Restore: How big of a knot to use

[JPDyson]

I have an old Rubberset brush I'm working on restoring. I'm not looking to sell this one, since I've managed to bang it up pretty good in the process, so I'm making this with only my preferences in mine. I'm going for good, stiff backbone but soft tips. I typically bowl (scuttle) lather, either soaps or creams.

I've managed to hollow out the handle - it's a two-piece design, with a black bulbous top and a butterscotch/swirl handle. It's hollow to the base. The hole itself is just shy of 23mm in diameter, and I could easily mount a knot 20mm deep or more if needed.

So should I get a 22mm knot? I was looking at TGN's 22mm extra-stuffed knots, which would not only fill up the handle, but they're already very dense to begin with. Is that too wide of a knot? Should I aim a bit smaller?

 

[ssultan]

If it's the TGN 22mm Finest that you are referring to...it's a superb knot but beware...I had a 22mm opening and had a *&^%^ of a time fitting that sucker through. I ended up widening the opening and digging my hole deep to seat it as low as I could. If I recall correctly, the 22mm Finest is also one of the taller knots they have so you really need to have a deeper hole to get the backbone for face lathering ...it that's what you're looking for. I recommend a 50mm loft for that knot...

 

[ssultan]

You could always go with a smaller knot size, honestly, you will probably be just as happy with the 22mm regular finest knot vs. the extra stuffed...or even a knot slightly smaller. A smaller knot, set deep in the handle would be perfect as well...the knot will fill out the wider opening just fine. Another TGN knot that I can recommend is the Grade A Silvertip.

 

[JPDyson]

Thanks for the tips so far - I'm almost a full mm over 22, so I figured a 22 should fit "in theory". I know practice can be different.

I had it narrowed down in my mind to a 22mm finest (extra) or a 22mm Silvertip (grade A probably). Can't decide which would look better to me, but I think either one would look nice.

 

[ssultan]

Both are superb knots and the ones I end up using every time from TGN.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Thanks for the tips so far - I'm almost a full mm over 22, so I figured a 22 should fit "in theory". I know practice can be different.

I had it narrowed down in my mind to a 22mm finest (extra) or a 22mm Silvertip (grade A probably). Can't decide which would look better to me, but I think either one would look nice.

Either of these knots would fit a 22/23 mm hole for just the standard loft with the plug glued into the handle. However, if you want to set these a bit deeper for a shorter loft, you need to go a size down. Especially the Silvertips (they are "overstuffed" with hair) grow quite in diameter just above the plug. So, to be on the "safe" side, I would choose a 20 mm knot to set at a shorter loft in the handle with a hole of 22 mm.
Generally in my experience I need to add at least 2 mm to the hole size if I set knot deeper than the glue plug. As an example, I am just making a brush with a 28 mm knot, set deeper at about 58 mm, the hole I need for this is a 1.25", or a tad shy of 32 mm.

 

[JPDyson]

Rudy, thank you - that's the kind of info I was looking for. I am looking to take a TGN knot which is 65mm tall and probably set it 20mm deep for a short loft with tons of backbone, so that's good advice for my situation.

 

[ssultan]

Hi JPD, I used the 22mm finest extra stuffed set at 55-58mm and it had excellent backbone for a loft that high...another one of my favourite brushes has the 20mm grade A set at 48mm...setting the 22mm extra stuffed set at 45mm loft as you're suggesting would be too dense and overly stiff in my honest opinion. Plus, as per Rudy's advice, I too had issues with the width just above the knot and had to widen my initial 22mm opening to fit. With your brush, I would either go with the UK knot in 22mm (need to check if they have one in that size) since they are considerably smaller at the plug than the listed size and not as dense as the regular TGN knots or just get the 20mm in whatever grade you like and set that at 45mm for a lovely brush.

 

[red71veloce]

Rudy is spot on. All of the "A-grade Silvertips" or the "Finest" series (especially the extra stuffed) expand significantly immediately above the plug. Go with a smaller knot unless you are up to widening the opening.

Tracy