Thread: Brush Restore Complete!!

I picked this old brush (Fuller set in rubber) off ebay for $9 including shipping. Paid $20 for a 24mm silvertip knot off thegoldennib.com for a total of $29+$5 for epoxy. Took a little effort to remove the old knot but not much. I love it. I didn't have the cash for a nice silvertip so I went this route. I'm glad I did!

Thanks SRP!!!

Originally Posted by flampen85

I picked this old brush (Fuller set in rubber) off ebay for $9 including shipping. Paid $20 for a 24mm silvertip knot off thegoldennib.com for a total of $29+$5 for epoxy. Took a little effort to remove the old knot but not much. I love it. I didn't have the cash for a nice silvertip so I went this route. I'm glad I did!

Thanks SRP!!!

well done.. does your knot shed much?

Ya a bit, but thats normal at first. My other cheap plain old badger brush shed a bit first too. If it continues to shed then I might get worried.

Looks great!!! Well done.

yeah, mine too... I was just benchmarking it... so far I love my golden nib brush...it's a lather machine

Oh ok, I was wondering if you had a bad experience or something. I haven't lathered with it yet, had to wait for the glue to set. I'm glad to here that, I pretty anxious to take it for a spin!

oh as for benchmark, its probably shed about 25 hairs so far. hopefully it won't much more. Did yours have any stench when wetting it the first few times? I've read a few threads that have ranged on the smell intensity, just curious.

Originally Posted by flampen85

Oh ok, I was wondering if you had a bad experience or something. I haven't lathered with it yet, had to wait for the glue to set. I'm glad to here that, I pretty anxious to take it for a spin!

oh as for benchmark, its probably shed about 25 hairs so far. hopefully it won't much more. Did yours have any stench when wetting it the first few times? I've read a few threads that have ranged on the smell intensity, just curious.

The first time, it smelled mildly like wet animal, but after about two uses that all went away... now it smells like Cavendish Black most of the time!!

Originally Posted by flampen85

Took a little effort to remove the old knot but not much.

Could you elaborate on your method of removing the old knot?

I'm thinking about doing something similar but am concerned about damaging the handle by not knowing the material the original knot was glued in with or the best way to remove it.

Hooray for you Flampen. It's nice to know you have a $100 brush for $30. That's like getting it on sale. The 24mm is my favorite size.

bj

Exactly saved me 70 bucks!

Absolutely Tex, I actually learned of it through a thread on badger and blade. The guy did a picture tutorial with it.
This brush is made of a hard plastic and Bakelite for the orange part. Wood, I would imagine, may be somewhat more brittle due to age. I first cut the bristles down as far as I could with a very heavy duty scissors (razor blade would work I’m sure). Then used a smaller flathead screw driver somewhat sharp (relatively) to dig out the knot. I worked it out little piece by piece and was more careful not to slice my hand open than damage the handle. I started in the middle and worked my way out. When I got everything I switched to a pocket knife to get the residual stuck to the sides. Then sanded out the hole and done. Took maybe an hour?
The guy on B&B used a drill and wood bit (kind of large bit actually) on several brushes with success. I don’t have a drill currently so was forced to improvise. I also used MAAS to thoroughly polish the handle once I got the knot out. Any questions let me know.
Here just found the B&B link:
Step-by-step Ever-Ready brush restoration - Badger & Blade
Thanks guys.

oh ya, the knot must be some sort of epoxy. It was pretty old though so it came apart in pieces with a little determination.