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Well, This Is Disappointing...

I received some brushes at the end of January and this olive wood Zenith boar was one of them. I have been gradually breaking them in by soaking in water but never more than halfway up the brush to make sure I wasn't soaking the actual knot in the handle. I came home and the brush was next in rotation and I see the split. Not sure what to use but would some CA glue stabilize the wood?It doesn't seem to want to be clamped back together. I contacted the seller and hopefully something comes out of it...sigh.
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I would think about filling the crack with two-part epoxy. Add some wood dust of the same approximate color as a filler material for your epoxy. Both sides of the crack should be as clean and dry as possible when working with epoxy.

If I had to guess, the knot absorbed water via capillary action. The swelling of the knot over time caused a stress crack.
 
I would think about filling the crack with two-part epoxy. Add some wood dust of the same approximate color as a filler material for your epoxy. Both sides of the crack should be as clean and dry as possible when working with epoxy.

If I had to guess, the knot absorbed water via capillary action. The swelling of the knot over time caused a stress crack.
Possibly...but then it's a shaving brush, you would think it would absorb some degree of water at some point. In total I believe I used the brush a grand total of 5-6 times since receiving it. Ah well.
 
Possibly...but then it's a shaving brush, you would think it would absorb some degree of water at some point. In total I believe I used the brush a grand total of 5-6 times since receiving it. Ah well.

Just a suggestion. It's a nice-looking brush and repair wouldn't be too difficult. I've got a Zenith boar brush with a similar size knot which has been a good one.
 
I received some brushes at the end of January and this olive wood Zenith boar was one of them. I have been gradually breaking them in by soaking in water but never more than halfway up the brush to make sure I wasn't soaking the actual knot in the handle. I came home and the brush was next in rotation and I see the split. Not sure what to use but would some CA glue stabilize the wood?It doesn't seem to want to be clamped back together. I contacted the seller and hopefully something comes out of it...sigh.
View attachment 1621192

That's disappointing man! It's a real nice looking brush and I've got it nicely broken in. I can't imagine it's anything you did, that's got to be a defect that just is showing now.

@huck1680's advice seems spot on.

Sorry you have to deal with this! I hope it won't put you off the Zenith 506 boars, that's a great handle/knot combination, I have it in the copper handle.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
A problem with olive wood, it is very prone to check and crack. Since it is very dense and oily, it cannot be resin stabilized.
I had my share of cracked olive wood items. Another wood that cracks very easily is ebony, the black version from Africa.
 
That's disappointing man! It's a real nice looking brush and I've got it nicely broken in. I can't imagine it's anything you did, that's got to be a defect that just is showing now.

@huck1680's advice seems spot on.

Sorry you have to deal with this! I hope it won't put you off the Zenith 506 boars, that's a great handle/knot combination, I have it in the copper handle.
I have a couple of other Zeniths which I like including the copper and a resin handle as well. I'm going to go the epoxy route suggested by NorthernSoul
 
A problem with olive wood, it is very prone to check and crack. Since it is very dense and oily, it cannot be resin stabilized.
I had my share of cracked olive wood items. Another wood that cracks very easily is ebony, the black version from Africa.
So I am learning...hopefully the epoxy will take care of this, if not maybe a different handle and use the original knot if possible. I spun a few handles out of Padauk wood which worked out pretty well.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
So I am learning...hopefully the epoxy will take care of this, if not maybe a different handle and use the original knot if possible. I spun a few handles out of Padauk wood which worked out pretty well.
As a matter of fact, just Monday I removed the knot from the same brush to be set into one of my handles. Since you turn, I recommend to turn away (carefully) the part where the knot sits. They are very well glued in. You may want to use a sharp knife, like a box cutter to remove the residual wood/glue.
 
If I had to guess, the knot absorbed water via capillary action. The swelling of the knot over time caused a stress crack.
I was thinking this too. Yes, it is a shaving brush, built for a pre-shave 5 minute soak preparation but probably not designed for long term water immersion. In general, long term exposure to water for any material can be damaging, even for the beloved stainless steel. Something had to give with the expansion, and it was the handle in this case. If it was a resin handle, the glued knot would have broken.

Hope everything works out with the repairs, definitely a fun op for a DIY project. That is a nice looking brush too, olive wood?
 
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I received some brushes at the end of January and this olive wood Zenith boar was one of them. I have been gradually breaking them in by soaking in water but never more than halfway up the brush to make sure I wasn't soaking the actual knot in the handle. I came home and the brush was next in rotation and I see the split. Not sure what to use but would some CA glue stabilize the wood?It doesn't seem to want to be clamped back together. I contacted the seller and hopefully something comes out of it...sigh.
View attachment 1621192
Looks like this brush may be missing the metal ring typically found on the top to help hold in the knot. Is that the case or just an artifact of the picture angle?
 
I was thinking this too. Yes, it is a shaving brush, built for a pre-shave 5 minute soak preparation but probably not designed for long term water immersion. In general, long term exposure to water for any material can be damaging, even for the beloved stainless steel. Something had to give with the expansion, and it was the handle in this case. If it was a resin handle, the glued knot would have broken.

Hope everything works out with the repairs, definitely a fun op for a DIY project. That is a nice looking brush too, olive wood?
Yes, it's olive wood and no...it was never subjected to any sort of long immersions in water. I would pre-soak the brush for a couple of minutes at most with the water never more than half way up the bristles. I have epoxied the crack so hopefully that takes care of the problem...
 
Looks like this brush may be missing the metal ring typically found on the top to help hold in the knot. Is that the case or just an artifact of the picture angle?
There never was a metal ring. I know what you mean though, but this brush doesn't come with one.
 
Well, so far the epoxy seems to be doing what I'd hoped it would so that's a good thing. However now the DaniDom brush has me perplexed. It was shedding at the start so I thought this was just a break-in period, but now I see that every time I use it there's up to a dozen bristles in the sink, stuck in the razor or the lather bowl. So I'm putting it aside and doubt I'll be using it much after this. Oh well.
 
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