Collaboration brush

[AlanZ]

I have been wet shaving for a few months, and having a great time with it. My wife has just started wet shaving her legs, so we have a couple of converts!

We both do woodturning (mostly jewelry), so it's natural that we would collaborate on some custom brushes.

This is the first in a series. It's hard maple, embellished with archival ink, and a high gloss finish. The knot is a WD silver tip badger.

It's a little different, eh? We hope you like it... we're certainly having fun.

 

[KodiakAttack]

Absolutely gorgeous. If you ever get into the business, let me know.

P.S. What kind of wood(s) is that?

 

[Skinny Rogers]

That's freaking awesome!! Are they going to b available for purchase??

 

[AlanZ]

Thanks for the kind words. My bride and I taught "eccentric" wood jewelry turning at the American Association of Woodturners national symposium last year, where we demonstrated this type of embellishment.

We use hard maple for this, as it's mostly plain, and Lauren can use it as a "canvas" for the drawing.

I've made several handles with beautiful burl woods (buckeye, box elder, etc), some stabilized. I haven't photographed them yet. They are very nice, but I thought this brush was a better introduction to the way my bride and I collaborate on pieces. In this case, I turned the handle, she did all of the drawing, and gave it back to me for finishing. Between us, it took us about 5 hours of work.

As for making them available for purchase... we are considering it. This morning I looked into what it takes to participate in the Hobbyist/Vendor area.

We'll make a decision soon, and feedback from this community will be most helpful and appreciated.

 

[BSAGuy]

Wow!! That's WAY cool. You could sell those all day here.

 

[AlanZ]

A few more views, for your entertainment.

Because we all spend a good deal of time looking at our brushes upside down (when in use, or drying), Lauren decided to spend time on the bottom of the brush.

 

[aspirin54]

Very nice, interested to see what you two decide.

 

[ShaverGN]

How water resistant is the handle? Would it withstand very hot water?

 

[AlanZ]

It's got 6 coats of Wood Turners Finish (a water/oil urethane hybrid), applied while on the lathe, so it should hold up well. I chose this finish because it doesn't dissolve the ink.

 

[Skinny Rogers]

Man as stated above I don't think I'd have any problems selling these. Well done!

 

[ShaverGN]

This is truly gorgeous. Consider making a matching stand and a handle for a razor. Your wise and you are true artist.

 

[AlanZ]

Thanks for all of your feedback, it's appreciated.
We are working on a few more... different sizes, profiles, patterns, with and without colors, etc.
Collaborating with Lauren is great fun.

 

[mattdenicola]

Incredible stuff. Unique to the market for sure. Eagerly awaiting with PayPal ready to go!

 

[4ever3]

A shaving brush with doodle art on it!?! FANTASTIC!!!

 

[GolFisHunt]

Love the art work on that brush! You realize we will need to see an eccentrically turned brush next, right?
Keep up the good work!

 

[AlanZ]

Dave,

I've considered some multi-axis turning, but for now we're working on more collaborative pieces. It's an interesting task trying to balance the turning of the brush shape with the surfaces available for drawing. It's much like doing elaborate beading and coves on plain wood (to feature one's turning skills), but turning more simple shapes on highly figured woods... so the wood grain is the star.

Lauren is having a great time with this because she never quite knows what the next handle I turn will look like. It's fun to watch her adapt to the shapes, and to my "notes" on her progress, and how she incorporates my feedback into her designs.

These are proving to be more technically challenging than our similarly embellished jewelry, because of the need to make the brush handle finish stand up to a watery environment.

 

[Cachorro]

Very nice brushes and great that you can collaborate with the wife, both for shaving and art making. Congrats

 

[AlanZ]

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement.

We have decided to make brushes available to more than just my home bathroom.

We've taken on a Hobbyist badge, and my signature now shows a link to available brushes and how to make requests for custom work.

Keep an eye out for a new B&B user, LaurenZ... she might chime in from time to time.

 

[GolFisHunt]

Excellent! Good luck with the new venture!

 

[AlanZ]

I finally figured out a process that allows me to apply a CA (cyanoacrylate) finish to the handles and not dissolve the ink... Took quite a bit of experimentation, but the results are great and can be polished to a high gloss.