I've restored 5 brushes already, and they all turned great. Although I've seen some brushes here were the knot is considerably deeper than mine. Is there a reason for that? How deep do you put your knots in the handle?
How deep you put the knot?
- Thread starter martinocando
- Start date
Depends.
What size is the knot? What feel do you like? Does it look right?
Some knots are taller or wider or denser than others. Some handles don't look good with very tall or very short lofts. Some times you have to go by the feeling.
What size is the knot? What feel do you like? Does it look right?
Some knots are taller or wider or denser than others. Some handles don't look good with very tall or very short lofts. Some times you have to go by the feeling.
Bakerbarber nailed it. Strictly going for aesthetics? Set it where it looks good. Want more backbone? Go with a lower loft, or a higher loft (or larger hole) for more splay. I usually use 24mm x 67mm knots and drill a 17mm deep hole after facing off the end, but normally take off an additional 1-2mm when shaping & sanding it, so most mine are about 51-52mm loft. This isn’t by accident, I use mostly two band finest and that’s my sweet spot for the characteristics I like.
Basically you move the knot up or down depending on what you want the brush to end up like. There is no magic depth because of the factors mentioned above. A very important factor is the fullness and loft of the knot before you start.
Personally, I like a lot of loft and usually end up adding spacers under the knot to get it higher.
The real tip here is to set the knot with silicon so you can easily pull it out and try a different loft until you find your personal sweet spot for that particular knot and handle.
One of my favorite brushes (perhaps my favorite) is a 30 mm Silvertip set at 70 mm of loft.
You don't know what you are missing if you don't experiment.
Personally, I like a lot of loft and usually end up adding spacers under the knot to get it higher.
The real tip here is to set the knot with silicon so you can easily pull it out and try a different loft until you find your personal sweet spot for that particular knot and handle.
One of my favorite brushes (perhaps my favorite) is a 30 mm Silvertip set at 70 mm of loft.
You don't know what you are missing if you don't experiment.
- Thread starter
- #5
Agree. I love a strong backbone, but Maggard Razors' 2-band badger knots have plenty, so no need to put it deeper to get more backbone. Although regarding the silicone, I've read conflicting reports that whilst it might help you re-do a brush if needed, is not as durable as Epoxy, and it might get loose and fall. Out of my 5 restore jobs, 2 were made with silicone, and I'm always checking the knot if is still good to go before shaving.
2 questions:
1. Do you do all your restorations with Silicone?
2. Which type and brand are you using? I'm using Permatex red RTV silicone. Is that the one I should be using?
- Thread starter
- #7
Got it, well I just used part epoxy/part silicon for my Ace Silvertips. I put a base of epoxy until I reached the proper depth, let it dry, and used a bit of silicon to glue the knot. I think I'm going to leave them like that for a while, and see if they hold. I don't want to risk damaging the knot when I pull it out.
