Thread: Two last night

Last night I was working on 2 brushes. One is for UKRob and the other is for me. The first one is, is one some of you have probably seen me do before. Seems to be a popular combination, but they do go very well together. Stabilized Buckeye burl, and Translucent smoke acrylic. This one I did last night is based off one I did not to long ago, but with a bit longer handle. I did somewhere between 10-15 coats of CA on the buckeye and then wet sanded and polished everything up. Came out well. Badger knot is for staging purposes, because he will be installing his own.

love that Buckeye burl!

It is a nice combo of materials Andrew, that buckeye looks good on its own, or paired up with the smokey acrylic.
Nice shape and mottling in that handle!

That burl is gorgeous!
Nice work my man

That is very nice!

The second brush I did, was loosely based on a Pixelfixed brush I had seen in the past. Very reminiscent of his style of brush making, but very hard to duplicate. The top portion is Thuya burl, my first time working with this wood, and the bottom is African Ebony. The Thuya is a very interesting wood, and also very expensive when I saw the price of a 2" x 2" x 14" piece at my local supplier. That piece, roughly around $110, crazy. It gives off a very distinct fragrance when machining it, and it is quite pleasant. Very spicy scent with a hint of dill pickle. Sanding was a challenge because it immediately clogs the paper. The wood seems almost waxy, which is good for shaving brushes, it will not deteriorate over time.

Very much the same effect as when I was working with Chakte Viga. This is my sandpaper from the Thuya.



Also in the base of the handle I inlaid an elephant ivory button from an old lawn bowling ball. These button inlays in the base is something Pixel would quite often do in his brushes, especially if it was ebony. The contrast between the 2 really looks elegant, so I decided this handle needed that aspect to truly imitate his brushes. The knot I'm using in this brush is a ShaveMac 24mm, in the regular 2 band grade.

I'm also loving this Hard Wax Oil for these exotic woods. Leaves a very soft look, but yet pops the grain so well. Another aspect of how Pixel finished his brushes. They were never covered in a plastic coating, and always soft and rich looking. I really wanted to try and stay true to his style with this one.



Thanks for looking guys!

Another picture, trying to capture the grain in the ivory. You can see the X pattern the grain makes.

Suppose it's more of a Herringbone pattern???

Beautiful Andrew, the brushes you're doing with the clear handles are turning out spectacularly.

Question, to get the "clear" handle, are you having to use a vacuum chamber, what I've been reading Mike's doing? Love the way the wood and the clear handle sit together, some truly artisan work there brother.....

Beautiful work, Andrew. These two brushes are a real work of art.

Originally Posted by Phrank

Beautiful Andrew, the brushes you're doing with the clear handles are turning out spectacularly.

Question, to get the "clear" handle, are you having to use a vacuum chamber, what I've been reading Mike's doing? Love the way the wood and the clear handle sit together, some truly artisan work there brother.....

No Andrew, I don't do any of the resin pouring like Mike does. You really need to know what you're doing with that stuff, and I'm not sure I'm ready to jump into that quite yet. I'll let Mike work all the bugs out with that stuff and then pick his brain! He's got the brains required for that. Har!

This smoke acrylic is a long rod that I cut, flatten, and then epoxy to the wood.