The 20 minute brush restoration

[Jbird45]

Ok, this is my first brush restoration and I am assuming they aren't all as easy as this one so far. I'm ten minutes in and ready for a new knot.
Here's the patient. A strong set from eBay. Cheap practice.

Used a knife to cut off most of the hair, and the rest literally pulled out with a pliers, glue and all. A little sandpaper cleaned up the inside edges and took a rough bump off the top.

The handle had some grime? Soap scum? That easily cleaned up with sandpaper. A good rubbing of Howard's feed and wax brought the handle back to life. I realize that is not a waterproof finish, but it didn't have a film finish on it when I got it and it's easy to maintain in the future.

This was literally ten minutes of work. If epoxying the new knot takes ten minutes this is literally a 20 minute project.

Happy so far!

 

[Jbird45]

I measured the bore and it is close to 20mm. Should I be looking for 20mm knots or do I need an 18 mm so it sits deep enough into the bore?

 

[Vraad]

the golden nib knots are usually one mm smaller then then posted I wedged a "20mm" knot in a rubberset is just like that

 

[Doc1911]

I restored a few Ever Ready brushes. The far left is an F40 I've had since college. C40 in the middle, and 100 on the end came from ebay. I cut the knot down, then ground out the plaster-like material with a Dremel. To get the hole deep enough to set the knot properly, I had to grind out all of the plaster, leaving the handle hollow. I filled in the hollow space with epoxy and a few pennies for weight, leaving an epoxy floor just over 1 cm from the top. After the epoxy was completely set, I set the knot with silicone glue. The first to knots came from Maggard, and the third came from Shaveforge.

 

[Big Jim]

They all look nice. Keep up the good work.

 

[LooneyToons816]

have you considered using a DP with a forstner bit? Idk where i read that at but it seemed to get tid of all the old and left a nice hold for the old knotl, leave the perfect channel for thr newbmmn.. i think ill be doing it on a couple vintage brushes i bought on the cheap by lots so when i screw up it wont be a big loss! So thoughts on forstner bits to frill out old knots!?)

 

[Lord NSIC]

Nice job getting the old knot out and bringing it back to life. I haven't found a wooden brush in good enough condition yet, so I haven't done a wooden brush yet, but you got me thinking now. Most wood ones I've seen are either in really rough shape, or painted and the paint is cracked and peeling, so I've stuck to the plastic side of the house on brush restos. I've done two Ever Ready brushes; enlarging the socket with a dremel like sander, but a DP/Forstner bit combo would work as long as the bit was sharp, the speed was slow, and the brush handle centered and clamped tightly. The trick with getting it clamped tightly is tight enough to hold it, without marring, breaking or distorting the "roundness" of the handle resulting in an oval hole vs round hole. The hollow handles, combined with old plastics that were glued can often be hard and brittle, making clamping a challenge, but not an impossible one. I spent several hours on the Century lucite handle which was unrelentingly unforgiving as any scratch, gouge or imperfection shows. All the black rubber from the original nylon knot had to be sanded by hand because I wanted to put a coin in the bottom and change the color. I learned a lot, and it's nowhere near perfect (coin a bit off center, and a bubble), but not bad.

 

[nemo]

We never got to see the finished product! @Jbird45
Psst ... it's been over 20 minutes.

 

[JimmyCB]

have you considered using a DP with a forstner bit? Idk where i read that at but it seemed to get tid of all the old and left a nice hold for the old knotl, leave the perfect channel for thr newbmmn.. i think ill be doing it on a couple vintage brushes i bought on the cheap by lots so when i screw up it wont be a big loss! So thoughts on forstner bits to frill out old knots!?)

I'm sold on Forstner bits and commented on another thread about my experience with them. I bought a set pf 8 Forstner bits and used them to clean out the knot from 3 vintage Ever Ready brushes, with openings of 22mm and 24mm. By the 3rd brush, I had refined my technique. After cutting the old knot down to its base , I found the best technique is to start with a smaller Forstner bit and make a pin hole in the remaining base of the knot. Then move up to larger bits, inserting them in the pin hole, to fully clean out the hole. I drilled slowly so as to not scratch the brush handle. To fully clean out the remains of the knot, I drilled through the "floor" beneath the knot, leaving a hollow handle. This wasn't a problem because the new knots fitted tightly in the handle and were glued in. I used a U-shaped gouging tool and a utility knife to fully clean hair and glue from the sides of the handle. Very satisfying because I'm only moderately good with tools.

 

[LooneyToons816]

I'm sold on Forstner bits and commented on another thread about my experience with them. I bought a set pf 8 Forstner bits and used them to clean out the knot from 3 vintage Ever Ready brushes, with openings of 22mm and 24mm. By the 3rd brush, I had refined my technique. After cutting the old knot down to its base , I found the best technique is to start with a smaller Forstner bit and make a pin hole in the remaining base of the knot. Then move up to larger bits, inserting them in the pin hole, to fully clean out the hole. I drilled slowly so as to not scratch the brush handle. To fully clean out the remains of the knot, I drilled through the "floor" beneath the knot, leaving a hollow handle. This wasn't a problem because the new knots fitted tightly in the handle and were glued in. I used a U-shaped gouging tool and a utility knife to fully clean hair and glue from the sides of the handle. Very satisfying because I'm only moderately good with tools.

 

[Fred D]

Ok, this is my first brush restoration and I am assuming they aren't all as easy as this one so far. I'm ten minutes in and ready for a new knot.View attachment 1405291
Here's the patient. A strong set from eBay. Cheap practice.
View attachment 1405292
Used a knife to cut off most of the hair, and the rest literally pulled out with a pliers, glue and all. A little sandpaper cleaned up the inside edges and took a rough bump off the top.
View attachment 1405293
The handle had some grime? Soap scum? That easily cleaned up with sandpaper. A good rubbing of Howard's feed and wax brought the handle back to life. I realize that is not a waterproof finish, but it didn't have a film finish on it when I got it and it's easy to maintain in the future.

This was literally ten minutes of work. If epoxying the new knot takes ten minutes this is literally a 20 minute project.

Happy so far!

Nice!

 

[LooneyToons816]

Very nice! I just have one caveat! Try not to drill to far passes the glue into your brush, we like heavy handled brushes when shaving! Or atleast i do!! None the less great job and thanks for your experience doing this

 

[Jbird45]

We never got to see the finished product! @Jbird45
Psst ... it's been over 20 minutes.

Sorry, life threw some curve balls my way but I am back! Here is a picture of the finished product.



I know, I know. A synthetic knot is not traditional, but I like them and I want to enjoy the brush. I ordered the knot and silicone from Maggards and it was about 5 minutes to glue in and then 24 hours to cure and ta-da!

 

[Jbird45]

Nice job getting the old knot out and bringing it back to life. I haven't found a wooden brush in good enough condition yet, so I haven't done a wooden brush yet, but you got me thinking now. Most wood ones I've seen are either in really rough shape, or painted and the paint is cracked and peeling, so I've stuck to the plastic side of the house on brush restos. I've done two Ever Ready brushes; enlarging the socket with a dremel like sander, but a DP/Forstner bit combo would work as long as the bit was sharp, the speed was slow, and the brush handle centered and clamped tightly. The trick with getting it clamped tightly is tight enough to hold it, without marring, breaking or distorting the "roundness" of the handle resulting in an oval hole vs round hole. The hollow handles, combined with old plastics that were glued can often be hard and brittle, making clamping a challenge, but not an impossible one. I spent several hours on the Century lucite handle which was unrelentingly unforgiving as any scratch, gouge or imperfection shows. All the black rubber from the original nylon knot had to be sanded by hand because I wanted to put a coin in the bottom and change the color. I learned a lot, and it's nowhere near perfect (coin a bit off center, and a bubble), but not bad.

The cracked/peeling paint or rough wood shouldn't be a turn off! A card scraper if you have one or some sandpaper makes quick work of it. I used a butcher block conditioner on my handle. I know it's not waterproof but it is easy to recoat and I don't have to worry about peeling/cracking/chipping like I would a film finish like poly or spar urethane. Also, you need to wash cutting boards with soap and water and butcher block conditioner is what you use to keep them in good shape, so why not try it for a brush handle?

 

[MelC]

Very nice! I just have one caveat! Try not to drill to far passes the glue into your brush, we like heavy handled brushes when shaving! Or atleast i do!! None the less great job and thanks for your experience doing this

I drilled all of my handles out with a Forstner bit then filled the handle with random bolts. Poured in epoxy until almost level then epoxied in whatever coin fit to make a floor for the knot at the height I wanted.

 

[Lord NSIC]

I drilled all of my handles out with a Forstner bit then filled the handle with random bolts. Poured in epoxy until almost level then epoxied in whatever coin fit to make a floor for the knot at the height I wanted.

The title might sound misleading, but I stumbled on an easy solution of how to weight a handle, while making it easy to adjust the loft of the knot before finally locking it down into the preferred position. Okay, I guess you'd have the option to forego locking down the setting and leave it where you could either adjust the loft of the knot shave to shave, or use one handle and have several interchangeable knots (i.e., a badger, boar or synthetic) to use in the same handle). Just something to think about (for non-Lucite handles) BUMP: Brush With Adjustable Loft? - Ever Ready 150C Restoration - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/brush-with-adjustable-loft-ever-ready-150c-restoration.616818/

 

[JimmyCB]

The title might sound misleading, but I stumbled on an easy solution of how to weight a handle, while making it easy to adjust the loft of the knot before finally locking it down into the preferred position. Okay, I guess you'd have the option to forego locking down the setting and leave it where you could either adjust the loft of the knot shave to shave, or use one handle and have several interchangeable knots (i.e., a badger, boar or synthetic) to use in the same handle). Just something to think about (for non-Lucite handles) BUMP: Brush With Adjustable Loft? - Ever Ready 150C Restoration - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/brush-with-adjustable-loft-ever-ready-150c-restoration.616818/

I removed old knots from 2 Ever Ready handles this month using Forstner bits. Removal would take forever without Forstner bits. I ended up drilling through the "floor" underneath the old knot, leaving a hollow handle. Not deliberate, but that was the easiest way to remove all the old knot. The new knots fitted very snugly in the opening when I glued them, so I left the handle hollow. The weight is fine with me, but I may try filling the hollow handle with bolts, etc. when I do my next restoration. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Jbird45]

So, I would like to provide an update on this brush.

I hate it.

I hate the look of it, I hate the feel of it. I hate everything about it right now.

It isn't the brushes fault, it is my fault. The knot is a good knot, and the handle is a good handle, but they are a bad combination.

This type of brush originally came with a skinnier, I assume boar, knot and not a bulb knot. The bulb knot in this skinny handle does not look right to me, and more importantly it feels like using a paint brush on the end of a chopstick.

Luckily, I used silicone to set the knot, so yanking the synthetic shouldn't be too hard and I will order a more traditional boar.

I guess I am writing this as public service announcement to someone who may want to restore a brush a like this, sometimes not straying from the original is a good thing.
While this brush is certainly functional, it just doesn't feel or look right.

 

[Four for Luck]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Kudos for trying. And, as you said, lucky you used silicon!
Feel with you.

 

[Ted A]

There’s always a silver lining. Now you have to pull that knot and get another handle to put it in. And then you have to get another knot to put in this handle. 2 for 1.