Thread: Can brush hairs be replaced?

Good day all,

Did a search on this but didn't find anything. My wife mentioned that her monther still had her grandfather's shaving brush. Now it is a 26 hour drive a way but I am guessing that after not being used for 40+ years the hairs are probably not going to be any good?

If so can the hairs be replaced? It would be a shame to just keep lettting an heirloom collect dust if it could be put back into service.

Thanks for your time,
Jim

Originally Posted by Drac

Good day all,

Did a search on this but didn't find anything. My wife mentioned that her monther still had her grandfather's shaving brush. Now it is a 26 hour drive a way but I am guessing that after not being used for 40+ years the hairs are probably not going to be any good?

If so can the hairs be replaced? It would be a shame to just keep lettting an heirloom collect dust if it could be put back into service.

Thanks for your time,
Jim

Yes you can find replacements knots. Basically you want to trim the old hair and then remove the whole knot; I've only restored two brushes and one of them I boiled to soften the old glue (which was quite messy!) and the other I drilled out.

Then you find a replacement knot. The diameter of the hole you have in the brush should be what you look for. Get the new knot and set it with epoxy (preferably marine) and wait the appropriate curing time before using.

The more shallow you set the knot, the more the bristles will fan out. If you set it deeper then the bristles will remain more firm.

EDIT: Here was my first restore -- sorry but no before pics:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/brush...back-life.html

And I got my knots from The Golden Nib with great service.

+1 for the advice above. Drill out the old knot and pop in a really nice, new knot from Golden Nib. You will love the restored brush more than any of the new brushes that you can buy today, especially since your brush will be one of a kind AND have a connection to your family and history. I'd practice on a few inexpensive handles first before you tackle one that is a family heirloom, because you will get more skills as you go along and it is easy to break some of the older, more brittle handles while restoring. Enjoy!

First you need to see the brush. Depending on the condition the handle is in it might only be fit for display use. If it can be rehabilitated for use then there are plenty of knots out there you could buy.

Thanks. I'm glad.

From what I've been told, I will get a chance to see it in 3 weeks, the handle is silver.

Jim

A good friend suggested the use of forstner drill bits for drilling out brush knots. I haven't tried it yet, but these bits might be something to consider.

Amazon.com: Forstner Drill Bits

Um, not to be a downer, but I would really try just a regular old drill bit before you start messing with a forstner bit. I've drilled out quite a few of these, and it seems like the key is the ability to start with a smaller hole in the center and then widen it out by rocking and angling the drill bit through the old knot. I'm not sure you can do the same with a forstner, and I'd be very worried about a forstner bit skipping out of the hole and damaging the collar instead. Maybe if someone can report some first hand experience with a forstner, but otherwise I'd stick with a regular old 1/4 or 3/8 drill bit.

Originally Posted by JeffE

Um, not to be a downer, but I would really try just a regular old drill bit before you start messing with a forstner bit. ...

The person who recommended has experience with removing old brushes with a forstner bit and recommends it over every other method. Beyond saying that, I would welcome input from others as well as to their preferred method to remove old plugs.

Interesting -- if someone here has had good experience with using a forstner, that's good enough for me too! I will give it a try with my next restoration. Thanks!

I am going to try the forstner method this week, and will reply with a report. I will ask my friend who uses the forstner to reply here, or give me something that I can add here describing the plus and minus of forstner bit use.