Handle Questions

[REV579]

I would love to re-knot these:

My fear is the condition of the handles make we worried that they might be "weak" or brittle. The years have not been good to them. Is there anything that would help their density or give them more substance? Would shellac help or hurt the handles?

 

[Big Jim]

I'm not worried about the red and black one. I'm confident it can be cleaned up, polished up, and reknotted. I'm worried about the other two. But what the heck, Columbus took a chance. I know of nothing you can do to improve the overall texture and strength of the aged plastic, but once you polish them up they may be better than you thought they would be. See how well they polish up before you invest in knots for them. Don't try to save the bezel and build up the shelf on the Gillette.

On the red and black one, consider enlarging the hole and installing a larger knot. The one in it now is quite small. I would suggest a minimum of a 20 mm knot and possibly larger.

Keep us posted.

 

[bakerbarber]

Mix up some two part epoxy and coat the inside of the two small ones. I'd fill them up a few layers at a time since that stuff heats up as it cures. Or paint a few layers inside somehow. Redrill a proper socket if needed. That ought to give you some pretty good reenforcement to stand up to finishing and polishing.

I've had vintage handles crumble on me before. It happens. Time marches on.

 

[ajkel64]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You never know until you have a go. What is the worst thing that can happen? Unless they are heirloom brushes then I would probably pay a professional craftsman to do the job for me.

 

[REV579]

Any thoughts on dipping the small ones in shellac or the like?

 

[REV579]

I did tackle one of these handles, the two-tone, unbranded handle(I think it is an Ever-Ready).

After removing the old knot, I cleaned the ferrule and enlarged it ever-so-slightly.

Though I do not know what type of material the ferrule is, it responds well to oil, either bone, antler, or wood. It does have a nice translucence effect in the light.

I'm working with 16mm knots. A synthetic and 2 different Badger knots from TGN.

I went with the one in the middle.

Loading the knot into the handle without epoxy or silicone.

Time to break it in. Pictured with my Wee Scot and another 16mm re-knot. If this performs anything like my Star re-knot, I might be rethinking all my other brushes.

The dimensions should end up being:
17mm Ferrule Throat
16mm x 60mm knot
41.7mm loft

The Star dimensions:
18.4mm Ferrule Throat
16 x 60 knot
43mm loft

I have not set the knot permanently yet because I have not decided on how to seal the ferrule, or if it needs sealing at all.

 

[Big Jim]

Nice work! That looks great and it probably looks better in person.

 

[REV579]

It looks like the mystery brush might be identified...

Spoiler: And behind the curtain we find

 

[BigJ]

GREAT WORK!!

 

[REV579]

Holy Doppelganger Batman!
Tell me what I've got (part 3, brushes)

 

[REV579]

It was a year later, but it worked! Previously, I was unable to reknot this handle because of the glue bulge. Below is with a 16mm Finest knot from TGN:

It just would not work. This all changed with the arrival of some 16mm Finest Frank Shaving knots.

I've had this handle for so long it's not even funny. I've almost listed or offered the handle for sale countless times due to the inability to find a suitable knot. This knot is a 16mm/56mm Finest with a very friendly glue bulge. I was able to load the knot from the bottom of the ferrule, feeding it until the bulge found the ledge used to hold the Original Rubberset collar and knot in place. The finished brush now has a 42mm loft, set at a 14mm depth. I have not set the knot/ferrule/base yet, but when I do, it will be with silicone.

 

[CigarSmoka]

It looks like your patience finally paid off. One of the things I like about TGN knots is that I’ve never had a glue bump with any of their two band finest, but I have had others with one and like yours, they just wouldn’t work.

 

[REV579]

I tried all of the different 16mm TGN badger knots and none of them worked. Needless to say, but I am pretty stoked. The knot will be secure and cured in sometime tomorrow, making for an anticipated Wednesday Shave.

 

[CigarSmoka]

That’s too bad. Either they get the smaller knots from a different manufacturer (I’ve heard from a reliable source they use more than one Chinese supplier) or the QC isn’t what it used to be.

 

[REV579]

I like it! Seriously.

It lathered up really well. After soaking the brush, I used the same amount of ToOBS that I normally do:

Whipped up the lather in no time at all-less than a minute. If I added more water and worked it longer, I imagine there would be more lather, but I’ve grown to like this consistency.

After 2-full passes, without rendering the great stuff by squeezing the knot, I still had enough for at least 2 more passes.

I’m really pleased with these knots. I’ll use the little Gillette Travel Brush next.

 

[Clay S]

That's a great looking razor/brush combination! Glad to hear the knot worked well for you.

 

[CigarSmoka]

That’s a sweet looking combo there!

 

[REV579]

Here is the other:
Since the general purpose of this brush was to be used with a Shave Stick, I used my homemade shave stick and face lathered. Worked like a charm.

Razor: Gillette 102 1907 Gold Splined Knob(G 84363)
Blade: Perma-Sharp Super
Brush: Gillette 102 w/FS Finest 16mm
Pre-Shave: Face Lather
Lather: ToOBS Mr. Taylor’s Travel Stick
Aftershave: Stirling Deep Blue Sea Splash
Additional Care:
Stirling Deep Blue Sea Beard Oil
Chanel Bleu de Chanel Parfum

 

[GAW9576]

Both brushes look fantastic, glad you found knots that worked in both of them.

 

[REV579]

Both brushes look fantastic, glad you found knots that worked in both of them.

Thanks. I think I like the Silver one the most. The knot opens up really well and, well is kinda phenomenal.