Mining a Zenith knot.

[Leverspro]

This post will show how to get a Zenith boar knot out of its original plastic handle. It's information I looked for and could not find so I'll post it for others.
The Zenith unbleached boar is a very nice knot. I've kicked myself for not spending another $10 for the solid olive wood handle. But the knot has a very tall loft. I believe it's intended for Italian barber style holding of pinching the knot with your fingers to adjust the splay, which I don't like doing. So, since I like the feel of the boar knot and wanted to adjust the loft I decided to risk trashing it. I also have a new, unopened one in my drawer, so not much risk. I feel the knot is nice enough to warrant a nice custom handle from one of the many great handle makers out there. I had great success doing the same thing with an Omega 10049 last year, but Zeniths are a little bit different.
Here is my nicely broken in Zenith unbleached boar unsuspecting.

Here is the instrument of destruction. Squeeze it at the bottom until it breaks.

Put some glasses on as the plastic fly off.
Squeeze it again at the base of the knot to crush the plastic.

The black band has to be cut off. I used a regular hack saw. Once you cut through the black band it will pop off of the glue bulb with a screw driver or scratch awl.

The resulting bulb on this particular bulb is 26mm.

I'll do some sanding on the remaining glue bulb, but it should be relatively easy to put it in any 26mm handle.

 

[Leverspro]

Now the fun part, choosing a new handle for this knot!

 

[ajkel64]

I really don’t know what to say. I liked the old handle. Still interested to see what you put it in.

 

[Leverspro]

It's true. The old handle was fine. The shape was just right and the plastic was thick and durable. But it was hollow and super light. Also I felt the loft was too high for me. All in the name of science and research. Plus I'd like to add a beautiful artisan handle to my rotation without adding another brush.
Still haven't chosen a handle.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I also harvest my Omega boar knots from Omega brushes in a similar way...

 

[dmshaver]

Thank you for posting. I'll be trying this with a couple of brushes, a Zenith & Omega.

 

[Leverspro]

Thank you for posting. I'll be trying this with a couple of brushes, a Zenith & Omega.

Don't crush the Omega in a vice. Pry the ring up and the cup will pop out of the handle. I mined an Omega 40019 out of a plastic handle and still have the empty handle in a drawer, perfectly in tact. I posted pictures of it in the brush forum somewhere but no longer have the pics.

 

[dmshaver]

Don't crush the Omega in a vice. Pry the ring up and the cup will pop out of the handle. I mined an Omega 40019 out of a plastic handle and still have the empty handle in a drawer, perfectly in tact. I posted pictures of it in the brush forum somewhere but no longer have the pics.

Thank you for the additional information, I appreciate knowing how not to ruin the Omega. I first want to get the knot out of my Proraso Pro boar to put in another handle, which is made by Omega. I like the knot, it's just set too high. I can then work on a plastic-handled Zenith.

 

[oscar11]

I just removed a Zenith Manchurian knot last week, not your method but easy enough. Nice job.

 

[Leverspro]

I just removed a Zenith Manchurian knot last week, not your method but easy enough. Nice job.

I've heard that's a great knot. What kind of handle material did it have?

 

[oscar11]

It was a a heavy resin of some type. It is a nice knot with a nice feel to it. Also ordered a Zenith brush with a best quality knot that should arrive Friday. I put the Manchurian knot in a mesquite handle.

 

[Leverspro]

It was a a heavy resin of some type. It is a nice knot with a nice feel to it. Also ordered a Zenith brush with a best quality knot that should arrive Friday. I put the Manchurian knot in a mesquite handle.View attachment 1262690

Wow, that's gorgeous. The resin handles look really nice, but that's definitely an upgrade. I'd be curious to know what method you used to get that knot out of resin. My method of crushing the handle in a vise reflects my skill level with tools, but that wouldn't work with resin.

 

[oscar11]

The original handles are good. Usually I'll use the lathe to remove the knots but also use a dremmel tool. I'll post some pics if I decide to remove the knot of the Zenith best brush when it comes in. Normally I only remove knots from a handle where I think I can improve the performance. That wasn't the case with the Zenith, imo, it was an excellent brush just the way it came.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Excellent and interesting thread.

I have the same plastic handled Zenith unbleached boar. The loft is "too high" and the handle is cheap but also okay. I elected to do nothing to it, but like what you're doing, too, and appreciate the instructions, etc.

I also have the unbleached boar in the olivewood handle. It's a good performing brush and a nice handle, but it's the worst shaped knot I've ever purchased and clearly should have been rejected by Zenith's QC. It looks pregnant on one side.

I like all my Zenith boars, but the unbleached are in my opinion the best of the lot in their performance.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Graydog]

I have been to that harvest festival before