Thread: Wood Handles On Brushes And Water

I've had a few customs with wood handles and they all started to darken and deteriorate after a few years. I personally stay away from wood where water is concerned, they don't go good together. yea I know the old sailing ships were wood however they were covered in pitch and tar and the old battleships had crews responsible for keeping the wood decks in tip top shape.

Yea, I've seen a lot of guys do it as you do Glen. When I first started shaving, I didn't worry about getting the whole brush, handle and all, wet. But then I started noticing some water damage to the handle. I've started being more careful about water on the handle in the past couple months. Granted, it is a twelve dollar Tweezerman. I assume it doesn't matter as much with non-wood handled brushes.

I used african black wood to make some of my brush handles. Very nice, dark and heavy.... So far so good in water.... Very dense piece of wood. I think I'll let a scrap piece soak in water just for fun and see what it does...

Originally Posted by JoeBeef

I used african black wood to make some of my brush handles. Very nice, dark and heavy.... So far so good in water.... Very dense piece of wood. I think I'll let a scrap piece soak in water just for fun and see what it does...

Thats the ticket,Hard,Dense wood that,IMO should be left unsealed,Finely polished and waxed with a wax such as Renwax that allows the wood to expand and contract,Have never had an ebony or lignum brush handle crack.

Very nice brushes ! Nice work..