My second restore - EverReady 650 solid handle

[vferdman]

I have begun my second restoration. This time I got an old EverReady 650PB in Pure Badger from BST. This is a beautiful handle. Solid plastic/resin/whatever, hefty, well balanced and has a very nice smooth feel to it. It had a lot of old soap scummed up forming ridges and yellow stains that didn't completely come out. It's fine since it just adds character. I used lots of soap, water, tooth brush, elbow grease and at the end some Flitz to clean it up nicely. I have decided to re-knot it with TGN finest fan shaped knot. The knot has been ordered and I proceeded to remove the old knot. Here are the pictures so far.

Just before removing the old pure badger knot. This knot was old, floppy and shed like crazy




Initial removal of the hair




Handle masked off and the remainder of the knot drilled out. It really smelled like old fragrant talcum powder when I was removing it.




Tape off the handle just to make sure there was no damage.





Stay tuned for when the knot arrives. I have decided to go with a short loft, about 44mm (hole in the handle is 21.6mm or 0.85"). The knot I am getting is 20mm at the plug and something like 60mm total length. So I am planning to sink it about 16mm or so. I will have to make the actual decision on the loft height when I dry fit the knot in person. I am going for a Wee Scot's younger less experienced, but larger brother. The bar is set high. I want to have a brush that is anywhere as good as Wee Scot, but is slightly larger. I have no idea what the secret of Wee Scot is and I am only using it as a goal. Should I come even close to achieving it I will be extremely happy.

I will continue this thread as the work progresses.

[NexlevMM]

Great Job! You mind telling us where you got that sweet dremel tool from??

[hig789]

Very nice handle.

You can buy dremel's at any Sear's or home improvement stores. Harbor freight sells a cheap version too if you aren't going to use it much. Those sanding drums are the easiest things to use on knot removal.

[PFP_Dad]

Very nice handle.

You can buy dremel's at any Sear's or home improvement stores. Harbor freight sells a cheap version too if you aren't going to use it much. Those sanding drums are the easiest things to use on knot removal.

This is what I was doing wrong. Everyone kept talking about drilling it out and I was using a small drill bit.

[vferdman]

Great Job! You mind telling us where you got that sweet dremel tool from??

That "sweet" dremel tool is a cheap Harbor Freight knock-off that cost like $30. It is not nearly as nice as a real dremel, but it does work and so far has survived my teenager son's ownership for over a year. I keep wanting to buy a real Dremel for myself, but I just don't have enough use for one that this one can't handle. I do buy genuine Dremel accessories which work well with this tool. The sanding stone in the picture is most likely a Dremel part chucked into the tool. The tool did come with a set of wheels, drums, stones, etc. But they were pretty bad quality. I think at this point most of the bits we use with this tool are Dremel.

Thanks for the compliments!

[vferdman]

This is what I was doing wrong. Everyone kept talking about drilling it out and I was using a small drill bit.

Well, I neglected to specify this, but after the hair was cut off and the handle taped I did use a 1/4" drill bit to start a hole in the center (as centered as I could get it) and then I used 1/2" wood drill bit to make the hole bigger. I went VERY slowly with the drill while the handle was held by my Black&Decker Workmate bench/vice type thing (awesome tool, BTW, for around the house. I have an older one that was still made in US, I think. Lucky yard sale find). Once I had the larger hole down to the plastic I switched to the dremel with that cylindrical grinding stone. The cool part about the stone is that it is abrasive on the tip as well as the sides. So I can grind the floor and the walls with it. Again, I set the tool on the slowest speed available and would stop very frequently to vacuum up debris and see where I am. Nice and slow. Once the knot material was out I cleaned up the floor and stopped even though I am sure I will need to go deeper for the new knot. I think I reached my goal for this stage of operation. This type of grinding wheel thing is absolutely amazing at doing this job. On a hollow handle like the C40 I did I used a ball shaped stone and was able to remove all epoxy on the sloping sides inside the handle. Great tool. Harbor Freight sells these for around $30 or so, but if you can afford Dremel, go for that. I would not buy the biggest baddest Dremel, but something that has nice speed control (mine has 4 discrete speeds, some higher model Dremels have infinitely adjustable speed with a slider or a wheel). I haven't looked at these things lately, but they are all pretty cheapo Chinese home hobbyist kind of tools, nothing serious. Good for this particular job, though.

[hig789]

That "sweet" dremel tool is a cheap Harbor Freight knock-off that cost like $30. It is not nearly as nice as a real dremel, but it does work and so far has survived my teenager son's ownership for over a year. I keep wanting to buy a real Dremel for myself, but I just don't have enough use for one that this one can't handle. I do buy genuine Dremel accessories which work well with this tool. The sanding stone in the picture is most likely a Dremel part chucked into the tool. The tool did come with a set of wheels, drums, stones, etc. But they were pretty bad quality. I think at this point most of the bits we use with this tool are Dremel.

Thanks for the compliments!

I have seen them on sale for $9.99 at one time.

[ras120]

This is what I was doing wrong. Everyone kept talking about drilling it out and I was using a small drill bit.

Forstner bits are the way to go.

As for a Dremel-like tool, I bought a Black & Decker RTX-B. It seems so much nicer than the ones from Harbor Freight -- and all the Dremel accessories fit it.

[PFP_Dad]

Thanks for the tips guys, it's amazing what the right tool can do.

[vferdman]

Forstner bits are the way to go.

As for a Dremel-like tool, I bought a Black & Decker RTX-B. It seems so much nicer than the ones from Harbor Freight -- and all the Dremel accessories fit it.

Thanks for the link to B&D rotary tool. For the longest time I have avoided any B&D power tool since every one I ever tried sucked badly. However, Dremel has gone so down hill as of late that the market is ripe for a competitor to push them into abyss. Just by looking at the description of the B&D tool I like it. The price is right too, so not a big risk. My experience with anything B&D with an electric cord is that it is rich in features and very, very, very poor in both performance and quality. I've tried their drills, jigsaws, food blenders and they all have the hallmark of a very poor electric motor combined with very poor quality of plastic and general design. Their products usually frustrate in operation and then fall apart (a good thing since continuing using them is painful). Over the years I have swore off any electrical tool from B&D. However, things don't stay the same and the bar is set low by Dremel, so I may give B&D another try with one of these. My Harbor Freight unit seems to have a pretty good motor, but quality of materials and design is not great. As I said, I use these things very infrequently, so I am not too put off by mediocre quality in them as long as they get the job done. And that they do if applied to the right task. I also like the diversity of the bits available out there for these things. Cutting wheels, grinding wheels, polishing wheels, drill bits, etc.

P.S. I do own a B&D Workmate bench vise and I think it's one of the most usefull tools around the house. Mine is from the old days when it was manufactured stateside (I think) and is all metal and very sturdy. They still make them, but I think they've gone down hill in quality. I got mine on a tag sale for next to nothing and it's one of my favorite tools.

[ras120]

Thanks for the link to B&D rotary tool.

Definitely give one a shot. I have been putting mine through the paces pretty well the last few days, and I really like the performance so far. The materials and build quality seem very nice and the 2.0 amp motor really gets the job done quickly.

I feel the same way you do about B&D tools, but, like you, I only need it for occasional use. The Dremel was just too expensive for my needs, but I didn't want to throw money away on a cheaply made tool either. So the B&D was the happy medium.

By the way, Target carries these, so you can get one locally if you have one nearby.

[vferdman]

Definitely give one a shot. I have been putting mine through the paces pretty well the last few days, and I really like the performance so far. The materials and build quality seem very nice and the 2.0 amp motor really gets the job done quickly.

I feel the same way you do about B&D tools, but, like you, I only need it for occasional use. The Dremel was just too expensive for my needs, but I didn't want to throw money away on a cheaply made tool either. So the B&D was the happy medium.

By the way, Target carries these, so you can get one locally if you have one nearby.

Yes, I may pick one up at Target. As I said I already have one, but it's technically my son's (he's 16 and does some miniature painting and building). For $20 I think I wouldn't mind a bit better of a tool than the one I am using now. Thanks for the tip.

[Big_OC]

I just but this basic kit yesterday at Harbor Freight. http://www.harborfreight.com/80-piec...kit-97626.html

I bought really since I was going to use it to polish up some razors I have coming to me. Now that I saw this thread I think I'm going to put a new knot on a Kingsley brush handle.

[vferdman]

Today the TGN knot came and I continued my restoration of the Ever-Ready 650. It ended up having a loft of about 49mm. It's a really nice knot. More stiff than I expected. Almost boar bristle stiff, but with soft tips. I am sure it will soften up with break-in. Here are some pictures.

The knot arrives. I gather my plans, the handle so far, some other tools.



Dry fitted into the hole I made before. Too shallow.



Hole deepened to where I want and knot dry fitted again. Looks good





All epoxied in and all the tape finally off...

... Continued in next post, ran out of picture quota.

[vferdman]

... Continued...

All epoxied in and all tape finally off







I am letting the epoxy set for at least 24 hours before I give the brush a thorough wash and test lather. Will post pictures when that happens. The second re-knot went very well. I have taped the knot right at the set point with some masking tape prior to epoxying. I also masked off the handle around the hole. The squeeze out from the epoxy was removed with a cotton ball drenched in isopropyl alcohol. Came out pretty clean. I am looking forward to lathering this brush. It almost feels like a boar with very soft tips, but not quite as stiff as a boar and more dense. Interesting knot. I can't wait to see what it does with water and soap...

Stay tuned.

[GDCarrington]

Nice classic look. Excellent work.

[FL shaver]

Was wondering where the interesting coloring was....

Under the tape! Nice patina and restoration!

[ras120]

It almost feels like a boar with very soft tips, but not quite as stiff as a boar and more dense. Interesting knot.

If I'm not mistaken (and please correct me if I am), the TGN Finest is black badger with treated tips -- that's why it has such tremendous backbone with velvety soft tips.

That being said, I love the look and feel of that hair and it is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Terrific looking brush.

[vferdman]

If I'm not mistaken (and please correct me if I am), the TGN Finest is black badger with treated tips -- that's why it has such tremendous backbone with velvety soft tips.

That being said, I love the look and feel of that hair and it is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Terrific looking brush.

It looks like you are correct. It looks like black badger with treated tips. Are they perhaps bleached? Not sure, but they are soft while the hair shaft is almost as stiff as boar. I have just test lathered it and it feels really nice. The combination of stiff loft and soft tips is kind of what I love about the Wee Scot, which is kind of the touchstone of brushes for me. I was definitely aiming for that kind of brush in a slightly larger size. I really love the Wee Scot and am trying to understand all the variables that make it what it is. Not sure if Wee Scot's formula can be scaled up, but I can have fun trying. So far the brush I created looks promising. I started by palm lathering it and it had that lovely stiff/soft feeling of the Wee. It did not explode in all the lather right away like Wee Scot does, but this knot is brand new and was in need of a good wash before it can be judged for its shaving brush attributes. All I can say is it's very promising. Here are some pictures of lather it created. I am having the soap stay in the brush for a few hours before I wash it off and dry the brush. Then repeat tomorrow and actually use the lather to shave.





Bloomed out after a thorough rinse.

[Krona Kruiser]

Wow! That's pretty nice, drawings and all. Good job!