Restored and shop-made shaving brushes

[brothers]

I have a couple of those in a box somewhere. I really like the way you dressed the sharp edges and the joint in the center of the handle. Classy!

[vferdman]

I have a couple of those in a box somewhere. I really like the way you dressed the sharp edges and the joint in the center of the handle. Classy!

Gary, I find those hour glass E-R's abundant in the wild. They were pretty cheap brushes, think. Hollow molded plastic with unrefined edges. Pretty unpleasant to hold, IMO. After I am done with them I have hard time putting them down. They feel really good in hand. The shape itself is very nice and works real well as a shaving brush handle. It's the lack of finishing touches that really make me dislike the original form of it. I really enjoy restoring these. I have already done about half dozen of them and each one turned out great. I did one with Omega boar from TGN. That knot comes with a black plastic ring on it and looks really good in the black and white 100T. I also did the black and white 100T with a two band finest and that looked fabulous because of the color progression from bottom to top: black (handle), white (handle), black (knot), white (knot). I still have a black and red 300PB or something like that. Same handle, only black on the bottom and red on top and used to be a badger brush with a very small knot. I am going to make a 23mm - 24mm two band out of that one I think. I also saw some of these handles that have a metal ring between the two sections of the handle. Those are really lovely. I will find one of them at some point...

[vferdman]

I just finished another restoration/re-knotting. This time it's Ever-Ready C40. I remember finding my own C40 a few years ago when I started wet shaving again. I actually bough that one myself in a local CVS in the 80's. It had very little use and I did my first ever brush restore on it by replacing the pretty awful shedding boar knot with a black pure badger knot that Larry from Whipped Dog donated to me to encourage my experiment. Thank you, Larry! That brush came out pretty good, but as pure badgers are prickly it did not see much use and I ended up giving it to a friend who does not shave often and actually enjoys the scritch in the pure badger for his shaves. Again, thank you, Larry!

This time I came across a seemingly unused C40 and decided to fit it with best badger knot. It came out great. I added ballast weight to the hollow of the handle as I usually do for hollow handles and this thing is now a substantial brush. About 23mm knot 47mm loft.

[vferdman]

My first attempt at working with buffalo horn. This piece came out beyond my expectations and I reluctantly entered it into my Etsy store inventory as I am really tempted to keep it for myself. This horn blank had two diametrically opposed longitudinal cracks, but the structure of the horn is such that the cracks do not deepen. I shaped the handle first, then filled the cracks with progressive coats of CA, then sanded everything smooth and polished to a high shine. cracks are still somewhat visible, but completely sealed. This process took a long time, but it was worth it.

[vferdman]

I got a commission from a leg shaver for a large two band brush. I went with TGN F2 and ended up with the following:









The dimensions are as follows:

Total height: 94mm
Handle height: 43mm
Loft: 51mm
Knot: 32mm

This brush easily is the largest I have ever made or used. for such a huge brush it performed wonderfully for face lathering. It held about three times more lather than I required for my 3+ passes. The beauty of this resin is difficult to depict with still photography. It really requires a movie because different colors poke through as the handle is rotated. I am very pleased with the way this one came out.

[vferdman]

After making a huge 31mm brush with TGN F2 I decided to try and create a slightly smaller, 28mm one using the F2 knot. The large knot was simply amazing. Really made me think about larger brushes, which as a face latherer I mostly ignored. Well, this brush came out amazingly well and is going into my Etsy inventory.







The dimensions are:

Total height: 99mm
Handle height: 50mm
Loft: 49mm
Knot: 28mm

[vferdman]

I finished restoration of another brush. This one is a Surrey handle with a metal ring that I managed to salvage. I added some gold pain to the two stripes on the bottom. This handle is actually really nice and stout. It is filled with fairly dense plastic inside and is not hollow. Has nice weight to it and the shape is one of my favorite for ergonomics. Simple and effective. I used a TGN Silvertip knot in this brush.

The dimensions are:

Total height: 104mm
Handle height: 54mm (includes the ring)
Loft height: 50mm

[vferdman]

I have made another boar brush using 27mm Omega knot from TGN. I really love these knots. I removed the black ring from the knot so I could set the knot a little lower and also drill a smaller knot hole in the handle. This works real well as the plastic ring is very easy to remove. Under it there is a very conventional glue puck. Here are the pictures of the newborn.

Total height: 108mm
Handle height: 49mm
Loft height: 59mm
Knot: 27mm

[vferdman]

I have created a brush made with a custom resin blank I got from another artisan. It is absolutely gorgeous. I used TGN two band finest again to make a brush with the following dimensions:

Total height: 91mm
Handle height: 42mm
Loft height: 49mm
Knot: 24mm

[vferdman]

I have finished restoring another Ever-Ready brush. This one is 300PBT and is of the classic hourglass shape. This one was originally a Pure Badger brush as it states on the bottom. As usual in these brushes, I added weight to the hollow handle and filled it. I also took off the sharp edges at the top and bottom and polished the plastic to a super-shiny state. The handle feels solid and smooth, like a resin handle. I love the way these ERs come out. This is the first red and black I've done and I really like it.

Dimensions:

Total height: 100mm
Handle height: 51mm
Loft height: 49mm
Knot: 25mm

[brothers]

I have a spare black badger knot I got from Tony @ TGN a while back, and after seeeing how nice this brush turned out for you, I'm thinking I'd like to do another one of my own. Thanks for the inspiration!

[vferdman]

I have a spare black badger knot I got from Tony @ TGN a while back, and after seeeing how nice this brush turned out for you, I'm thinking I'd like to do another one of my own. Thanks for the inspiration!

Gary, these handles really do transform dramatically. I add a heavy bolt to the hollow of the handle. I calculate the length of the bolt so as to be at the right height to the knot to be set at the desired loft. Then I cut the bolt to size and epoxy it in the bottom. I then fill the rest of the cavity with candle wax to just below where the knot shelf would be. I then make the shelf or just pour in enough 5 minute epoxy to fill the space and grab the knot real well. This works great. Also, on the handle itself just sand off those sharp corners with fairly low grit like 150, then work up to as high a grit as you have. I have 1500 grit paper and I usually go through the sequence of 220 -> 320 -> 400 -> 600 - 1500. Yes, I skip lots of grits between 600 and 1500, but it seems to work. I wet sand by hand (no power tools) from 320 up. After sanding I use No. 7 Chrome and Metal polish on the plastic and I find that is what actually pops the glass-like finish on the plastic. This polish has abrasives in it and is finer than 1500, it seems. IT works real well on every plastic I used it on.

Best of luck on the restoration!

--
Vladimir

[brothers]

Vladimir, I go through the same process, except I've been using either epoxy or auto body plastic filler along with the heavy bolts. I like the feel of a solid handle just as you do. I tend to use taller lofts and most of my refurbished brushes have been for my own use, or for my son and son-in-law.

[vferdman]

I made a very large brush with Manchurian badger (TGN F2). I used the butterscotch pearl resin and the shape of the handle was inspired by Simpson Tulip. I hope you like it.

The dimensions:

Total height: 103mm
Handle height: 52mm
Loft height: 51mm
Knot: 31mm

[vferdman]

I have created two more brushes for my inventory.

First one is made with a resin blank I poured myself. It came out very nicely. I used PearlEx pigments and mixed two of them. Violet Brass and Spring Green. This has produced a very beautiful lavender flower/gold look. I used a large TGN two band finest knot for this one. The brush came out big and beautiful

Dimensions:

Total height: 112mm
Handle height: 60mm
Loft height: 52mm
Knot: 31mm














Second brush is made with butterscotch pearl stock I bought at TGN with TGN two band finest knot. This one has a handle shape I have not tried before. I like it. It shows off the handle material well.

Dimensions:

Total height: 95mm
Handle height: 47mm
Loft height: 48mm
Knot: 25mm











I hope you enjoy these!

Happy Independence!

[vferdman]

I have finished restoring an Ever-Ready 100 Boar brush. I used a non-Omega TGN boar knot. I really like these knots. They are very different than Omega, but they work really well and are good from the box. I can only imagine they'll improve with break-in. As I typically do for these hollow handles, I added ballast weight and filled the handle. I polished the plastic, but did not go crazy with seam removal as the handle was in pretty good shape and I wanted to leave it more original this time.

Total height: 100mm
Handle height: 52mm
Loft hegith: 48mm
Knot: 22mm

[vferdman]

I've made two more brushes.

One was an original handle made with Dymondwood material by commission for a travel brush. I used an 18mm TGN two band knot to make a 21mm brush. The brush is beautiful. Dymondwood is amazing material for shaving brush handles. It is extremely dimensionally stable, waterproof and takes polyurethane well. It's also beautiful.

Here are all the dimensions:

Total height: 95mm
Handle height: 49mm
Loft height: 46mm
Knot: 21mm bulb shape












Second brush is for my Etsy store inventory. This one is a vintage Peerless handle that originally had a nylon knot. I replaced it with a TGN two band finest knot. As I always do in cases of hollow handles, I added weight and filled the cavity of the handle before installing the new knot. This brush really shined up. The plastic is in good shape and with weight added the brush feels amazing in hand.

Dimensions:

Total height: 99mm
Handle height: 51mm
Loft height: 48mm
Knot: 22mm









Before knot, weight and fill:

[brothers]

Vladimir, these brushes are sure to please their new owners. I do have another question, as a guy who likes longer lofted brushes. In your experience restoring and selling these brushes with the shorter lofts, do you find that there is more demand for the shorter lofts, as opposed to the taller lofts (around 60mm)?

[vferdman]

Vladimir, these brushes are sure to please their new owners. I do have another question, as a guy who likes longer lofted brushes. In your experience restoring and selling these brushes with the shorter lofts, do you find that there is more demand for the shorter lofts, as opposed to the taller lofts (around 60mm)?

Gary, I set the lofts with a certain characteristic of the whole brush in mind. I guess I am partial to strong backbone brushes and set them accordingly. I never explored the demand for floppy brushes, but my feeling is that most people prefer a strong backbone in a shaving brush. I may be wrong and I am always open to custom orders, so if anyone wants a 60mm lofted brush I will certainly make one. I have yet to receive such a request and everyone who buys my brushes loves them, so I keep doing what seems to be working.

Just out of curiosity, can you post a picture of one of your 60mm brushes? I am just not quite certain what that would look like and how it would work. I sometimes set slightly higher lofts for a lot of flow through and quick drying (good for traveling), but I am not sure I met a badger knot yet that could be set at 60mm loft and be anything but floppy. I certainly set big boar knots that way, but not a badger. Am I missing something? I may be.

[vferdman]

I have created a synthetic hair brush for a custom order. I used Dymondwood for the handle and finished with about a dosen coats of CA, which was polished with some chrome polish (yes, it works).

Dimensions:

Total height: 100mm
Handle height: 51mm
Loft height: 49mm
Knot: 24mm