VDH Dark Lather Monster.

[prophetic_joe]

Did a restore on a Van Der Hagen or possibly Surrey. It came in a brush lot I purchased and I thought it looked like it would take a Dark Badger knot nicely and I have always wanted to use one. The thing is pretty scritchy but not enough to bother me even though I like the soft two-band. The knot lathers like crazy though. Some of the best lather I've had yet and it's not even broke in really.

 

[newmikemac]

I like the look with the black and white. Nice job.

 

[kevtex]

It's a Van Der Hagen Oreo.
Great job, do you mind telling us the knot and loft size?

 

[Bobtrumpet]

Nice looking brush! Good job.

Dang! I wish I hadn't thrown out my VDH brush when it began shedding/molting.

 

[Telecaster52]

awesome

I dig the black badger knots

 

[prophetic_joe]

It's a 22mm Dark Badger knot from TGN set right at 50mm. Thanks for the compliments guys.

 

[kevtex]

Just one more question. Is the handle hollow or solid in the middle where the knot sits?

 

[SliceOfLife]

Did a restore on a Van Der Hagen or possibly Surrey. It came in a brush lot I purchased and I thought it looked like it would take a Dark Badger knot nicely and I have always wanted to use one. The thing is pretty scritchy but not enough to bother me even though I like the soft two-band. The knot lathers like crazy though. Some of the best lather I've had yet and it's not even broke in really.

Black badgers are the best lathering brushes I've ever used. And the TGN is a big aggressive one. They are prickly though. But if you always soak plenty that helps alleviate that. If you like smaller brushes, the UK black TGN carries is like a 15mm much less dense version of this brush. It still lathers up a storm, and it looks even better.

I've changed the knot on one VDH brush before and the handle was solid, but weak plastic, so grinding it out was easy as long as you had proper tools.

 

[prophetic_joe]

As SliceOfLife says the VDH handle is solid but the plastic is really soft. It's actually a very easy handle to reknot though and you can definitely turn it into a good worker.

 

[kevtex]

Okay a few more question.
1. Did the old knot come out all together or did you have to do a lot pulling and cutting?
2. To set the knot at 50mm did you have to cut the knot base down?
3. Were you able to smooth the seam that runs length wise on the handle? I do not see the seam in your photo but it may the way the handle is laying.

 

[vitaman]

Looks nice Joe. Top that B&W off with a couple black lines around the bottom! O Ya!!

 

[prophetic_joe]

Looks nice Joe. Top that B&W off with a couple black lines around the bottom! O Ya!!

Been thinking about that actually. lol

As far as kevtex's questions:

1. Did the old knot come out all together or did you have to do a lot pulling and cutting? I cut off the top and then used a smaller drill bit to loosen up the knot and then removed it that way. Not too tough.

2. To set the knot at 50mm did you have to cut the knot base down? No cutting of the knot base. I used a drill press and drilled out the hole to a lower depth, I did not have the new knot at that time so I didn't know exactly how deep I needed to go but I always play with depths and use epoxy to create the proper level. I also had to drill it out wider as the knot hole is standard at 20mm and the Black badger comes in 22mm only.

3. Were you able to smooth the seam that runs length wise on the handle? I do not see the seam in your photo but it may the way the handle is laying. I sanded down the seems so they are mostly gone but did not get rid of them entirely. I am sure with more work I could but I was just making a cheapy brush for myself so I didn't work quite so hard on it.

 

[kevtex]

Thanks for answering my questions Joe. You have inspired me to pull the knot out of my VDH Deluxe handle and give it new life.

 

[Hil's Lee]

I always thought these handles would look nice if you could stretch some black o-rings into the grooves on the end of the handle. White ones for the dark green handle. Has anyone ever tried this? Seems like it might be a pain to do, but it would add to the look and feel of the handle. Not sure how I would stretch the rings though...

 

[icedoverfire]

That looks awesome.