T&H Silvertip Badger Style I Medium

I wanted to wait until Father's Day, but with the rumor of T&H changing manufacturers and similar brushes out of stock at VB, I decided not to wait. I placed an order on Sunday and received it today. I did a couple of test lathers with a cream and soap, but it won't see it's first actual use until tomorrow. I did lather up my face and it seems to have the same characteristics as my 2 Rooneys, soft with some splay, but with a bigger knot and more substantial handle. I love the caramel striping. The brush came with samples of 9 creams, 6 balms and a pre-shave oil.

My measurements matched the specs on site:
Total height: 96
Handle: 48
Loft: 48
Knot: 24
Base: 37.5

Now for the pics. The last pic includes my Rooney 3/1 and 1/1.

I've got that exact same brush, but in a different handle. Super soft tips and a beautifully made brush. I did have some trouble loading soaps with it, but it's terrific with creams for me. Perhaps you've got better soap-lathering technique than me and will have no problem, especially since you've already got similar Rooney brushes.

Nick

Nice brush!

I just got a Small off of the BST. I've only used it once but I've never felt anything so soft. I thought TGN knots were great, but this is like lathering with a chinchilla. Congrats on the brush, I look forward to seeing your thoughts. Tried a cream for the first run, guess I'll try a soap tonight.

Nick Danger said:

I did have some trouble loading soaps with it, but it's terrific with creams for me. Perhaps you've got better soap-lathering technique than me and will have no problem, especially since you've already got similar Rooney brushes.

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I had a hard time with soaps and my well water until I switched to face lathering. I still can't bowl lather a soap. Most of my soaps are Harris and I find them easy to lather with any brush.

PFP_Dad said:

I just got a Small off of the BST. I've only used it once but I've never felt anything so soft.

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I've gotten to really like Rooney knots. I'll take a Rooney over Thater any day.

Any one can share how is the duke 3 comparing to 1/2? Which is better for face lather?
Thanks.

hon said:

Any one can share how is the duke 3 comparing to 1/2? Which is better for face lather?
Thanks.

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They are both excellent face latherers. I found the Duke 3 to have some scritch relative to the Rooney 1/2. I like the size and weight of the Rooney handle better; it's a bit more substantial. Personally I find the Duke 3 a touch short.

I know I will burn in hell for saying this out loud.

hon said:

Any one can share how is the duke 3 comparing to 1/2? Which is better for face lather?

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I only face lather, mostly with hard soaps. I haven't had a Duke 3, but I have had a Duke 2 and currently have a Duke 1 and a Simpson Rover. The Rover knot is probably similar to the Duke 2 or 3. In my experience, Simpsons have more backbone with less give on the face while Rooneys are softer with more give on the face (splay). Although they have a different feel, they both work for face lathering soaps, although the Simpson may have a slight edge because of its backbone. On the few occasions that I use a cream, I prefer the Rooney.

I want to pick up one of those T&H brushes while they still last but I keep vacillating between the 1/1 and the 1/2. I like the knot size of the 1/1 and the handle of the 1/2. Looking for an all purpose go-to. Recently picked up a Simpson Tulip T2 (23 mm 2 band) and it's plenty big for me. Thinking the 24mm T&H med will be a little bigger and splay a bit more too so I'm considering the 1/1 but wondering if the 1/1 is going to be too small for my big meat handed paws... This should be the worst of my problems, no? LOL...

Nice brushes Brian! I have the 3/1 and a T&H 1/1.

I'm sitting here wondering why more of us don't suggest these when people ask the "best brush for the money" question as they really are great brushes and seem like a good value IMHO.

Greg1911 said:

I'm sitting here wondering why more of us don't suggest these when people ask the "best brush for the money" question as they really are great brushes and seem like a good value IMHO.

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Have to agree. 3+ years ago a Rooney 3/1 was highly recommended for newbies. T&H/Rooney may not have the backbone of some Simpsons, but they still lather anything I pull out of the drawer.

I used my T&H 1/2 for the first time yesterday and it seemed to feel a lot like my Thater 2-band. So today I got tired of watching the weather and pulled out the T&H 1/2 (3-band) and my Thater 4125/2 (2-band) and lathered both up with DRH Marlborough. Although the Thater knot measures about 27 and the T&H 24 there's not a big difference in feel on the face between the bulb of the Thater and fan of the T&H. Both are very soft and have more splay on the face than a Simpson. The Thater 2-band is so soft I can close my eyes and not even feel it on my face. The T&H 3-band is also soft, but I can still feel the brush on my face and I actually like that better. I don't feel any scritch with either brush. So is the $160+Thater a better value than the $87+ T&H (BB discount) + T&H cream samples? Not in my book, but it's yet another case of YMMV.

Gorgeous brush, Brian! I have a Rooney, Style 1, Large, in Silvertip with the faux ivory handle that's very similar (knot 26 mm, loft 50 mm, overall height 100 mm, base 40 mm). It's my largest brush by far-- borderline too large, actually-- but it's otherwise such a pleasure to use, it remains among my favorites.

So the T&H are still Rooneys? I was eyeing the 26mm onyx silvertip on their website. If you see this, ignore my redundant post asking about T&H brushes!

JaxJim said:

I have a Rooney, Style 1, Large, in Silvertip with the faux ivory handle that's very similar (knot 26 mm, loft 50 mm, overall height 100 mm, base 40 mm). It's my largest brush by far-- borderline too large, actually-- but it's otherwise such a pleasure to use, it remains among my favorites.

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I thought about getting the large but I'm glad I went with the medium.

patten1969 said:

So the T&H are still Rooneys? I was eyeing the 26mm onyx silvertip on their website.

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.

The silvertip brushes still appear to be Rooney designs. The onyx has the looks and specs of a Rooney 3/3. I don't know about the "super" brushes. I don't recognize those handle shapes. Maybe those are the other suppliers referred to in the T&H response.

njpaddy said:

I wanted to wait until Father's Day, but with the rumor of T&H changing manufacturers and similar brushes out of stock at VB, I decided not to wait. I placed an order on Sunday and received it today. I did a couple of test lathers with a cream and soap, but it won't see it's first actual use until tomorrow. I did lather up my face and it seems to have the same characteristics as my 2 Rooneys, soft with some splay, but with a bigger knot and more substantial handle. I love the caramel striping.

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First, nice brush!

hon said:

Any one can share how is the duke 3 comparing to 1/2? Which is better for face lather?
Thanks.

Click to expand...

Scritchnscrub said:

They are both excellent face latherers. I found the Duke 3 to have some scritch relative to the Rooney 1/2.

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Are you guys referring to Duke 3s in 3-band Super?

Greg1911 said:

Nice brushes Brian! I have the 3/1 and a T&H 1/1.

I'm sitting here wondering why more of us don't suggest these when people ask the "best brush for the money" question as they really are great brushes and seem like a good value IMHO.

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I agree. My first badger brush was a Rooney Style 3/1 that I bought based on a recommendation from Jake. It was a little over $70 and a terrific value. I almost always recommend 3/1s or 1/2s in response to requests for high quality but affordable, entry-level badger brushes. But they don't seem to get the respect they once did.

See BTW http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/174242-Brush-Chronicles-3-Rooney-3-1-Super-Silvertip

I bought my T&H 1/2 in the early stage of my SBAD. And I didn't appreciate it enough at the time. Now, after I've tried about 50 brushes, it's the only brush besides D01 3-band that I'd like to have a backup.

edgerunner said:

I bought my T&H 1/2 in the early stage of my SBAD. And I didn't appreciate it enough at the time. Now, after I've tried about 50 brushes, it's the only brush besides D01 3-band that I'd like to have a backup.

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Actually edgerunner, it was your comment about your brush in another thread that made me decide on that one over another I looked at.

I feel good now that you like it then. :-D

It looks like this hasn't been mentioned in this thread - you get a 12% discount from T & H if you enter discount code BB13 when you place your order.

Gotta love that!!