1 Attachment(s)
Somewhat Lame VDH Attempt
I'm kind of embarrassed posting this, what with all the truly beautiful brushes being made, but I had fun doing this, and it turned out kind of nice looking, and it’s very functional - exactly the brush I was trying to make.
The handle if from a Van Der Hagen boars brush that I steamed the knot out of. I didn't like the way you could see the seams on the handle from being in the mold or whatever, so I sanded it down with finer and finer sandpaper. I was able to get rid of the seams, and it took on a nice, creamy appearance. Then, just for the sake of looks, I added the O-rings. It really doesn't need O-rings to reduce the loft, but I like the way the black O-rings contrast with the creamy white of the handle (always thought Black and White looked good together - check out my wedding picture to the left ;-)). They also give some extra purchase for my hands to grab onto.
For the knot, I went online to The Golden Nib. The diameter of the knot is 22mm and it has a 44mm loft. The exact hole in the handle is 24mm, which gives the 22mm knot room to ‘bloom’. The knot is what TGN calls ‘Super Badger’. That's a silvertip knot that was treated to make the tips softer, and lighter in appearance. It's fan-shaped, which is my favorite shape in a knot.
All-in-all it turned out kind of nice (I think). It feels very nice on my face when I face lather, and it's ok for bowl lathering, but the handle is too short - it would be nice to have a much longer handle that would keep my fingers out of the lather when I bowl lather.
I'd like to find a source for plain white handles like this. Then I'd like to decorate them with 'Rosemaling', a kind of decorative Norwegian painting. I think I could make some really beautiful brushes if I became good at Rosemaling. It would be a fun thing to do - a really nice hobby, and a nice gift for my friends.
Anyway, as I said, I'm almost embarrassed to put my plain little brush out here, but it was a lot of fun to make. I intend to make quite a few more if I can find a place to buy plain, white handles, and if I can get really good at Rosemaling style painting. Let me know what you all think. Also, any ideas on what to use to seal the handle? I need to find some sort of fixative I can use if I paint the handles.
Take care, and thanks for looking.
bruseth
Kenny
Attachment 136736