Questions about building a brush from TGN knot and handle

[holderp]

Hello all.
I've been DE shaving for about two months now and have been using a Tweezerman. Good brush but I want something better. I usually like to build stuff on my own and would like to build a brush from a TGN Finest knot and handle. I've got the basic idea: check the loft, adjust the handle as needed, epoxy the knot, let set overnight, enjoy.

My question is if I get a 22mm knot, do I get a 22mm handle? What do you use to deepen the hole if the loft needs to be shorter? I dont have a drill press.

Thanks!

[Steadfast]

Do you know what loft you want yet? Looks like most of Tony's handles come with a 13mm hole which would put most knots in the 50-53mm loft range.

I haven't ordered handles from them before, but craftsmen type are pretty accommodating and asking him to drill the hold deeper for you would probably merit some thought.

If you want to play with several heights and ask him to drill down deeper and that way you can shim up until you like the height.

[shaverjoe]

As with everything else on B&B, YMMV, but I will add my two cents worth here. Regarding your handle height- NO, a 22mm handle would be too short. It would be less than an inch tall. If you like the handle dimensions of your Tweezerman, that would be an excellent starting place regarding handle height and so forth. I make all my handles on the lathe and use a forstner bit to drill my knot holes. This type of bit can also be used in a hand held drill and would work fine (at least it has for me) if a small adjustment needs to be made in the knot hole depth, particularly if a pilot hole has already been pre-drilled. For me, a 50-53mm loft on a 22mm TGN Finest knot (an AWESOME knot by the way) is too tall. I would shoot for a loft of somewhere in the 46-48mm range, but again, this is very personal. Hope this helps.

[Steadfast]

I believe in this case, the 22mm handle is in reference to knot opening.

[shaverjoe]

I believe in this case, the 22mm handle is in reference to knot opening.

My bad. I have a 22mm TGN Finest knot in my shop right now waiting for a home- one I hope I can start on tomorrow. The base plug of the knot measures 21.5mm in diameter. Each time I set a 22mm TGN Finest knot, I start with a 7/8 inch (22.22mm) forstner bit for the pilot hole and widen the hole from there.

[Blueliner10]

I wouldn't recommend a forstner bit with a hand drill unless you have a bench vise and a higher speed drill. In my experience the bit tends to catch and ruin your handle and possibly injure you (as happened to me by not using tools properly... painful lesson learned). Just a side note on the knot size I find the hole for the knot needs to be slightly wider than the knot itself, not much just a bit to allow room for epoxy and minor knot variances.