A new restore of a handle I would like ID'ed if possible

[vferdman]

I was given a handle a little while ago that was in two parts and in need of a knot. The original knot was cut off, but the setting and the stubble of the old hair was left in tact. This was a rubber set pure badger knot. The rubber setting closely followed the shape of the top part of the brush (the black part), but was loose and not attached to anything. I flipped it upside down, trimmed the hair stubble a little more to reduce the total height of the rubber mound. Flipping it upside down produced a perfectly flat rubber surface that I then made into a shelf for the new knot. I used 5 minute epoxy to set the upside down rubber puck and the top part of the handle to the bottom, which was also hollow and filled with what looked like gypsum. Fairly heavy white clay-type of stuff that was poured into the hollow handle at the time of manufacture to add integrity and weight. Very nicely done. I am not sure what the plastic material is, but it smelled a bit of celluloid when I was working it with my rotary tool to open up the knot hole. Pretty thin, but still very strong plastic. Has a very nice smooth feel in hand. If anyone knows what this brush is all about, please let me know. The bottom of the handle has the same black plastic as the top and makes for a very nice accent that I have not seen before. The handle shape is very comfortable and the whole thing is just... well, neat.

I used an 18mm TGN two band finest knot, that did not specify XH (their 20mm knots and bigger are specified as XH - extra hair), but it's plenty dense and I really wanted a brush that will not be as dense as the TGN XH finest are. I aimed for a brush with excellent flow through and decent backbone, which two band naturally provides without as much density. I have used this brush in its maiden voyage today to face lather some Cella (I use a scuttle to keep the brush warm, but I face lather) and I am very, very pleased with this brush. This one can easily become my go-to badger, but it still needs a bit of break-in as two bands do.

The final measurements I ended up with: Knot - 21mm, loft - 46, Handle - 52mm (total brush length - 98mm)







For reference next to Simpson Wee Scot


For reference next to Semogue 1470

 

[Lather]

Looks awesome with that knot/handle combo. Unfortunately, I can't offer any info to ID the handle.

 

[mblakele]

So the lettering is "N. (S) Y.", with a circle around the 'S'? I am going to guess that the outer letters are New York: many brush makers were in the NYC area because they used imported bristles and hair. There was an American Brushmakers Association in Atlantic City, NJ and you can see a list of many of the members at the end of a 1921 letter to Congress: http://books.google.com/books?id=wUsMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA3142#v=onepage&q&f=false. Your quarry may not be on that list, but perhaps it will spark some ideas.

 

[vferdman]

So the lettering is "N. (S) Y.", with a circle around the 'S'? I am going to guess that the outer letters are New York: many brush makers were in the NYC area because they used imported bristles and hair. There was an American Brushmakers Association in Atlantic City, NJ and you can see a list of many of the members at the end of a 1921 letter to Congress: http://books.google.com/books?id=wUsMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA3142#v=onepage&q&f=false. Your quarry may not be on that list, but perhaps it will spark some ideas.

Thanks for the info. This brush is definitely different from most I've handled. On the outside it looks ordinary enough, but I have never seen a hollow construction filled with gypsum. The cheap Ever-Ready like C40 were hollow, but lacked the weight of the filler and certainly were not rubber set with badger knot. This brush has a feel of slightly higher end product. Very simple, classic and clean look and feel. I really like it, especially with the two band knot in it. Just looks like it belongs there. Brush performed really good too.

 

[Lather]

The Solidset on the right has the same hollow construction. The white crap just crumbled when I picked at it but another material is in the base that is still solid and intact. Just waiting for a knot in the mail.

 

[vferdman]

The Solidset on the right has the same hollow construction. The white crap just crumbled when I picked at it but another material is in the base that is still solid and intact. Just waiting for a knot in the mail.

That red and white solid set looks very similar to mine. I got mine in two pieces and with the knot cut down. The top part had the rubber setting and the remnants of the knot in it that was loose, but would not come out because of its size and shape. The bottom had white gypsum-like substance set into the plastic and totally intact. I left it be. It has very nice weight and is solid. All in all it's a lovely brush after I repaired it and set a new knot. I really like the way I set this one. I used an 18mm knot to end up with 21mm brush. This created a fairly loose brush that releases the lather very well, yet still has plenty of backbone. Would be cool to see what you end up with. The original knot hole on mine was tiny. I did not measure it, but it couldn't have been much more than 15mm.

Thanks for the pictures!