I purchased this Stanhome brush last Sunday at a flea market:
I almost passed on it because the vendor had the brush grouped with a pair of ceramic coffee mugsboth of which were far too deep and narrow to be used as shaving mugs and said he didnt want to break up the original set.
Having explained that I was interested in the brush only, as I was walking away he called me back and offered to sell the brush alone for the princely sum of $1.00, which I of course accepted.
I began by briefly soaking the brush in warm water with Dawn detergent, and then gave the handle a good scrubbing with a soft toothbrush. With the boar bristles still wet, using an SE razor blade I gave it the customary haircut, as close to the top of the handle as I could safely manage. For removal of the knot, I used a new-to-me process that worked very well. By way of background, my go-to power tool for brush restoration work is the drill press. I generally prefer it to the Dremel for both drilling and sanding because, for me, it provides far more control and stability. To remove knots I typically drill a small hole through the knot plug, roughly centered in the socket, as a pilot, and then follow with a Forstner bit that is a little smaller than the diameter of the existing socket. I remove the remaining bristles and adhesive along the outer surface, as well as open up the socket if needed, with a small sanding drum (drill press or Dremel). As it happened, the motor on my ancient, full-size Craftsman drill press decided to spin its last earlier in the day (on a Klenzo brush handle, but thats another story), so I decided to try my hand with the Dremel.
In the course of rooting through the array of Dremel accessories that Id never had an occasion to use, I came across a high-speed cutter bit (Dremel 561 MultiPurpose Cutting Bit). My plan was to use it essentially as a drill bit, making several holes through the bristles, adhesive and shelf, and then using needle nose pliers to remove the knot, etc., in clumps. As Im now sure many of you already know from experience, multiple holes were entirely unnecessary. I punched through the shelf with the first hole, noticed that the bit cut well laterally, worked it along the circumference of the socket and had it all cleaned out in no time. There was no filler below the shelf in this brush, and Im sure that worked in my favor. Using a small sanding drum, I opened the socket slightly to accommodate a 22mm knot. In any event, heres an after photo of the socket:
I really wanted to preserve the butterscotch, so I kept polishing to a minimum. I did use McGuiars PlastX with a very light touch, and there was no noticeable color loss. Heres an after photo of the handle:
Ive decided to take a shot at painting the Stanhome logo and lettering on the handle bottom, although Im not terribly optimistic it will turn out well. The plastic bottom is relatively soft, and the impressions for the logo and lettering arent crisp. While awaiting delivery of the TGN 22mm Super Two Band Finest knot I ordered last night, I need to decide how I want to fill the void in the handle. As its completely hollow, a bit of heft would be good. Im leaning towards using hot melt glue with perhaps a few nickels.
Ill update this post with photos after I receive and set the knot. In the meantime, questions and comments are welcomed. Thanks!
I almost passed on it because the vendor had the brush grouped with a pair of ceramic coffee mugsboth of which were far too deep and narrow to be used as shaving mugs and said he didnt want to break up the original set.
Having explained that I was interested in the brush only, as I was walking away he called me back and offered to sell the brush alone for the princely sum of $1.00, which I of course accepted.I began by briefly soaking the brush in warm water with Dawn detergent, and then gave the handle a good scrubbing with a soft toothbrush. With the boar bristles still wet, using an SE razor blade I gave it the customary haircut, as close to the top of the handle as I could safely manage. For removal of the knot, I used a new-to-me process that worked very well. By way of background, my go-to power tool for brush restoration work is the drill press. I generally prefer it to the Dremel for both drilling and sanding because, for me, it provides far more control and stability. To remove knots I typically drill a small hole through the knot plug, roughly centered in the socket, as a pilot, and then follow with a Forstner bit that is a little smaller than the diameter of the existing socket. I remove the remaining bristles and adhesive along the outer surface, as well as open up the socket if needed, with a small sanding drum (drill press or Dremel). As it happened, the motor on my ancient, full-size Craftsman drill press decided to spin its last earlier in the day (on a Klenzo brush handle, but thats another story), so I decided to try my hand with the Dremel.
In the course of rooting through the array of Dremel accessories that Id never had an occasion to use, I came across a high-speed cutter bit (Dremel 561 MultiPurpose Cutting Bit). My plan was to use it essentially as a drill bit, making several holes through the bristles, adhesive and shelf, and then using needle nose pliers to remove the knot, etc., in clumps. As Im now sure many of you already know from experience, multiple holes were entirely unnecessary. I punched through the shelf with the first hole, noticed that the bit cut well laterally, worked it along the circumference of the socket and had it all cleaned out in no time. There was no filler below the shelf in this brush, and Im sure that worked in my favor. Using a small sanding drum, I opened the socket slightly to accommodate a 22mm knot. In any event, heres an after photo of the socket:
I really wanted to preserve the butterscotch, so I kept polishing to a minimum. I did use McGuiars PlastX with a very light touch, and there was no noticeable color loss. Heres an after photo of the handle:
Ive decided to take a shot at painting the Stanhome logo and lettering on the handle bottom, although Im not terribly optimistic it will turn out well. The plastic bottom is relatively soft, and the impressions for the logo and lettering arent crisp. While awaiting delivery of the TGN 22mm Super Two Band Finest knot I ordered last night, I need to decide how I want to fill the void in the handle. As its completely hollow, a bit of heft would be good. Im leaning towards using hot melt glue with perhaps a few nickels.
Ill update this post with photos after I receive and set the knot. In the meantime, questions and comments are welcomed. Thanks!
