Thread: Floppy knot

I put together a brush using a 20 mm Basic Silvertip knot from the Goden Nib. Tried it out this morning. To my disappointment, this thing felt like a floppy mop. Is this typical? Do they get better with time?

It will be floppy forever. How deep you set the plug in the handle determines the loft of the brush. The deeper you set it, the stiffer the brush will be. If you set the knot so it's just covering the plug, it will be floppy.

Darn it. Lesson learned. I guess I could try to remove it (used clear epoxy blend).

Good luck removing it,what size knot and what loft did you set it at?

It was a standard 20 x 64 mm. I burred a hole on a piece of deer antler, deep enough to just cover the plug. I do have a second piece of antler I could use as a back up. Any tips for removing an epoxy set knot?

Some guys cut the hair off and drill it, some guys clamp the hair in a vise.
Once you remove it, you should be able to reuse the antler. If you want it stiffer do a loft around 48mm-50mm.

Originally Posted by Razorthin

It was a standard 20 x 64 mm. I burred a hole on a piece of deer antler, deep enough to just cover the plug. I do have a second piece of antler I could use as a back up. Any tips for removing an epoxy set knot?

Your about 10 mms to high,only way I know how to remove knots (newly set with modern epoxy) is to cut the handle in half just below the plug.
Than on a disc sander grind until you just see the shadow of the base of the plug.
Using a chisel, carefully try to split the rim of the handle,sometimes it works, sometimes not.

UPDATE: Went back to check on this brush. The good news is the epoxy had not fully set and I was able to pull the knot out without much effort. Drilled a deeper hole, about 2.5 times the thickness of the plug. Lower edge of the handle now near the dark band of the hairs and it seems to want to fan out. Will leave it alone for a couple of days and try it again.

You'll want to put the knot in, and then measure the exposed hair. If you drilled too deep, you can use pennies to raise the loft. Good luck and have fun.

This is the brush in its final configuration. It passed the face lathering test. I wouldn't use this one for scuttle lathering. Thanks for your help in solving the case of the floppy knot!