Broke a brush - what did I do wrong?

[ncsuactor84BNB]

So I was just starting my third pass. I went to squeeze a bit of lather out of the bristles and the knot came clean off the handle! I finished up my shave (of course), but afterwards, I rinsed everything off and took some pictures. This is a fairly new brush (owned it 2 months), and I wonder if I did anything wrong? The knot seems fully in-tact. I suppose it wouldn't be too hard to repair it (simply re-glue the knot to the handle.

I do try to treat my brushes best I can. I always give them a thorough rinse after I shave, and I always spend several minutes drying them off. I try not to be overly rough when I lather. From the pics, does anyone have any advice for me in terms of taking care of my brushes?

 

[Country Boy]

I don't think you did anything wrong, the glue just loosened up and let the knot come out, that's all. It's an easy fix. Just get some 5 minute epoxy and glue that bad boy back in, and it'll be good as new. I had one do the same thing, and it was no problem to fix it at all. Sometimes if you get your water too hot and let the brush soak in it long enough, it can soften the glue enough to allow the knot to fall out.

 

[pejay66]

Probably was not glued well. You make this easy fix yourself.

 

[dgreen92807]

I don't think you did anything wrong, the glue just loosened up and let the knot come out, that's all. It's an easy fix. Just get some 5 minute epoxy and glue that bad boy back in, and it'll be good as new. I had one do the same thing, and it was no problem to fix it at all. Sometimes if you get your water too hot and let the brush soak in it long enough, it can soften the glue enough to allow the knot to fall out.

+1 (Nice looking brush BTW)

 

[ncsuactor84BNB]

I do soak the bristles in hot tap water before I use the brush. Now, I am very careful to only soak the bristles. I make sure the water level does not come up to touch the handle. But perhaps the steam from the water loosened the glue?

If I were to re-glue it, should I clean the old glue out first? Also, if steam is indeed what is weakening the glue, is there a special heat/water resistant glue I could use to re-glue it?

 

[Country Boy]

Yes, clean the old glue out if possible. You want the base of the knot to make adequate contact with the bottom of the hole. I would just use plain old 5 minute epoxy if I were you. That way, if you ever have to replace the knot, it will be an easy matter to soften up the glue and remove the knot. As long as you are soaking it as you previously described, you should be just fine.

 

[Shiloh]

Awesome brush! What is it?

 

[Country Boy]

And by the way, that is a BEAUTIFUL handle!

 

[pejay66]

With the right epoxy getting the handle should not be a problem. I have soaked mine down to the handle and more with no problems.

 

[wazza]

Im guessing it wasn't glued in correctly. As said previously some epoxy will sort it out. The only other thing is putting the brush to soak in water that is too hot?

 

[BSAGuy]

Stuff happens. Looks very clean, so just touch up and re-epoxy as suggested above. Good as new.

 

[ncsuactor84BNB]

Awesome brush! What is it?

It's a custom made spalted claro walnut brush made by PC Woodcraft and Pens. It's a great brush. Highly recommended.

In terms of cleaning out the glue, is there a product I should use to dissolve the old glue?

 

[branford]

You can also use silicon adhesive to glue the knot in the handle. It should be easier to use if you are unable to clean-out the old epoxy in the handle, and if you make a mistake, you should still be able to pull out the knot.

Good luck with the repair!

 

[ElectroMike]

You should be able to submerse a brush in hot water without causing this issue. Figure hot tap water is usually limited to be under 140ºF in a residence, most water heaters are set to 120ºF by the installer. Boiled water (none pressurized) is at 212º.

If you look at temp ratings of a 5 minute Epoxy (such as Loctite), most are rated at 300ºF+ for short term exposure and 120ºF for long term exposure, the longer setting Epoxy products generally have a higher rated temperatures.

With the above set, the person who set the knot into the handle either did not mix the Epoxy mixture properly or did not apply enough.

Cleaing the remaining Epoxy out of the handle will take the most time to prevent damage to the handle. If you have a Dremel, use a metal brush attachment and go very, very light to get the old out, if you cannot remove all of it, that's fine, just clean the area with rubbing alcohol and using Epoxy set the knot back in.

I like using 10-15 min Epoxy, just gives you more time to mix and apply.

Good luck!

 

[Dad3*3]

Looks like the knot just wasn't in contact with the original adhesive to begin with. There doesn't appear to be any adhesive on the knot itself. If the knot fits back into the handle to the depth you want it I wouldn't bother trying to clean up the original adhesive as that might cause more problems. Personally I would use Silicon Calking to put it back in. Easy to adjust and easy clean up plus you could change it out later. Even if you decide to use Epoxy I wouldn't mess with the residual glue, epoxy will adhere to itself so as long as the knot fits you have choices.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Looks like there was not enough glue used.

 

[MaxP]

You should be able to submerse a brush in hot water without causing this issue. Figure hot tap water is usually limited to be under 140ºF in a residence, most water heaters are set to 120ºF by the installer. Boiled water (none pressurized) is at 212º.

If you look at temp ratings of a 5 minute Epoxy (such as Loctite), most are rated at 300ºF+ for short term exposure and 120ºF for long term exposure, the longer setting Epoxy products generally have a higher rated temperatures.

With the above set, the person who set the knot into the handle either did not mix the Epoxy mixture properly or did not apply enough.

Cleaing the remaining Epoxy out of the handle will take the most time to prevent damage to the handle. If you have a Dremel, use a metal brush attachment and go very, very light to get the old out, if you cannot remove all of it, that's fine, just clean the area with rubbing alcohol and using Epoxy set the knot back in.

I like using 10-15 min Epoxy, just gives you more time to mix and apply.

Good luck!

Exactly. Hot water will NOT soften cured epoxy.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Yep. More glue + Stick it back in there = the fix. As others said, not your fault, they either didn't use enough glue or didn't get the knot into the glue before it set up too much for some reason or other. I'd take a dremel with a grinding drum and sand out the glue in there before resetting it to ensure you get as much depth on the set as you possibly can.

 

[ncsuactor84BNB]

I don't have a dremel, but I have a good dewalt corded drill. Maybe I could get an attachment that makes it work like a dremel?

I'd rather not go messing around with a dremel if I don't have to. I'm a bit worried I'll chip the handle or something. If I can just epoxy over the original glue I'd rather do that.

 

[SliceOfLife]

You can, you may lose a little depth to the set, but it's not the end of the world.