Would It Be A Crime To Unhorse This Brush?

[redrako]

I had a Vie-Long Barber brush that had 75% tail hair, so was even pokier than the 65% tail hair of the Bull Goose brushes. However it was a wonderful bowl lathering brush easily whipping up fantastic lathers. I always applied lather in a paintbrush motion.

It did eventually break in to a non-pokey feeling and became a pleasure to use. I eventually sold it for a few dollars to fund other purchases, but miss it.

However, it's your brush so if you want to reknot it, it's your call. IMO, the BG beehive handles are great looking handles so it's important that you get to use it regularly.

 

[CyberJCM]

i was actually considering picking up that brush when you had it in the BST just for the handle my self.

I saw a few of these for sale in the BST. I really like the handle but not interested in horse hair at all. I would definitely reknot. That would be one great looking brush with a badger knot.

Reknot, I would say.
That knot does not look good to my eyes, way too rough.
I have the same in butterscotch and that softened up nicely.

Rudy Vey might be able to get you a shavemac Finest?
Those are good knots also.

As an alternative, maybe go the synth route?

If not, I think the TGN two band would look fantastic:

I'm not surprised that all you guys dig the handle! When I first picked it up that was what caught my attention right away, save for maybe the big BGS2012 on it. Its a nice handle for sure!

Wim, I hadn't even thought about getting a shavemac knot! I suppose a PM to RV would be the way to go, or is can you source them directly? Any idea on cost?

I had a TGN synth knot on another brush I did sometime ago. It surprised me at how well it did work, but overall I wasn't all that impressed. I think you are correct that a two band is the way to go with this one for appearances. Has anyone tried the new Super Finest TGN? How does it compare?

 

[FlScott]

It is your brush and if you enjoy the handle, get a new knot and enjoy it even more!

+1

 

[CyberJCM]

For fun I did a quick little mockup of the handle with a two band knot. This one is the Semogue badger. I also took off the BGS2012 lettering. I think it looks really good like this!

 

[mattdenicola]

For fun I did a quick little mockup of the handle with a two band knot. This one is the Semogue badger. I also took off the BGS2012 lettering. I think it looks really good like this!

Yes! That darn badging with "2012" bothered me a lot. Looks waaaaaay better like this! I had a JL Petree horse that I ended up trading away. Loved the handle, but the knot was just a bit too firm and small for me. I was very very close to re-knotting it. These handles are really fantastic. And all the better without lettering!

 

[brucered]

I'm guessing a q-tip and Maas would take that 2012 right off.

I have had success with it on brush lettering. I took off some of the 404 lettering when I reknotted mine. it came right off with no ill effects.

 

[mattdenicola]

I always use concentrated Simple Green, and just soak it for a few hours. Badging will just wipe right off.

 

[blzrfn]

Ode to John:

To inspire those, who like me, can not come to appreciate the horse hair knots, I bring you my 90 minute transformation of my BGS2012 Vie-Long brush. I took photos of each step to show the progress and would be more than happy to provide encouragement and/or advice on how to do this for yourself.

First we have the original Vie-Long brush and I have chosen to use a Frank's shaving knot that I bought in an ugly butterscotch handle. I love the performance of this knot, but it would perform better for face lathering if set deeper and I really don't care for the color of the original handle.
View attachment 374301
First step is a hair cut for the Vie Long

Next I use a drill bit in the Dremel to drill a few pilot holes in the middle of the knot. Then I used the cutting action from the side of the drill bit to completely remove the center of the knot. I'm not too concerned about how deep the bit is getting as long as I get all the hair out.

Once I bored out enough of the knot I switched over to a grinding stone bit in the Dremel. Once all the hair was removed and the original epoxy removed I found a metal ring that needed to be taken care of...

 

[oscar11]

I would not hesitate to redo the brush if I didn't like the knot.

 

[blzrfn]

With a little tug the ring came right out. Before I go any further with the handle I need to get the knot out of the donor brush to see how wide and deep to make the opening.

To remove the knot I use my bench vice. I place the brush in the vice, cover with a towel to contain the shrapnel and clamp it down very tight. If the handle doesn't come apart on the first squeeze I loosen the vice and rotate the brush about 90 degrees and repeat.

This large 26mm Finest fan brush took four attempts of clamping and rotating before I finally got it to pop. This is not for the faint of heart as when it goes, it really goes. Again, make sure to cover the brush with a towel unless you want to lose an eye. Plus it makes clean up a much easier process.

I used the Dremel to remove the majority of the left over epoxy from the glue plug and finished it off with some elbow grease and sand paper.

 

[blzrfn]

Now I was able to measure the knot dimensions to figure out how to approach resizing the handle's bore. The knot has a 26mm glue plug, but the brush expands to about 27mm just above the plug. I used the Dremel with the sanding drum to enlarge the bore and then the grinding disc to deepen and even out the bottom. It is important to take your time when sanding to enlarge as it could get out of control very quickly and you could aesthetically ruin your project very easily.

I used a touch of clear silicone RTV to set the knot. I am starting with the knot really deep and will use spacers if I decide to increase the loft. It measures at 27mm x 48mm which I was concerned would make the brush too stiff and unable to splay much, but part of the fun of restoring/making your own is experimenting.

I used the reborn brush for this morning's shave and it was a pleasant experience. I will use it a few more times before deciding whether or not to increase the loft. I generally prefer brushes in the 20mm - 24mm diameter size, but this 26mm knot was tamed by its extremely low loft. The knot wasn't overly dense to begin with either which I attribute to allowing this lower setting to perform.
View attachment 374317

 

[blzrfn]

 

[CyberJCM]

Great job Dave! That looks really good reknotted! Thanks alot for posting this up, great pictorial and write up. I've done a few of these with drills and Dremels, so I know exactly what time and patience and care it takes.

Well done, man!

 

[mrb7]

However, it's your brush so if you want to reknot it, it's your call. IMO, the BG beehive handles are great looking handles so it's important that you get to use it regularly.

Couldn't agree more. I personally find that I prefer horse hair brushes. But I'm not shaving anyone else's face, and no one else shaves mine, so individual satisfaction is the overriding issue.

Looks like a good job.

 

[blzrfn]

I just bought another one of these brushes from the Cap'n for a song, another scalping to follow once I decide on a knot.