Brush newbie - whta have I got - anything of any worth?

[Mark1966]

OK, I blame the enablers around various fora for this. Posting pics of your wonderful restored brushes.

So I've got the bug, well, maybe. At least the IDEA of a brush restoration is very appealing. The actual practice of it may be less so, especially given the huge list of things I need to do shave related before starting a new project.

Anyway I decided I should get a cheap brush to start with. The pic on eBay looked interesting, butterscotch? and it didn't cost much:



OK, so I've done my dough on that lot. A rough cheap and nasty plastic job that is splitting and a made in China thing (I was hoping for a Omega boar from the vague pics on the listing)

So, time to try again....





Better BUT....



The amber looking based one has what looks like a melted bit on the side and the other one has lots of scratches. Repairable? I don't know enough to know. Maybe worth a try????

So, after the lack of success so far I wasn't holding my breath on the final purchase. This is the pic from the ebay listing -



It wasn't a lot of money so maybe another learning experience.

No markings on the brush according to the seller so I had no expectations when this arrived, a nondescript box



Open it up, hmmm, this is more promising, nice colour, a worth candidate for a restoration and re-knot maybe? The colour is very different in the flesh to the listing pic - maybe finally I have taking a punt with some success!



Take the brush out of the box and turn it over....



Hey, that label looks familiar. Have I got a vintage Simpson? The engraving says '41' and 'Pure Badger' with the same written on the box?

The pic doesn't do justice to the richness of the colour. Now to learn what to do with this baby and treat it well.

I've never heard of a Simpson '41' and can't find any information to date on them. I believe you can sent brushes back to Simpson to be re-knoted - in Best maybe? - but I have no idea what to do at this stage. Just happy that it was not the third strike and I was out!

(BTW - sorry for poor phone pics)

Are any of these worth doing anything with or should I use the first couple of purchases as practice pieces until I get something better?

 

[dcobranchi]

The knot on the 41 looks like it's in good shape. I think I'd try a couple of test lathers to see what it looks/feels like. A re-knot might not be necessary.

 

[hig789]

Wow that Simpson is very nice. I agree try the old knot out first I have a vintage Vulfix that has the original knot in it and it is the softest I have ever used.

 

[Mark1966]

Thanks guys. I should do some research on cleaning up these sort of things I suppose. Not sure if keeping the sticker is important or not etc etc.

Anyway - something else to play with!

The last one does look very nice to me, curious about whether the others are worth bothering with too

 

[pezhore]

...curious about whether the others are worth bothering with too

It's definitely worth the practice. If you're not sure if you want to drop serious dough on the knot, check out Larry's silvertip knots, they're $14-$16 and IMO excellent quality. (http://www.whippeddog.com/products/find/brushes-knots)

As far as addressing the scratches/melting, go to an auto store (AutoZone, etc) and pick up some 1000, 2000, and 4000 (if you can find it) grit wet/dry sandpaper. Start off with the lower grit (go slow), and work your way up to the higher grit. Finish with some Maas or Flitz followed by Turtle Wax. You may be able to get the scratches out and get them to shine.

 

[Mark1966]

Thanks for the advice guys - so the last one is definitely a Simpson? Does anybody know anything about the '41'?

 

[Mark1966]

No joy on the Simpson (?) '41'? Anybody got any info?

 

[hig789]

Don't have any info on the Simpson. But I would start with the higher grit sand paper first and see if it will take the scratches out, no sense in going with a real low grit if you don't need too. Just unnecessary sanding.

 

[Mark1966]

I spent some time on the weekend with these.

The Simpson came up nicely but using it today it will need a re-knot.









The Rubberset also came up nicely although I'm not so sure about those nylon bristles



The burn mark certainly came out.

I got the knot out of the other one with the butterscotch looking handle and started sanding the black part - scratches seem to be coming out. I'm not so sure about the lower part and whether sanding to remove the deep scratches will just remove the nice colour.

 

[Trenton]

That first butterscotch you posted are there any marks that would give you the impression that it was turned? usually shows up on the bottom. The reason I ask is I have very similar brush and it is not a cheap brush.