Thread: My brush fell apart

Originally Posted by thuktunflishithy

I'm just one of those guys who hates to throw things away if they're fixable. Guess this isn't.

I am in the same boat with you, sir.
It might be trouble to try and fix that brush, but I think you'll learn something in the process.
Let us know which glues work, which don't. I'd certainly like to know about it!

As long as the hair itself hasn't deteriorated it's a similar situation to a badly damaged straight. As long as the steel is OK you can cut it down as long as you have the time and skills. The same here. You can cut it down and make a smaller brush of it. As I understand it reconstituting a badger knot is not easy and is a specialized skill but it doesn't hurt to try.

It's fixable , if you know what you're doing . But is it really worth the trouble . You can get a 24mm , "two band" , finest badger knot , and a nice handle from The Golden Nib , for about $45.00 . I did , and I'm very pleased with mine (light bulb shape with extra hair) . Just glue the knot into the handle with 30 min. epoxy , and don't use it for at least 24 hours .

At the cost of appearing too pedestrian for this site; I find that the inexpensive Chinese badger brushed on eBay are an excellent buy. We're taking 10$ range. also good are the turkish horse hair from bestshave.com 6$ range. Develop a rotation and experience all three types : boar, badger and horse then move up the price range.

Originally Posted by thuktunflishithy

I'm just one of those guys who hates to throw things away if they're fixable. Guess this isn't.

I am not sure if it is worth the effort....
Gorilla glue has a urethane foaming waterproof glue (not the super glue CA stuff).

Tie the knot so it does not fall apart and cut the base of the knot
So the glue can get to the bristles apply glue into the handle and a
Bit on the knot and put heh bits together. The glue will foam and fill any cracks.
Too much and it will run out on the handle so masking tape is a good idea.

Try to get it right the first time.. To my knowledge nothing will dissolve this stuff it catalizes with the humidity in the air.
When fully cured you can sand it smooth. Yes other glues including epoxy work.

I don't think I'd use a polyurethane glue for a brush, the foam would likely migrate up into the hairs. If it was me, I'd use a runny epoxy like some of the stuff Lee Valley sells. That would soak into the base of the knot and secure everything. Just my .02 worth.

ANY, two part epoxy works,ALL, epoxys are waterproof when cured,do not use Gorrilla Poly,that you will dearly regret.

Originally Posted by thuktunflishithy

As the title says. I don't mind too much because I was unhappy with it anyway. The handle is a bit small for me and the thing sheds like an old dog in the summer. I've had it about a month and it loses at least a dozen hairs each time I use it. You can see a couple sticking out the top ready to go in the pic.

I guess I'll make a new handle, but is there anything I can do the cut down the shedding? Any sort of glue I can add to the base of the knot that might bind those loose hairs? At the moment the bottom and the sides are covered in glue, I was thinking cut away what's on the bottom and reglue it, something runny that will penetrate the knot a bit. Any suggestions?

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Sounds to me like you just got a defective brush and it would be worth your while to just start over. We've got some fine artisans here who can fix you up in a jiffy and at a good price.

Epoxy is your friend.

Another epoxy voter. You'll lose some of the length of the hairs at the base, but it should stop them from shedding.

Warm the epoxy so that it flows better, and warm the brush hair so that the warmed epoxy doesn't just go back to slow flowing when it hits cold brush bristles.