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A Look At Rooney (Shared)

R. A. Rooney & Sons Ltd.

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"When only the best will do it's a Rooney's brush for you."


The worlds oldest maker of premium quality shaving brushes have enjoyed over 200 years in the business of offering high quality niche shaving products to the discerning gentleman both in the UK and Overseas and prior to that for a century or more in Galway, Ireland.

Unfortunately in 1886 they had a disastrous fire at their Bishopsgate premises when most of their really old records were destroyed, so the exact date of the formation of the Company cannot be positively established. In 1796 the Rooney of that time (todays principal's great grandfather) opened a branch in London at 27-28 Bishopsgate. This branch was ultimately to be extended and became the main factory and Head Office. The Company's trade mark is the Coat Of Arms of the City of London.

The freehold premises in Bishopsgate were sold in 1927 and all manufacturing was transferred to Walthamstow, where the Company continues today.

Brush making over the early part of the Company's history changed very little. Manufacturing however became more mechanised in the middle of the century, first by using water power at the sawmills in Brownville , Ireland and then by using steam power at the London factory.

However, no matter how the world has changed and markets- and the names of markets-one of things that remain constant is their ability to make brushes both by hand and by the most modern manufacturing methods that are quality for quality most competitive.

The City of London Brushworks company are confident that they are able to offer both machine and handmade brushware that is second to none, well presented in the "English Way" to the best advantage.

Many of their bristle buyers and bristle dressers have been with them for over 50 years, and they offer their expert knowledge with every brush they manufacture.

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Here are a couple of my Rooneys. On the left is my 3/1 in super and on the right is a vintage Rooney pure. It is 40+ years old and never used. As you can see they used to sport the company crest but todays models have the embossed company name.

I think the Rooney is an outstanding brush and I will never be without one in my stable.

My advise, you owe it to yourself to give a Rooney a try.
 
Thirdeye,

very nice write up as usual. I still marvel at my 3/1.

When I think of Rooney though, I always have 2 thoughts;

A. Do they have a website

B. Do they offer factory tours.
 
Great post! I do wish Rooney would go back to using the crest though - the plain lettering doesn't do the brushes justice.
 
Thirdeye,

very nice write up as usual. I still marvel at my 3/1.

When I think of Rooney though, I always have 2 thoughts;

A. Do they have a website

B. Do they offer factory tours.

Oddly enough, no I have not been able to find one.

I can't answer that but it sure would be interesting. I did get a phone number if anyone is interested.
 
Thanks for posting! history of shaving and products is what makes part of this shaving world so much fun!

i think ill use a rooney this morning :w00t:
 
No they are not connected but it is commonly thought so. I read an artical that made this point very clear however, they where only two blocks from each other in London.......

I'd be very interested to read that article. Those must have been interesting times to have been living in London, at least if you were interested in brush manufacture!
 
Thanks for the informative compendium, Ray! I have a number of Finest and Heritage brushes, and I enjoy each of them and their subtle differences.
 
I hate to awaken a zombie, but this was a nice writeup. I'm a particular fan of Rooneys and own 6 of them. They were one of my first shaving brushes because my mother's side of the family are all Rooneys. I bought that first one because of the name, not because I had any idea of how good their brushes are. The write-up confirmed my suspicions that they were originally Irish. I do wonder if we might be related somehow as my mother's parents were originally from the Galway area.
 
Thirdeye,

very nice write up as usual. I still marvel at my 3/1.

When I think of Rooney though, I always have 2 thoughts;

A. Do they have a website

B. Do they offer factory tours.

http://www.rarooney.com/

The contact lists a man named Kevin Nicholls who according to http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Company-brings-jobs-Plymouth/story-11482584-detail/story.html is (or was) part of executive-shaving.co.uk who bought into (?) RA Rooney.

The store's site has the little write up about Rooney brushes and some details about the grades, where it's sourced, and how it's disinfected.
http://www.executive-shaving.co.uk/rooney-london-brushworks-company.php

Rooney info is rather ambiguous so take my findings with a grain of salt.
 
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