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Cigarsmoka Special

I can't post this without telling a bit of the story.

I've followed the Brush making and Restoration forum for a while. We have some very talented people here. There was a handle Jay (Cigarsmoka) posted that really impressed me.
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The colors, the shape, and what I can only describe as an almost organic quality. This could be something that occurred in nature. It has depth.

Most of the resin handles I've seen leave me cold. To plastic, uniform, and basically no Mojo. I'm a big fan of wood. Wood has natural Mojo. I made a comment that it was the first resin handle I'd seen that inspired lust.

Fast forward a bit, and Jay did one of his Practice brush PIF's. I did a minorly selfless thing. Jay contacted me, and asked if I wanted a Curly Maple handle he had made.
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Of course I said yes! This was back in May. I told him it might take a while to come up with the cash for a knot. He said no problem.

I'm poor. I think my 7 years of bad luck is about over, but there you go. Got downsized, foreclosed on, Cancer, girl left me, even had to put my dog down. Even started shopping for a bridge to sleep under. Things are going better the last few months, which is encouraging.

All that to say it took a while to get a knot. I really wanted a Silvertip. After much research, decided to take a chance on the Envy Silvertip knot. Jay had said Silvertip knots from most of the moderately priced vendors had been pretty varied in quality. Even from the same vendor. A few weeks ago, got the knot and had it sent to Jay. I asked him to go ahead and use it a few times, as he's got a lot more experience with different knots, and it would be good to know if Envy may be a reliable source for Silvertip.

Disaster struck. The handle did a minor self destruct. Jay immediately offered to make another, even asking what I would like. I related my warm fuzzy feelings for the green handle pictured above. He said he would see what he could do.

Well, this is what he can do.
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Just got it today. Pictures don't do it justice. The Mica powder doing that subtle metal flake effect is really cool. Could probably look at it for hours.

This baby has Mojo.

My first custom brush. And no, I couldn't buy something as gorgeous if I wanted to.

And to top it off, he included a bottle of Fine Italian Citrus aftershave, which will be my first aftershave!

B+B is a place we get to see kindness, and generousity that are most often lacking in our daily lives. Sometimes it's public, sometimes private. I've probably been the recipient of more than my fair share.

Thanks Jay. This is special.
 
Whoa, that is an amazing looking brush! I hope you get tons of good lathers out of that bad boy!


As an aside: I'm wearing Fine Italian Citrus today, good stuff!
 
Congratulations on receiving such a beautiful brush! Jay, aka @CigarSmoka, makes really nice brushes and is one of the finest examples of a gentleman and all in all wonderful person.
Enjoy your new brush @Hoka Hey !
 
I'm jealous. :laugh:

That is an absolutely stunning brush. Jay did an excellent job all the way around, and I'm glad you were on the receiving end. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the compliments guys, and you are very welcome @Hoka Hey

As for his "minorly selfless act", reread all he's been through in recent times, then dig this. I had a PIF that another member really liked because it reminded him of the Ugandan flag, and he did work over there. Now, I'm always happy to PIF a handle but if you win one, you're out of future PIFs so I can spread the love around. Hoka said if he won he would forward the handle to the other member and forfeit his right to future PIFs.... after all he's been through he still wanted to give something to a member even though it would cost him the handle and any future chance at another. Acts like that are what make this a great forum. I don't deserve any of the limelight here, Hoka showed generousity even when facing adversity and certainly deserves the handle. I hope you enjoy it for years friend.
 
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Broke out the big guns for the initial use.
Soaked the tips in about a 1/2" of warm water while in the shower.

The Good:
Ran warm water over it, gave it a squeeze, and got to it.
Loading was a bit odd, in a good way. At about 10 seconds, there was a layer of cream created on top of the soap. I've never seen soap do that to that extent. Bowl lathered with a little water. 22mm knot is about perfect size for me. Just right. Soft tips, about medium backbone. Splays fairly easily. The handle is wonderful. Easy to hold and use.

The Bad:
It may be a shedder. Lost about 20 hairs. Picking hairs out of soap with tweezers is one of my least favorite activities. I think next time I'll skip the soak, just wet it before use, see if that helps. I certainly hope the hair loss ends. We will see. I'll wait a couple days to let it dry thoroughly, and give it another shot.

Still a wonderful Shave with a gorgeous brush.
Thanks again Jay!
 
20 hairs?!? With the few lathers I did, including one the night before I sent it out, I don't think it lost 10 hairs total. In fact, I don't recall it losing any at all on the last lather. If it's a bum knot see if Envy will replace it. If you don't want to pop the knot out yourself send it to me and I'll take care of it. I'm stumped as to why it would lose so many now... Very sorry and hope this was just a fluke.
 
I've been down and I've been up. Sounds like you're on the up swing. And even in a bad day you can now have a good start. Cool deal.thanks for sharing that
 

That is beyond gorgeous. Nice work, and great generosity, gentlemen. :thumbup1:
Thanks guys. Jay is making some beautiful brushes. I'm truly lucky to have been gifted this one.
The knot turned out to be a shedder, so presently saving for an upgrade. Was originally thinking a TGN 2 band, but now leaning towards a Shavemac 2 band. Special handle needs a special knot.
 
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