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Vintage Horn Brush 1900 - restore SBS

Ok, now it’s time for the tricky part, building a platform for the knot of the brush and the top of the compartment under it...... if that makes any sense?

I decided to use a wine cork for this purpose for a couple of reasons. First, it’s easy to work with, second it lends itself to materials folks would have had on hand at the time and thirdly I’ve used them before successfully...... So I got out our jar of wine corks that my wife saves and dug through them until I found one that fit just right. Tight enough to hold in place at a depth of about 13 mm from the top (a marked pop stick at 13 mm works as a nice gage). I cut off a 1/2 inch chunk of the cork and worked it with sandpaper until it fit just right, nice and tight and set at the right depth. With my badger knot of 60 mm loft minus the 13 mm knot hole depth that should give me a finished brush loft of 47 to 48 mm.....

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Next - I mixed up some 5 minute epoxy (I don’t believe it is necessary to use marine grade epoxy for this I like the clear stuff). Working on the underside of the cork (side opposite the knot side) I want to epoxy this side, let it dry for a day then I’ll have a solid surface to glue in the knot....

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So with the cork in place I gently applied the epoxy around the edge of the cork using a Q-tip with most of the cotton tip removed to apply the mixed epoxy. You have to move right along before the epoxy starts to set up. I also coated the entire bottom of the cork. This will protect the cork from any water that might find it's way into the handle... I also stuffed a tissue in the handle on the other side to make sure no glue ran out into the knot area, which it didn't.

As you can see it turned out great.... Tomorrow we install the knot!
 
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This should look great when done!

Sweet! That's looking real nice. The TGN Finest Badger fan-shaped is an amazing knot. I've done a couple of restores with that one and I love the results!

I have to restored vintage handles with TGN finest and I love them. I feel ignorant but I honestly don't know if their fan or bulb.:blushing:
 
Installing the knot

I have cleaned and lightly sanded the chipped areas and polished the handle with Flitz, as you can see by the photo it cleaned up very nicely.

“The Golden Nib” (TGN) 20 mm knot with a fan shape and a loft of 60 mm should look great on this handle. The only thing I do to the knot is sand the bottom of it where the writing is to rough it up a bit, that allows the epoxy to adhere better.
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I mixed up the epoxy and applied it as I did before, working it into the edges of the cork and the horn to seal them completely and also on the face of the cork. I also apply a thin layer of epoxy to the bottom of the knot and then set the knot in the handle and I give it a half a turn to seat it well. I make sure it’s sitting straight and it’s done.... Now it just needs some time to take a set. I like to give it at least 20 hours before using it.
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Some photos of the finished brush..... I also gave it a light coat of olive oil to protect it....

I hope it works as good as it looks!

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Pre-bloom
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Tomorrow we give it a spin!
 
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That thing cleaned up BEAUTIFULLY! Good work. This has inspired me to re-double my efforts to track down my own restore project. Seriously, beautiful looking brush!
 
Thanks everyone for your kind comments, my thanks to all!

Stay tuned for more photos of the brush getting it's first spin in 100 years..... tomorrow....... :thumbup1:
 
That has to be the best restore I have ever seen. An exceptional handle to start with for sure.

I wonder if the screwin part at the bottom was done as the original horn was hollow...so a separate piece was made to plug that end.

Super work.
 
It did turn out awesome! You made it look easy and it makes me want to do my own re-knotting project. Then again I have no drill-press or experience in such work. That's probably for the better as I already have more brushes than face.:001_rolle
 
Nice job!

You're right about not needing marine epoxy. It's not more water proof than standard 5 minute epoxy. Marine epoxy is just engineered to withstand the rigors and stresses that joints in boat building will face. Marine epoxy tends to have much higher sheer strength and resistance to cold and heat than the 5 minute stuff. Unless you're planning to sail around the seven seas on your new brush marine epoxy would have been an expensive overkill unless of course you just happen to have some West System epoxy laying around.

Thanks for the pics and the tutorial. I've always wondered how this was done. I have a pure badger brush and I'd like to keep the handle and replace the knot. Now I have a good idea of the process.
 
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