Three new brushes: two boars and a badger

[vferdman]

I've been so impressed with Omega boar knot sold by TGN that I have bought two more of these knots a while back with intention of finding good vintage handles for them. Well, I have not been out and about the antique stores and have not come across any, so I bought some resin handles from Larry at Whipped Dog. I was inspired by the B&B Essential Omega brush that everyone is raving about (and for a good reason - it's a fantastic brush). The knots I have are 50mm lofted siblings of the B&B Essential (set at 55mm). It's the same Omega blond boar bristle and having both B&B and this knot next to each other I can say in confidence it's the same knot set at two different lofts. This 50mm lofted knot is just as amazing and beautiful, just as "almost broken-in out of the box" and just as effective at dominating soaps and croaps (I am not a creme user, so I'll leave that out, but somehow I am sure this brush will be great for cremes as well). This knot is slightly stiffer, but just as dense and soft on the skin. So, without further ado I will show the results of my efforts. Two boar brushes with identical knots and resin handles only different in pattern. They are 22mm knot (actually more like 23+, but the spec on TGN said 22mm) and 50mm loft.


All the supplies as they came to me


Hole diameter was perfect at 24mm, but the depth was too shallow


Depth in the handles increased and plastic bucket on the knot trimmed to have to remove more of the resin in the handle. I like the weight of these handles and did not want to decrease it too much


Masked and ready for epoxy. Those are lock washers in there for added weight and I did remove the tape before gluing. Tape was a mistake since the plastic buckets have a lip


All set and ready for the initial shampoo and test lather

 

[vferdman]

Now for the badger. I really love my Ever-Ready 650PB restore with a 20mm TGN two band finest XH fan shaped knot. It turned into one of my very favorite badger brushes ever. But I think the bulb shaped knot has a smaller contact patch and is therefore a little easier to control around ears, nose, mouth. So, I bought 20mm TGN finest two band XH in bulb shape and a 22mm (imitation) ivory handle from Larry at Whipped Dog. I set the knot at the point where the internal part of the glue nub is pretty much level with the rim of the handle hole. Turned out to be about 49mm. It came out better than my best expectations, which were high to begin with. I think I have created the perfect badger brush.

Supplies

 

[vferdman]

Now for the badger. I really love my Ever-Ready 650PB restore with a 20mm TGN two band finest XH fan shaped knot. It turned into one of my very favorite badger brushes ever. But I think the bulb shaped knot has a smaller contact patch and is therefore a little easier to control around ears, nose, mouth. So, I bought 20mm TGN finest two band XH in bulb shape and a 22mm (imitation) ivory handle from Larry at Whipped Dog. I set the knot at the point where the internal part of the glue nub is pretty much level with the rim of the handle hole. Turned out to be about 49mm. It came out better than my best expectations, which were high to begin with. I think I have created the perfect badger brush.

Supplies
View attachment 301053

Masked for gluing (epoxy) and a balsa wood shin taped to the knot to help provide clamping pressure in my desk vice
View attachment 301054

Epoxy setting in my desk vice
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All set and ready for initial shampoo and test lather
View attachment 301056

Continued...

 

[vferdman]

I did not bother to take pictures of lather, but suffice it to say all the brushes lathered beautifully. I shampooed them with my unscented bar shampoo first several lathers and then used Razor Rock Classic to generate actual shaving quality lather. I was simply blown away by the boars. They literally devoured the soap and loaded themselves with so much product that I actually saw the bottom of the container that was 75% full! Badger was no slouch either, but that is expected. The boars with no break-in were a surprise to see lather that well. I also let the lather stay in the knots for a long time and it was not eaten or degraded. Fifteen minutes and the brushes were just as loaded as at the beginning. I finished up, rinsed them all thoroughly and after a half an hour or so of drying I took the following pictures.

 

[SteveWY]

Excellent work! Wow! Do you have a link for the TGN-Omega knot? I love my B&B blue Essential but knowing that the knot is available, I may want to try a restore or set up my own WD handle custom. Thanks.

 

[vferdman]

Excellent work! Wow! Do you have a link for the TGN-Omega knot? I love my B&B blue Essential but knowing that the knot is available, I may want to try a restore or set up my own WD handle custom. Thanks.

You know, I just went to the TGN site and I can't see the 22mm Omega knot anymore. they may be out of them. They have 24mm banded and 27mm blond ones, though. Either one of these should be good, but this 22mm/50mm one is a sweet, sweet knot!

 

[SteveWY]

Oh man! I was on that site yesterday and couldn't find it. I will keep checking and see if it comes back in stock. How did they describe the bristle type? I assume it is a premium grade knot of some sort.

 

[vferdman]

Oh man! I was on that site yesterday and couldn't find it. I will keep checking and see if it comes back in stock. How did they describe the bristle type? I assume it is a premium grade knot of some sort.

First time I bough these knots they stated it was an Omega boar knot 22mm with a 24mm bucket around it. Second time I bought the knots TGN did not mention the word "Omega", but it was obvious that it was the same knot (and it was). They just described it as a premium boar knot or something like that. The ones they still have there, the 24mm banded and the 27mm blond are the same Omega knots with buckets, but they also do not say they are Omega now. I think there may be some sort of branding issue or something. Anyway, you need to go to the part of the site where it says "Badger Knots", then navigate to "Pure, Black, Boar, Nylon knots" section. The website is not excellent for finding stuff, but here is a link to a page where the boar knots are.

PM me if you want to try one of these boar brushes. I am sure we can work something out. They are VERY good short loft boar brushes. The best I've tried in fact. The B&B Essential caliber in shorter loft.

 

[wireburner]

They look fantastic! I love the Omega boars from TGN as well.

 

[FL shaver]

The black cups look great in those handles. Sometimes the cup doesn't seem to match the handle well. The finest and the ivory handle are a perfect match, too!

 

[GDCarrington]

Excellent work! I like that black and white swirl!

 

[talibeard]

Excellent work! Wow! Do you have a link for the TGN-Omega knot? I love my B&B blue Essential but knowing that the knot is available, I may want to try a restore or set up my own WD handle custom. Thanks.

You know, I just went to the TGN site and I can't see the 22mm Omega knot anymore. they may be out of them. They have 24mm banded and 27mm blond ones, though. Either one of these should be good, but this 22mm/50mm one is a sweet, sweet knot!

From the specs (and looks) I think this is the same knot as used in the Omega 40033 (23+/50mm) and that is a great knot indeed. One of the nicest boars I know. I think you can have them sub $7 so maybe you could buy the brush and take the knot out for a better handle.

 

[vferdman]

From the specs (and looks) I think this is the same knot as used in the Omega 40033 (23+/50mm) and that is a great knot indeed. One of the nicest boars I know. I think you can have them sub $7 so maybe you could buy the brush and take the knot out for a better handle.

Well, TGN sold these knots for $8.95, but now they are not available at TGN. However, I found that Omega 10029 brush looks like it has this knot. ShoeboxShaving calls it the Baby Pro and I must agree with this apt name. It is a super performer and just a gorgeous boar knot. The 10029 is now going for $8.99 and I think it's a great deal. Probably a hollow ABS handle, but still, the knot in there is top notch. The 40033, the Mighty Midget has a slightly shorter loft according to the specs (48mm), but also looks great.

 

[talibeard]

Well, TGN sold these knots for $8.95, but now they are not available at TGN. However, I found that Omega 10029 brush looks like it has this knot. ShoeboxShaving calls it the Baby Pro and I must agree with this apt name. It is a super performer and just a gorgeous boar knot. The 10029 is now going for $8.99 and I think it's a great deal. Probably a hollow ABS handle, but still, the knot in there is top notch. The 40033, the Mighty Midget has a slightly shorter loft according to the specs (48mm), but also looks great.

I agree with the 10029, the same knot is used in the 10019 (available locally for less than €4) also, but I don't understand why the 40033 is listed at 48mm; the knot is identical and closer to 51mm, certainly not 48mm with, in all cases, a diameter over 23mm.

 

[The_Anderman]

Wow! Those brushes look great - and making them looks like a lot of fun!