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ChiefBroom

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Is there a waiting list for these? I missed the original Chief brush but I'd love to get my hands on a Chief II.

There isn't exactly a formal list yet. But I'm keeping track. I won't accept any payment for a brush until I have the brush in hand for delivery (possibly with exceptions for ex-US buyers in situations where Lee has the brush in hand and is in a better position to ship it to the buyer cost effectively).

Anyone who wants one, please feel free to send an email to the address provided in my Vendor Hall of Fame entry. I'll put together a list and keep everyone on it posted.

FWIW, I didn't intend for this thread to turn into a long tease. I pinned on a Vendor badge and migrated to this Forum when my progress with the lathe had progressed to a point where I knew I was committed to pursue making handles as a business venture. Lee's agreement (back around August) to provide knots was pivotal in that regard. This really started out late last year (shortly after the M&F group buy) with me just thinking I'd like to be able to make prototypes.

Anyhow, maybe I should have waited until I had brushes ready and available to sell before posting here, but I couldn't stand not sharing what we've been doing.

Thanks to all for the continuing patience.

There's been vague mention of a group buy, but I can't find the thread for the life of me.

I appreciate the interest, but there is no group buy in the works, and I don't presently foresee one. On the other hand, never is a long time.

What types of hair and knot shapes will be available?

The plan is for Lee Sabini to provide the knots, which of course will limit choices to what he has available. That said, I knows he's been laying up stock in contemplation of this venture. I expect the standard offering to be comparable to what Lee labels as Blonde Badger; however, that leaves a fair amount of latitude.

So when do they go on sale??

When I have them back with knots installed. I hate to guess when that will be, but I'll be disappointed if it's not sometime in November. We haven't quite settled pricing yet.

Handle seems to be the perfect blend of (maybe) a Stubby and Eagle. Awesome.

Thanks. I'll always have a soft spot for the Chief, but the PK-47 is a little more ergonomic for me. I have a hard time putting it down.

I can certainly see a bit of the Eagle in it, and maybe also the Simpson 50 series. But the idea for the bottom half actually came from a handle I saw on a piece of machinery, the kind of handle you shove in with the palm or your hand and pull back out with your fingers. The top half was simply lifted from the original Adobe Illustrator drawing of the Chief and modified to fit with the lower half, also first drawn in AI.

The sheer impact of the number of these is awesome - and of course the details on each!

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Great pic!

I'm very appreciative of the compliment, but I want to take this opportunity to make the point that every handle we turn gets individual attention. Dark Holler is a small shop (and a labor of love), not a factory. We intend to keep it that way.

Here's some color on our operation:

I haven't picked up a drill press yet, so I manually turned a tailstock handle to drill the initial 25 mm rough sockets for all of the handles we've made so far.

I use drop-in tool posts and manually do all of the tool changes, between which I hold the Shop Hawk (see below) nozzle over the work-piece to catch chips, ribbons, and dust. Turning our handles is close-up and very mindful work. Otherwise, I'd have no interest in doing it.

We use 25-year-old CNC lathes (not made in China, BTW), and although there are programs that facilitate generation of G-Code from the AI and CAD files we draw from scratch, I end up doing a lot of manual coding, some of it on the fly. (When I bought the lathes in January, I didn't know what G-Code was.)

In addition to being our own designers, programmers, and machinists, we also spend appreciable time working as mechanics. I've learned from experience that when running older equipment, it's prudent to put together an inventory of parts. We've already replaced motors, repaired pulley assemblies, and re-built tailstocks.

Back to the handles, every one of them shown in the photos of the first batch has a sequential number written in red pencil at the bottom of its socket. We kept detailed, hand-written notes on cutting tool inserts used, insert wear, progressive cutting characteristics, handle dimensions (I put calipers on each handle as it came off the lathe), and handle-surface characteristics (e.g., tool marks, texture, etc.) throughout the use of an insert. All of that was later keyed into a spreadsheet. Before we boxed up the handles, I used a magnified visor to inspect each and every one, starting with #1, and entered additional comments on the spreadsheet.

We learn something new every day. The more I learn, the more respect I have for everyone else engaged in making brushes, whether they be hobbyists, artisan vendors, or large-scale manufacturers (e.g., Simpson). I believe what we're doing is a little different. But we're not about comparing our work to anyone else's or competing for sales. We just want to make great shaving tools (starting out with handles), see if we can make a living and have fun doing it, and promote wider adoption of traditional wet-shaving.

Below is our Shop-Hawk (as in Jayhawk), named by my wife. Note the 1945 90mm M19 brass shell casing that serves as our nozzle receptacle.

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The view from Dark Holler (with Shop Hawk exhaust hose running out window):


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Given the value of our equipment and inventory, we employ round-the-clock security.

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I remember Vietnam and hauling huge shell casings for our 6 inch guns from the fantail all the way up to the focsle. heavy as hell. nice work on the beautiful brushes
 
Thanks for showing us a snippet of how the magic happens. The workshop is so impeccably clean and well lit. When you wrote about the CNC lathe, for some reason I didn't expect it to be that big because you brought it home... its huge!

The implied security 'sign' is undoubtedly effective.
 
... I'll always have a soft spot for the Chief, but the PK-47 is a little more ergonomic for me. I have a hard time putting it down.

:w00t:

As you might remember Ken I was the guy who had a problem using the Chiefs handle (!!) and had to be instructed by you. I have since then come to appreciate that handle very much. Since I'm a face latherer I primarily aim for shorter handles and this comment on the handle really makes my attention peak.

Well that and the fact that you once again seem to aim at a 25 mm knot from Lee.

We don't shave with razors and brushes, we shave with passion. This just might be a legend in the making... :thumbup1:
 
What a great quote

We don't shave with razors and brushes, we shave with passion. This just might be a legend in the making... [emoji106]1:


I think its great that the handles can help some gents that may have difficulties holding certain handles. I hadn't ever really thought of that being an issue, but it makes a lot of sense.
 
D

Deleted member 48987

This batch of handles looks exquisite. To my eye they almost look stone-like. It does not seem to be of the same texture as the typical resin. :thumbup1:
 
I hadn't come back and visited this thread for a while, but wow--the handles look fantastic! Congrats on some beautiful work. I think the biggest problem will be choosing which shape and color, since they all look so good. Sending an e-mail to be on the list.
 
Ken - just checked out this thread for the first time. So pleased to hear of these developments. Wishing you every success with this - I know you will provide a top quality product.
 
Ken - just checked out this thread for the first time. So pleased to hear of these developments. Wishing you every success with this - I know you will provide a top quality product.

Same here (some complications lately, sorry)

Amazing! Beautiful handles and a great project!

And tempting! Just have to read the whole thread... very carefully...:biggrin1:
 
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