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Steaming a brush knot out.

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
Hi all. I was just watching some clips on youtube and saw someone steaming a knot out of a brush handle. I was wondering if anyone here uses this method and could it cause damage to the actual brush handle? Any information for and against this method is greatly appreciated.
 
Depends on the handle. Some are damaged, especially vintage ones that had been filled with plaster when originally made. A good solid handle probably won't be damaged.

Sometimes steaming doesn't work at all. Depends on the glue I would guess. Newer epoxy type glues properly applied may not respond to steaming.

Try it at your own risk to the handle but be aware that you may need to drill out the old knot anyway.
 
I have steamed out 3-4 different brushes to date and it was pretty easy to do. I did the same as you and watched several video's of it being done before I attempted the 1st one but after that it was much easier to do as I then knew what I needed to do. Here are a couple I did...
20170202_153859-1.jpg 20180106_142607.jpg
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
What if you didn't care about the handle, but wanted to put the knot in a different handle? Is that even possible?
 
What if you didn't care about the handle, but wanted to put the knot in a different handle? Is that even possible?
All the knots I've steamed out were in great condition, both bristles and the glue base at the bottom of the knot. They could've been re-set in another base but the reason I took them out was I didn't care for the knot. There are some that steam a knot out just to re-set to a different loft also.
 
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