SMF

The brush handle used to be a Limited Edition RazoRock Semogue boar brush that had the handle painted red, white, and green. It is a sister to the Semogue 1305 with different paint. It was a gift that I hadn't used in several years. A couple of weeks ago an embarrassing misadventure resulted in catastrophic paint damage.

In order to salvage it, I removed all the paint and the original boar knot. Nothing wrong with the boar, except that I'm avoiding boar brushes these days, in strong favor of synthetics. The hole measures 22mm, so I set out to locate a suitable synthetic and came up with the densely packed faux horsehair synthetic that I bought from Andrew at APShave. In order to properly remove the knot and the chrome bezel it was set in, I had to remove about 1/8 inch of wood at the top of the handle. Looks like ash wood to me, but only Semogue knows for sure. I plan to stain the handle and give it a deep coat of CA to protect it and make it shine before I install the new knot.

Okay, I'll bite: why have you leaned towards synthetics? The rage these days seems to be all about badger.

I've been using a Merkur 38C and horse hair (Vie-Long) brush with hard soaps for the last 4 months or so, after a near lifetime of gels, canned foams, and mega-bladed cartridges. My experience is obviously limited.

Hi Bill. The current generation of synthetics are superior in performance, and very inexpensive. Make lots of lather and don't hog it. Dry in no time. No shedding. Zero maintenance. I saw one the other day that has a 100 year guarantee. I don't doubt it. No breaking in and (best of all) no scritch. Soft on the face. The latest offerings have a bit of backbone and aren't floppy. Of course, everyone has their own opinion. You might consider trying a synthetic if you have an opportunity. By the way, Simpsons, Plisson, Omega, Jagger, Muehle, and who knows else among the big name brush-makers offer synthetic brushes. Why? People buy them. Lots of them.

brothers wrote: ↑Tue Mar 13, 2018 5:44 pm People buy them. Lots of them.

Including me.
Gary described them perfectly.

And here's the finished product. Eye candy. I used Red Mahogany stain, let it dry for a day or two, then finished it with 9 coats of CA (super glue). It was an interesting project that started out with a good boar brush painted red white and green, and then the paint started falling off. One thing led to another, and now I've got another beautiful one-off synthetic brush that I had never anticipated. The knot is 22 mm.

Edit: Image corrupted so I re-posted it below.

Very nice work on the handle. A handsome brush overall even though I’m not a fan of synthetic knots. Seeing that it started with a boar knot you’ve turned a pig’s ear into a silk purse.

Gary, that is a pretty brush. Nice work!

Original photo above has disappeared so I'm re-posting it.

That looks really good, Gary. Nice work!

It's always refreshing to see an old handle recycled rather than indecorously pitched into the trash. You've done quite a few such projects, so good on you!

- Murray