Thread: Wood handled shave brushes

To add some more detail to the trails & tribulations & joys. Here are some random thoughts I put down while I was working this last winter. Just never got them posted. Hope it is not TLtR.

I'm dyslexic and my writing skills suck like a big dog so bare with me.

* I covered everything but hair bristles with tape to protect it. I had to cut the bristles off first then drilled the center of the knot carefully to get to the bottom of it. Then I poked and plucked the remaining bristles out with plies and small screw driver. Carefully used Dremel to remove glue from inside ring till I got to the wood. I was not been able to dis-assemble the #5 and another #3 just was able to get the knot out. I used a wine cork cut in slices to shim the knot to the height I wanted and epoxied it.

* No vises or clamps. I hold everything in my hands and gentle drilled & plucked. If something binds it slips in my hand and not blow up the brush ring. Makes a huge mess so be ready. Some have metal sizing rings inside the plastic/rubber ring. My two Certifyd did not have metal so be careful. They had different glue from each other too. #5 was brittle/breakable and #3 was hard/drilled it.

* The chop stick also allows flinging or slinging excess MinWax polyurethane off to get even coat. Lots of sanded coats. If there is a gap between the wood and ring I try to fill it in with the polyurethane. Wrapped one’s gap with sewing thread to help fill a little and give the polyurethane something to soak into and seal that joint water tight inside and out. So if water gets around the knot it will not get into the wood from the inside I have over a year now soaking/using 140 degree tap water with no problems.

* If ring is loose/apart I glue it to handle sealing inside where the two meet. Then I check for knot height and that knot is sitting square. Some knots are not perfectly symmetrical so figure that out. Sanding cork slices with angle if needed to set knot square. I try to fill the void around knot plug without squeezing excess epoxy up into the hair and out of ring. Again the idea of water proofing. I’m probably doing a little over kill but I’m heavy handed and want my brushes to last me.

* I used cut wine cork slices as height spacer for setting knot height. Like 48mm to 51mm for stiffer backbone taller for floppier bush to shorter for working with hard soap kind of thing. I’m setting mine at 49mm to 51mm with 50mm being optimum for my HMW knot and tender face. Be careful sizing your knot. The plug base which they use for size is usually 1mm to 3mm small than the widest part of the knot. Read carefully the ad for knot.

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If any one has any insight please offer.

I'm going to try the CA but need to learn how to work it first.

Always looking for an easier & quicker & less expensive method.

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