I started this brush handle the other day to be a nice little travel brush size for testing out different knots. I was putting it on a jam chuck to finish the sanding and, well I guess it was to tight a fit and to thin of wood. It's a shame because the grain had some really nice character. Luckily the other brush I'm working on is turning out much better. I will post pictures of that one soon
Some days are better than others
- Thread starter GAW9576
- Start date
'tis but a flesh wound! 
Sorry that the handle split on you.
Sorry that the handle split on you.
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- #3
It happens, at least more turn out good than bad.
Grind up some coffeee beans super fine, mix them into some epoxy, fill that crack and chip and you’ll have a beautiful handle with a nice feature to the wood.
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- #5
I thought about doing that with some shell that I have. Although the overall size and shape of the handle was not my favorite so I wasn't sure it would be worth the effort to save it. I kept thinking about the liberty bell when I was looking at the crack. Maybe I will do something with it. I have some brass shavings somewhere. If I liked the shape more I even have some 14k white gold shavings from a recent project.
Sorry about the crack, but it still could be resurrected.
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- #7
So I decided to try a brass shavings and 2 part epoxy rescue. I started by using a dremel to even up the gap width so I could pack in a good amount of the brass and epoxy goop.
Then I inserted a cylinder made of wax paper to give a backer. Mixed up the epoxy and brass, slathered it in and hope for the best. I've been wanting to try an inlay like this on wood turning, so this is a great place to test it. Thank you @CigarSmoka and @ajkel64 for suggesting a rescue.
We should find out tomorrow or Friday if it is successful.
Then I inserted a cylinder made of wax paper to give a backer. Mixed up the epoxy and brass, slathered it in and hope for the best. I've been wanting to try an inlay like this on wood turning, so this is a great place to test it. Thank you @CigarSmoka and @ajkel64 for suggesting a rescue.
We should find out tomorrow or Friday if it is successful.
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- #8
So here is the nearly finished product. May need another coat of flaxseed oil once this coat dry. And here is the other handle I have been working on. These will be test handles for trying out different knots and I also want to see how the flax seed oil finish holds up.
Das Goldschlager rasiert Pinsel.
Yeah, its brass, I took some liberty! Not bad actually.
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- #10
Thank you. It does look a bit like a vein of gold. I actually think maybe I put a little too much brass shavings in the epoxy but overall I'm pretty happy with the results. Thanks again to @ajkel64 and @CigarSmoka for recommending the rescue.
It came up well. Looks like a vein of some exotic ore encased within the handle.
Great work!! The ‘repair’ looks like you planned this outcome!! 
Glad to see you took the time to save the handle @GAW9576 Part of wood working/brushmaking/whatever is overcoming those unexpected obstacles. Some can’t be fixed, many can. The end result may not be what you had in mind, but you now have a unique handle with character all it’s own, and both look great! Well done!
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- #14
Thank you @CigarSmoka My wife and I had a similar experience refinishing a head board and foot board for our bed. We had different expectations and I was ready to give up on it at one point. We stepped back from the project long enough to re-evaluate and It turned out quite a bit different than I had planned, but now we both love the way it looks.
Ah. Like the Japanese art of Kintsugi - See Kintsugi - Wikipedia
I think it looks cooler than the original state.
Come to think of it, I should try that on a broken handle for a Schick Type G.
About the flaxseed oil - will that cause a problem with the glue for installing the knot, or is it only on the outside?
I don't think that you put too much brass in there. It looks awesome!
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- #17
That's cool @John Rose thank you for sharing the article. I will find out if the oil has an affect on the knots being glued up. But I plan on using silicon for a temporary hold so I can play around with knot depth and test different knots. So it's all experimental with these two handles.
If you fix the handle on the schick type G please post it and tag me.
Thank you @Gryffindor I'm pretty happy with the look, but it would also be cool if there where a little more clear spots of the epoxy to give more depth.
I will definitely have to try out some more inlays on future handles.
If you fix the handle on the schick type G please post it and tag me.
Thank you @Gryffindor I'm pretty happy with the look, but it would also be cool if there where a little more clear spots of the epoxy to give more depth.
I will definitely have to try out some more inlays on future handles.
You learn by doing and now you have that knowledge .
what is the wood that you used ?
what is the wood that you used ?
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- #19
@Graydog those are both made from some really gnarly walnut. I did some cunstruction work at a furniture factory several years ago. It was in there scrap bin. The head manager said they couldn't use it because the irregular grain didn't go through there machines well, and that I could take a few pieces.
