Restored and shop-made shaving brushes

[brothers]

Thanks Vladimir. It sounds like a good challenge. I'm going to stop in at Woodcraft on the way home tonight to see if they. have a suggestion or two.

[vferdman]

I have completed a new brush in Key Hole shape made of Bolivian Rosewood. The knot is TGN two band finest and the finish on the handle is multiple coats of CA polished to a shine. This is my first key hole shaped handle. I think it came out well.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 108mm
Handle: 60mm
Loft: 48mm
Knot: 25mm bulb shape

[vferdman]

I also made a PR handled brush with a Mx type of shape. The resin blank is called Abalone and is pretty amazing in real life. Pictures rarely capture the beauty of resins.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 107mm
Handle: 55mm
Loft: 52mm
Knot: 28mm Bulb shape

[vferdman]

I have created three brushes in Dymondwood material.

First one is in Heritage Walnut Dymndwood and TGN two band Finest.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 96mm
Handle: 46mm
Loft: 50mm
Knot: 26mm bulb shape










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Second one is in French Green Dymndowood and TGN two band finest fan shaped knot.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 109mm
Handle: 61mm
Loft: 48mm
Knot: 27mm Fan shape










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The third brush is in Royal Jacaranda with a TGN synthetic knot.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 110mm
Handle: 59mm
Loft: 51mm
Knot: 25mm







Hope you enjoy them!

[vferdman]

I have created two handles by commission and set one of them with a TGN HMW knot. Unfortunately I did not have a chance to take measurement of the brush and/or handles, but they are about 60mm tall with a 25mm knot opening. In the pictures the knot is dry fitted into both handles, but the one that got the knot in the end is the darker handle in Royal Jacaranda Dymondwood. The other handle is in Dakota Dymondwood

[Sam]

Just seeing this thread for the first time. You take great pictures and you are right, the resins seem like they would pop.

1) What is the feedback on how a resin handle feels to the hand and with wet hands vs. one of the wood handles. I had the first edition of the SMF brush in Cocobola and that was the only wood handled brush Iiked. Had a wood handled razor and it was okay, but then again, some of the lucite/ivory color handles can get slippery. Resins have an appeal to me.

2) I do not keep up with knots anymore but I know TGN is said to have top quality knots. I am not hung up on silvertip vs. best as I had a Shavemac in best that had the best face feel, 30mm knot and decent backbone. I loft soft and I lather on my face so I dont like scritchy. What would you suggest.

This is some great shave brush pictorials

[vferdman]

I have completed three brushes for my Etsy store.

First one is in Deep Purple PR and sports an M7-type shape. This ended up being a large 30mm brush. It is really lovely to look at and hold. Nice and hefty.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 115m
Handle: 62mm
Loft: 53mm
Knot: 30mm Bulb shape









Please excuse the pinkish tint to the pictures, but I have yet to figure out how to represent purple colors in digital photography. I have never seen this color come out correctly without tinting the rest of the picture. In any case, the handle color is more or less correctly represented on the pictures. Originals showed the handle as blue. It really is purple. If anyone knows how to get the color purple correct with a digital camera without affecting the rest of the picture let me know, please.

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Second brush is in Burnt Butterscotch Pearl PR and is inspired by Ever-Ready vintage brushes. I really like those hourglass Ever-Ready brushes and feel they provide a very comfortable handle for a shaving brush.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 116mm
Handle: 62mm
Loft: 54mm
Knot: 27mm Bulb shape














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The third brush is a small travel brush. I've been a fan of Simpson Wee Scot for years now and have built a small travel brush with two band finest that I really enjoy and always travel with it and a stick of Arko for a perfect shave on the road every time. I decided to test the waters for a small brush in my store. I used Dymondwood "Tortoise" pattern with yet another take on Ever-Ready vintage shape.











Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 90mm
Handle: 49mm
Loft: 41mm
Knot: 19mm bulb shape

[vferdman]

Just seeing this thread for the first time. You take great pictures and you are right, the resins seem like they would pop.

1) What is the feedback on how a resin handle feels to the hand and with wet hands vs. one of the wood handles. I had the first edition of the SMF brush in Cocobola and that was the only wood handled brush Iiked. Had a wood handled razor and it was okay, but then again, some of the lucite/ivory color handles can get slippery. Resins have an appeal to me.

2) I do not keep up with knots anymore but I know TGN is said to have top quality knots. I am not hung up on silvertip vs. best as I had a Shavemac in best that had the best face feel, 30mm knot and decent backbone. I loft soft and I lather on my face so I dont like scritchy. What would you suggest.

This is some great shave brush pictorials

Sam, thank you for your interest. Let me try to address your questions.

1). Shaving brush handles need not have anti-slip features other than the shape of the handle. Most shaving brushes are made of smooth materials and have some sort of shape to aid in gripping and control. Also, loosing control of the brush is not nearly as serious as loosing control of the razor. In any case, the resin is certainly smooth and well-polished and will be very slick in and of itself. However, I make brushes that work well for their intended purpose. To that end I create shapes that give you very secure purchase on the handle. Usually there is more than one place to find that purchase. For example some brushes may be used both in bowl lathering and face lathering situations and will accommodate both with aplomb. Some are more face lathering oriented and then some are bowl lathing oriented. As for wood handles, I usually finish mine with CA (Crazy glue) which pretty much turns the surface of wood into polymer. In that sense the wooden handles behave the same as far as slickness.


2). I also face lather and I really prefer TGN two band finest to just about anything else I have tried. I love a bit of feel from the brush, but no scritch. This is what you get with two band. Stiff backbone, soft tips and a bit of scrubby feel with no scritch at all. I have recently tried TGN's High Mountain White badger and it was very similar to two band, but even softer and a bit less backbone. Wonderful stuff, but twice the price of two band. If you never tried two band finest, I recommend trying it. I think it's great for face lathering.

Thanks again for your interest!

--
Vladimir

[Sam]

Got me a brush and Ill post a review in the shaving brush thread

[vferdman]

I have created a new boar Brush. This one is made with Omega Pro 48 knot and Ziricote wood turned on my lathe. I bought a brand new Omega 48 brush, extracted the knot and set it into my own wood handle. I also lowered the loft slightly. I have done this type of thing before with Pro 49 brush and it came out great. This one also came out amazingly well. This particular knot had quite a bit of flagging (split ends) out of the box. After my initial shampooing and test lathering it looks more than halfway broken in as far as flagging. I really love how this one came out. Some boar enthusiast will really enjoy it.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 124mm
Handle: 63mm
Loft: 61mm
Knot: 29mm

[vferdman]

I have created a large knotted brush with TGN finest and a resin handle in so-called Abyss pattern. Very cool looking material.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 102mm
Handle: 49mm
Loft: 53mm
Knot: 29mm Bulb shape

[Sam]

If I did not already order one from you with the exotic wood, I would have bought this one. Love, love that handle and blue is my favorite color. Now if Icould get that handle on a knot from Simpsons Chubby 2 synthetic, I would be in heaven

[vferdman]

If I did not already order one from you with the exotic wood, I would have bought this one. Love, love that handle and blue is my favorite color. Now if Icould get that handle on a knot from Simpsons Chubby 2 synthetic, I would be in heaven

Don't know about Simpson synthetic, but I can certainly get TGN or Whipped Dog synthetic knots and they are reportedly excellent (though different from one another). I can set them like a Chubby. Not really sure if there is anything truly special about Simpson knots. Seems they charge a LOT for a name. I could be wrong.

Thanks for your interest!

[vferdman]

Another brush is available in my Etsy store. This one is set in a handle made from Dakota Dymondwood. I decided to not make this one super-shiny. This one features Whipped Dog High Mountain badger knot. It appears to be very similar to TGN finest in all respects.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 105mm
Handle: 55mm
Loft: 50mm
Knot: 27mm bulb shape

[vferdman]

I have just finished another Dymondwood handled brush. This one got a shiny CA treatment. The knot is TGN two band finest. After an initial washing the tips are starting to curl up into gel-tips.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 95mm
Handle: 46mm
Loft: 49mm
Knot: 25mm bulb shape

[vferdman]

I have received two custom orders from two unrelated parties for a Chubby-like brush with two band finest. One was to be a Chubby 1 caliber and the other Chubby 3. I have made the smaller brush using African Ironwood and the larger one using Resin Burl.

Here is the smaller one:

Total height: 90mm
Loft height: 48mm
Handle height: 42mm
Knot: 27mm bulb shape










Here is the larger one

Total height: 101mm
Loft height: 52mm
Handle height: 49mm
Knot: 30mm+ bulb shape









And both together



I hope the new owners enjoy these. I really like them.

[vferdman]

I have created five new brushes. One by custom order and four for my Etsy store.

The custom order was for a boar brush. I decided to use a knot from an Omega 10065 brush. I really like this Omega boar knot a lot.

The approximate dimensions came out to:

Total height: 107mm
Loft height: 56mm
Handle height: 51mm
Knot: 24mm












Next is a brush in Tortoise Dymondwood. This one came out really good. I tried a slight variation on the classic shape and made the top concave.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 101mm
Handle: 53mm
Loft: 48mm
Knot: 26mm bulb shape













Next is another Dymondwood handle. This time in Keyhole shape and French Green pattern.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 107mm
Handle: 56mm
Loft: 51mm
Knot: 25mm bulb shape












Next is an Ever-Ready 200T inspired shape in walnut.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 104mm
Handle: 55mm
Loft: 49mm
Knot: 26mm bulb shape













Last, but not least, a brush with a handle made out of Mopani exotic wood.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 100mm
Handle: 52mm
Loft: 48mm
Knot: 27mm bulb shape

[vferdman]

I have created another boar brush. This one uses a knot from Omega 10065. I love these Omega blond boar brushes, but the handles on them are not so exciting. They are hollow ABS plastic and feel cheap (which they are). I hope some of the boar aficionados will appreciate this brush. I absolutely love it.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 98mm
Handle: 50mm
Loft: 48mm
Knot: 24mm

[vferdman]

I have created two more brushes in Dymondwood which are available in my Etsy shop.

First one is in "Bumble Bee" pattern and is inspired by Ever-Ready 100T hour glass classic.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 99mm
Handle: 51mm
Loft: 48mm
Knot: 26mm fan shape












Second one is in "Timberland" pattern and is a variation on M7 theme.

Brush Dimensions (approximate):

Total height: 102mm
Handle: 51mm
Loft: 51mm
Knot: 29mm bulb shape

[vferdman]

I have created a brush as a thank you for a friend. I used a "Black and Gold" polyester resin and a TGN two band finest fan.

Approximate dimensions:

Total height: 99mm
Handle height: 52mm
Loft height: 47mm
Knot: 25mm












This is really gorgeous resin. Love the way it came out.