How to safely remove a knot to reset in a new handle? Mühle 25mm STF, Aesop, Razorock, Duke 3

[Badgo]

Hi Folks!

I am excited to say I recently purchased a Mühle STF XL in faux ivory, I'll admit I found a good deal on it on ebay (~£40) but listed as new in box. I also thought to pick up the Muhle STF 21 MM travel brush in Chrome because I found a good deal on it and I simply love the chrome handle.

Also I couldn't resist the opportunity to finally comapre first hand the 25mm vs the 21 mm knots. I have read a lot of people believe the 25mm is disproportionately denser than the 21mm. I love the Aesop brush which I did a review of- but my big qualm is related to the fact that the knot is not very dense- incidentally I have found this makes the brush have excellent flow through and never fling. but still, when comparing to the Duke 3 in platinum, it was obvious that the Simpsons brush was way more dense and lovely to use. As an aside I love to face lather, and typically go for smaller knots because I like the opportunity to exfoliate and small knots tend to allow for this out of necessity and offer more control. anyway.

With this in mind I keep thinking of the possibility of turning/ whittling my own handle and repurposing the 25mm knot. I have seen quite a few posts related to people who want to reset a handle with a new knot, but have not come across many post of people who want to safely remove a knot they love and put that knot into a new handle. I have heard of the possibility of steaming the brush to loosen the glue.

I am wondering if anyone has any experience doing this? Also I am curious if anyone knows anyone uk based who able to transfer an old brush to a new handle?

I will of course post another review of mine in due course as soon as I get some more experience with the brushes. I have to say I am feeling the hype of my way- especially after Tobin's most recent review of the STF and also G5C, which given AP Shave co's ranking actually seems like the true ideal fibre for me. As an aside, I have found I keep coming back to my razorock 400 noir given it is softer than all the brushes I have and 24mm is a good size, as well as it offers a fast lather too. It seems, how we say, unfairly soft. Only reasons It's not my all time favorite is that the brush has not scrub and the handle is not stable. otherwise I would be happy with it as my main driver.

Also given my experience with the Kong at 26x 63mm I am a bit curious of the size comparison between the Muhle STF 25mm and the Kong at 26mm. I imagine the height difference will play a large role in splay, control, not to mention the difference in fibre playing a factor in practically everything to do with the brushes.

Thanks!

P.S. It occured to me I could review the Razorock 400 in noir and plissoft.. and the kong... I'll get on it

 

[Rudy Vey]

Not sure who this guy Tobin is and where he gets his info, but Muehle has or had a video on their site showing how the STF knots are made by hand. There was a very specialized one showing how the hair is weighed and they had to make adaptions to fight the static that might affect the weighing process of the synthetic hair.
Here is a little video showing the overall work process, and when you watch carefully you can see some of the STf fibers being prepared to put into knots.

Video: Manufacturing Processes at MÜHLE

Transforming your daily shave into a cherished ritual.

muhleshaving.com

Personally, I have found to watch these home made videos of these "Shaving gurus" to be a waste of my time, they are way too long and often push a product that was given to them for free.

 

[Big Jim]

There is always a risk involved when trying to remove a knot. If you try to steam it out you risk damaging both the handle and the knot depending on how they are made and what they are made of. The most reliable method is probably using a lathe and turning down the end of the handle at the knot end until there knot is free of the handle. Rudy Vey, the poster above, is likely the best person to do that. There is still some risk of damaging the knot in the process.

 

[muzichead]

@Badgo

I'd suggest watching several video's on how to safely remove a knot by steaming. There are quite a few good video's over on YouTube and a few in with good detail... I was successful on removing a few knots to reuse the handles I liked a few years ago.

 

[DesertIguana]

Nice part of elchepo brush is when the Knot is done, you just buy new cheap brush.

 

[Badgo]

Not sure who this guy Tobin is and where he gets his info, but Muehle has or had a video on their site showing how the STF knots are made by hand. There was a very specialized one showing how the hair is weighed and they had to make adaptions to fight the static that might affect the weighing process of the synthetic hair.
Here is a little video showing the overall work process, and when you watch carefully you can see some of the STf fibers being prepared to put into knots.

Video: Manufacturing Processes at MÜHLE

Transforming your daily shave into a cherished ritual.

muhleshaving.com

Personally, I have found to watch these home made videos of these "Shaving gurus" to be a waste of my time, they are way too long and often push a product that was given to them for free.

Hi Rudy! Its nice to read a message from you since I know you are pretty revered in this community. Given you assemble brushes, can you shed any light onto the the removal and resetting of a knot from one handle to another? Or for example is this something you might be able to do?

As an aside, I do recommend checking out the comments for video Tobin made, you will see I already shared a video from Muhle explaining their meticulous manufacturing. You can hopefully see Tobin wrote back and explained he was not aware of Muhle's manufacturing. All to say, I think Tobin is as reliable of source of information as anyone talking about shaving accoutrements, he shares his honest opinion and as much data as he knows for sure, which I feel is the best we can hope for.

 

[Badgo]

Nice part of elchepo brush is when the Knot is done, you just buy new cheap brush.

yeah! its a good point, but honestly today the two Muhle knots arrived and they are discernibly better than other "drug store brushes" for sure.

 

[DesertIguana]

Never owned a better then price point brush, so I have nothing top gauge against. My price point brushes work, work is my goal.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Hi Rudy! Its nice to read a message from you since I know you are pretty revered in this community. Given you assemble brushes, can you shed any light onto the the removal and resetting of a knot from one handle to another? Or for example is this something you might be able to do?

As an aside, I do recommend checking out the comments for video Tobin made, you will see I already shared a video from Muhle explaining their meticulous manufacturing. You can hopefully see Tobin wrote back and explained he was not aware of Muhle's manufacturing. All to say, I think Tobin is as reliable of source of information as anyone talking about shaving accoutrements, he shares his honest opinion and as much data as he knows for sure, which I feel is the best we can hope for.

Well, a lot talk about the steaming method which I have never used. It might work, or it might now. I guess all depends on the glue used. If I have to free a knot from a handle, I normally turn the old handle away on my lathe until the knot is cleared of all handle material. This has worked for many years for me.
One thing Tobin said in his video is absolutely true: the Muehle STF is the one synthetic knot that is closest to a natural badger!