Just a word of caution

[churchilllafemme]

Over the last few months one of my vintage Rooney Finest brushes, a 3/3 Ebony, began to shed quite a lot. The handle still have very crisp, pristine lettering, and since I loved its appearance and feel in my hand, I decided to have it reknotted so that I could continue to use it in my rotation. I sent it to an artisan from whom I had bought brushes in the past, and he put one of his knots in it. But when I got the brush back, I was dismayed to see that half the lettering on the handle had been wiped off. Perhaps the artisan did not know that polishing would remove the lettering, since none of his brush handles are lettered. I suspect he was just tired and very careless. He claimed that the lettering had been faded before he worked on the brush, but as you can see from the images below, this is totally untrue. He refunded my payment, but the damage has been done, and the treasured brush handle is ruined. I don't think I'll ever use it; it's just going to sit in my cabinet as a reminder to be extremely careful about who works on your gear.

Pre-reknotting

Post-reknotting

 

[GearNoir]

Ouch! That’s terrible. Sorry for ya.

 

[Spider]

Ugh. No one wants an ooney brush. Sorry for your loss.

 

[woodpusher]

That ain't right.

 

[churchilllafemme]

Someone suggested having it relettered, but I believe Lee Sabini of Rooney (and maker of the knots for Morris & Forndran) is the only one with the original machinery for it, and he's not doing any refurbishing.

 

[wombadom]

Over the last few months one of my vintage Rooney Finest brushes, a 3/3 Ebony, began to shed quite a lot. The handle still have very crisp, pristine lettering, and since I loved its appearance and feel in my hand, I decided to have it reknotted so that I could continue to use it in my rotation. I sent it to an artisan from whom I had bought brushes in the past, and he put one of his knots in it. But when I got the brush back, I was dismayed to see that half the lettering on the handle had been wiped off. Perhaps the artisan did not know that polishing would remove the lettering, since none of his brush handles are lettered. I suspect he was just tired and very careless. He claimed that the lettering had been faded before he worked on the brush, but as you can see from the images below, this is totally untrue. He refunded my payment, but the damage has been done, and the treasured brush handle is ruined. I don't think I'll ever use it; it's just going to sit in my cabinet as a reminder to be extremely careful about who works on your gear.

Pre-reknotting

Post-reknotting

Thanks for the word of caution. I'm sorry it happened.

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[Joshua223]

Too bad the lettering isn't stamped so it could be easily repainted. That is unfortunate. I don't know much about brushes, but I understand how that could be an eyesore if you had enjoyed how it looked before.
Probably someone out there doing antique restoration that could replicate the print, but it would probably be cost prohibitive.

 

[Spider]

My recommendation would be to find someone that has a laser engraver. Buff off the letters completely and engrave new ones that can be filled in with paint.

Ken at Paladin would be my first thought. Not sure if he'd agree to work on another brand's brush, but it never hurts to ask.

 

[churchilllafemme]

Since he has been getting so much good press recently, I feel a need to balance the scales just a bit, and I feel justified in letting everyone know that it was Bob Quinn at Elite Razor who destroyed the lettering on my brush handle and then tried to deny responsibility for it.

 

[churchilllafemme]

OK, the sad saga continues. I finally decided just to have the brush re-lettered and re-knotted with the Morris & Forndran name by Brad Sears and Lee Sabini. (Having the M&F name put on it was the only way Brad was willing to do it.) The brush came back, and unfortunately, whoever did the lettering was ignorant of the fact that the old Rooney Style 3 Finest brushes just said 'Finest Badger' without a printed number. But they printed my brush so that it says 'Hand 2 Made, Finest Badger' even though it is a 3/3 brush, NOT a Style or Size 2.

If they HAD to put a number on it, why not an appropriate 3?? In addition, just to further illustrate their ignorance or carelessness, the invoice that Brad sent me called the brush a 'Simpson.' I wrote to Brad complaining about the bad job they did on the brush, but I received no response at all - no offer to make it right, no admission of responsibility, and no apology. Nothing.

 

[global_dev]

That sucks, i have a finest 3/3 in white (cream?) color. Love the shape and size too.