Show and tell! I posted a thread a month or so back asking for suggestions for my next brush. Many of our illustrious members said rather than get another commercial brush, I should work with one of our custom makers who belong to B&B. I thought about it, but let the idea go until I was inspired by a recent brush handle design contest on the forum. I spent a lot of time, came up with about a dozen different handles that I liked. After posting my two favorites here and getting opinions and suggestions, I worked with Matt DeRuitem and came up with this custom brush. The material has swirls of deep blues, with a some hints of blue-green, and myriad small swirls of silver specks. When you look at the handle, it's deep and rich, looking everything like stars in the milky way, swirling in the evening sky. I'm not sure if the photos do it justice. It's really amazing to look at in person.
The design is based on the Simpson Eagle. The knot is a TGN 22mm super silvertip fan. I didn't want a bulb, and I didn't want the knot to bloom out widely like a typical fan, so Matt set the 65mm (overall height) knot at 43mm loft. It doesn't have the density of my Simpson Chubby 1, but it is a fantastic knot and setting for me. As you can see in the before and after bloom photos, the knot is staying nice and focused. While the size would be considered more of a face lathering brush, I like small brushes with a lot of focus, and so this is being used for bowl lathering. The brush holds a LOT of water due to the low setting, so a couple of shakes are required prior to lathering. Whether for face or bowl however, the brush lathers extremely well. It compares favorably with another of my favorite brushes, the Duke 1.
Many thanks to Matt who went through a lot of communication back and forth to get the handle and brush just the way I was hoping. I'm so impressed with the brush and Matt's craftsmanship that he and I are already talking about doing another brush, this time with two colors of materials, to be finished sometime in September.
Well?
The design is based on the Simpson Eagle. The knot is a TGN 22mm super silvertip fan. I didn't want a bulb, and I didn't want the knot to bloom out widely like a typical fan, so Matt set the 65mm (overall height) knot at 43mm loft. It doesn't have the density of my Simpson Chubby 1, but it is a fantastic knot and setting for me. As you can see in the before and after bloom photos, the knot is staying nice and focused. While the size would be considered more of a face lathering brush, I like small brushes with a lot of focus, and so this is being used for bowl lathering. The brush holds a LOT of water due to the low setting, so a couple of shakes are required prior to lathering. Whether for face or bowl however, the brush lathers extremely well. It compares favorably with another of my favorite brushes, the Duke 1.
Many thanks to Matt who went through a lot of communication back and forth to get the handle and brush just the way I was hoping. I'm so impressed with the brush and Matt's craftsmanship that he and I are already talking about doing another brush, this time with two colors of materials, to be finished sometime in September.
Well?
