My first re-knot was a ceramic handle. Knot removal was zero risk.
This Solid Set is in great shape, barely used, probably because the knot quality was abysmal. Fine nylon (?) surrounded by a thin hedge of (possibly fake) badger. I had absolutely no qualms about throwing out a vintage knot in this case.
Rather than gripping the handle in my vise, I wrapped the knot in painters tape and put the knot in the vise. My cutting tool was a used Gem PTFE blade. The tape held the hair together for disposal - no mess.
A few cheapie wood carving chisels made short, easy work of removing the stump.
I dremeled the inside of the cavity with a 'large' dremel sanding drum on the lowest speed, removing most of the adhesive residue. I did not have any excess wall thickness to play with, so some residue remains.
The available cavity diameter was about 20mm, a little wider at the bottom.
My knot inventory included:
First choice - 20mm two band badger, glue bump too big to fit.
Second try - 20mm black badger, could work, a little tight. But I recently lofted a twin knot into one of my custom handles.
Third shot - 18mm boar, great fit, nice look, and when shaving I reach for my boars first. Which means I have a lot of boars. But this is the predestined knot. Lofted at 48mm without any drilling, which will be fine.
I like it.
This Solid Set is in great shape, barely used, probably because the knot quality was abysmal. Fine nylon (?) surrounded by a thin hedge of (possibly fake) badger. I had absolutely no qualms about throwing out a vintage knot in this case.
Rather than gripping the handle in my vise, I wrapped the knot in painters tape and put the knot in the vise. My cutting tool was a used Gem PTFE blade. The tape held the hair together for disposal - no mess.
A few cheapie wood carving chisels made short, easy work of removing the stump.
I dremeled the inside of the cavity with a 'large' dremel sanding drum on the lowest speed, removing most of the adhesive residue. I did not have any excess wall thickness to play with, so some residue remains.
The available cavity diameter was about 20mm, a little wider at the bottom.
My knot inventory included:
First choice - 20mm two band badger, glue bump too big to fit.
Second try - 20mm black badger, could work, a little tight. But I recently lofted a twin knot into one of my custom handles.
Third shot - 18mm boar, great fit, nice look, and when shaving I reach for my boars first. Which means I have a lot of boars. But this is the predestined knot. Lofted at 48mm without any drilling, which will be fine.
I like it.
