Heres my second attempt at a brush rebuild. I bought an Ever-Ready model 100 as part of a lot on the shopgoodwill.com auction. I have another silvertip-rebuilt Ever-Ready clear but Im not entirely happy with it. I wanted to do a rebuild with a TGN best badger knot since Id been happy with my previous scratch build of a TGN handle and a finest badger knot. That brush is on semi-permanent loan to a friend burned out by a fire, so this rebuild is a sort of replacement for my daily shave. The brush as purchased measured 10.5 cm (105mm). [pic 1]
It had been loaded originally with dyed boar bristle I believe. I washed it upon arrival but the original bristles just kept falling out, so I couldnt try it out as a boar brush. I cut off the old bristles with a scissors and then I used a #115 high-speed steel cutter on my Dremel to remove the remains of the knot. [pic #2]
This cylindrical cutter was exactly what I couldnt find for the last rebuild I did but I had visited the local hobby shop since and stocked up on Dremel accessories. I found that the very center of the knot was actually some sort of plastic; the bristles were only around the perimeter of the handle. I cut out the knot bottom and found to my dismay that Id gone through the shallow recess for the old knot. I removed all of the old stuff and found that the handle wasnt very good; it was just what seemed to me to be cheap plastic with very little weight. [pic #3]
I enlarged the hole in the top of the handle to better seat my new 20mm best badger knot from TGN. I filled the base of the handle with epoxy and 8 nickels to give the handle some heft and chamfered the bottom of the new knot to better fit it in the handle. After the epoxy set up, I glued in the knot with DAP Silicone Adhesive Sealer which is waterproof; its used for sealing aquaria. After setting overnight, I couldnt wait to use it this morning. The rebuilt brush was 100mm overall; the knot had a 50mm loft. [pic #4]
After shampooing the bristles and soaking them in Tabac from 20 minutes to remove the animal odor, I used the rebuilt brush to lather up Trufitt & Hills 1805. My SWMBO had given me an assortment of T&H samples last Christmas and I felt this was an ideal opportunity to use some. The brush lathered well and felt good. The bristles are compact and springy, although a bit scritchy. That was unexpected but I think that will improve with more, frequent use. [pic #5]
All in all, a successful rebuild but nowhere near the collectible quality seen in this part of Badger & Blade; its just a sows ear situation. If I tire of the handle, Ill dissect it to remove the knot and probably get a scratch built (turned or thrown) handle from someone on B&B and use that for the knot. Ill do one more soon: a finest knot in a black Opal brand handle for my youngest nephews birthday in September(the one who I converted to DE shaving over Christmas).
It had been loaded originally with dyed boar bristle I believe. I washed it upon arrival but the original bristles just kept falling out, so I couldnt try it out as a boar brush. I cut off the old bristles with a scissors and then I used a #115 high-speed steel cutter on my Dremel to remove the remains of the knot. [pic #2]
This cylindrical cutter was exactly what I couldnt find for the last rebuild I did but I had visited the local hobby shop since and stocked up on Dremel accessories. I found that the very center of the knot was actually some sort of plastic; the bristles were only around the perimeter of the handle. I cut out the knot bottom and found to my dismay that Id gone through the shallow recess for the old knot. I removed all of the old stuff and found that the handle wasnt very good; it was just what seemed to me to be cheap plastic with very little weight. [pic #3]
I enlarged the hole in the top of the handle to better seat my new 20mm best badger knot from TGN. I filled the base of the handle with epoxy and 8 nickels to give the handle some heft and chamfered the bottom of the new knot to better fit it in the handle. After the epoxy set up, I glued in the knot with DAP Silicone Adhesive Sealer which is waterproof; its used for sealing aquaria. After setting overnight, I couldnt wait to use it this morning. The rebuilt brush was 100mm overall; the knot had a 50mm loft. [pic #4]
After shampooing the bristles and soaking them in Tabac from 20 minutes to remove the animal odor, I used the rebuilt brush to lather up Trufitt & Hills 1805. My SWMBO had given me an assortment of T&H samples last Christmas and I felt this was an ideal opportunity to use some. The brush lathered well and felt good. The bristles are compact and springy, although a bit scritchy. That was unexpected but I think that will improve with more, frequent use. [pic #5]
All in all, a successful rebuild but nowhere near the collectible quality seen in this part of Badger & Blade; its just a sows ear situation. If I tire of the handle, Ill dissect it to remove the knot and probably get a scratch built (turned or thrown) handle from someone on B&B and use that for the knot. Ill do one more soon: a finest knot in a black Opal brand handle for my youngest nephews birthday in September(the one who I converted to DE shaving over Christmas).
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