stank at first. I thought that a few palm lathers would be enough and it would be ok for shaving. Boy was I wrong, the smell was so strong I felt it even after the shave. Fron now on, Oxi soak is the way to go. The brush has been terrific ever since actually.

(you know what they say) The badder the stink, the better the brush. Stink is a sign of quality (lol). Glad that you de-funked it. One of mine smells like vanilla now.