Today I have 3 brush projects to complete

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:22 am

1. My dad's first shaving brush, an Erskine, probably from the late 1930s or early '40s. It's the red one in the first picture.
2. The Omega 20106 gets a new head of hair today, as does the
3. Rooney Finest.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 1:13 pm

Looks like you have your hands full Gary. I take it you won't be sending the Rooney back to Mr. Sabini?

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 1:26 pm

By the time this interim photo is posted, these new knots will be in epoxy and on their way to tomorrow's test latherings. The most time consuming and tedious work was in the 70 year old Erskine brush. I had to remove the hard stump from the handle, then I had to enlarge the opening from about 22 to 27mm, approximately 1 1/8 inch, and then I dressed the lip to make it smooth and flat. Then I used ultra fine sandpaper and Flitz polish to remove imperfections and make it as shiny as possible.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 1:39 pm

Squire wrote:Looks like you have your hands full Gary. I take it you won't be sending the Rooney back to Mr. Sabini?

Yeah, I'll hold onto it. I don't exactly have an address to return it to anyway. The most recent communication from Mr. S was a couple of weeks ago acknowledging my earlier communication to him, and his statement that he wanted to rectify the situation. I think he's a busy guy and I'm sure these after-the-fact follow-ups aren't the first thing he thinks about every morning when he goes off to work. I just took the only course open to me and bought the biggest "Finest" knot I could find to replace the other one.

gil3591 · Post by **gil3591** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:31 pm

gary, are these TGN knots? they look really nice especially the one going on the rooney but my guess is you'll like the everlast best

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 6:56 pm

At the end of the day, here are the final products. I am so proud to own these brushes. I can't wait to try them all.

Brush 1. Daddy's old Erskine. The Super Silvertip knot measures 27 x 62 mm. I got this one from TGN. I think he'd be thrilled to see it all decked out with its big new bushy badger brush head.

Brush 2. The Omega 20106, formerly loaded with a huge boar knot. This one never got used, so I replaced it with a 27 x 65 Silvertip knot from PC Woodcraft & Pens.

Brush 3. The Rooney Finest. TGN supplied the 27 x 62 Finest knot.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:04 pm

I'm sure many of you guys have noticed that the knots are listed at 27mm wide at the base. Of course they are all listed by the sellers as 28. I think they round up, even if it's only a couple of tenths of a millimeter over 27. I measure mine with a digital caliper, and I only round up when the measurement exceeds .5 mm.

diggity · Post by **diggity** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 10:30 pm

That Rooney is looking especially sharp. Love that you have your dad's brush and are able to use it. THAT is the best!

jww · Post by **jww** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:55 am

All things of beauty. Nicely done.

ShadowsDad · Post by **ShadowsDad** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:26 pm

Nice!

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 2:40 am

Nice and well done. Looking forward to reading the lathering reviews

clive

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 6:06 am

The Rooney Finest TGN has been used successfully the past two mornings with a cream. It's not as long and soft (floppy in a very good way) as the Rooney knot was, and also, it's got more backbone. Regardless, it does produce a nice ample supply of lather, and at the end when I squeeze out the excess, it seems to have some left over, which is nice. It's going to be a fine brush, just not over-the-top, like it was. I'm going to keep using it for a few more days with a cream, then I'll take it on a run with some soaps, just to see how it does.

celar36 · Post by **celar36** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 11:21 am

Really good work!

Fido · Post by **Fido** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 12:56 pm

brothers wrote:The Rooney Finest TGN has been used successfully the past two mornings with a cream. It's not as long and soft (floppy in a very good way) as the Rooney knot was, and also, it's got more backbone. Regardless, it does produce a nice ample supply of lather, and at the end when I squeeze out the excess, it seems to have some left over, which is nice. It's going to be a fine brush, just not over-the-top, like it was. I'm going to keep using it for a few more days with a cream, then I'll take it on a run with some soaps, just to see how it does.

What is the loft on your "new" brush compared with the Rooney Finest?

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 2:38 pm

According to the digital caliper the Rooney was 69 mm. The new TGN knot is 62 mm.

Fido · Post by **Fido** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:08 pm

Gary, by loft, I meant the height from the top of the handle to the highest tips.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 5:57 am

Fido wrote:Gary, by loft, I meant the height from the top of the handle to the highest tips.

Yes, sir. That is exactly what I mean also. Now you see why I liked this particular brush. What did you think I meant?

Peter, just to be clear, I only consider the portion that "sticks out of the handle" to be included in my measurement of the loft. The part that is hidden below the top of the handle that has the base of the knot probably has a technical name, but it's just the glue to me. I am aware that the sellers of replacement knots seem to want to include the whole thing in their advertised loft measurement specs, and that is an important factor that should be considered when placing an order via internet.

Fido · Post by **Fido** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:42 am

When providing a knot, a supplier will normally quote the diameter at close to the base and the overall length from the bottom of the plug to the top of the tips. I use the term close to the base because the measurement right at the bottom of the glue is often a tiny bit less than the diameter quoted.

As TGN do this, I assumed you were describing the knot as they do and was interested to know how far you had set the knot within the handle.

I see TGN don't list a 27mm Finest at present but they have a 26x65 and a 28x68 so on their terminology I assume yours must be around 27 x 67?

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 2:47 pm

The TGN I bought was the one advertised as 28 x 68. The knot above the handle is very close to 27 x 62 actual dimensions.

Fido · Post by **Fido** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 2:53 pm

All is clear!

Great work on the brushes. Enjoy!