VanDerHagen upgrade to a SilverTip

Of my shaving brushes, the worst (specially for face lathering) is the cheap brush that came with the VanDer Hagen kit from Wally World:



Here is an actual close up of the brush "before" the upgrade (those squares are 0.5" on each side):



And here is the 24x67 SilverTip knot from The Golden Nib:



And here is the photo essay of how I did the upgrade.......


Cut as much as the original brush as possible:





I used my 12x metal working lathe next, to start drilling/boring the existing brush out:









I then tested the size of the bored hole, and enlarged it sliglty so that I could get a portion of the new knot inside the handle to create a more compact shape/size:




I marked the right depth, and measured the size of the spacer needed:








Finally, epoxied everything together with 2=ton clear, 2-part epoxy, and here is the resulting "upgraded" shaving brush:





I will try it tomorrow and see how it works

Will

Looks great!

Nice work, but I love my stock VDH

Nice job and thanks for all the detailed pics. Now you should make your own handle with a fine machine like that instead of re-using an injection molded one.

Thanks guys!

OldSaw said:

Nice job and thanks for all the detailed pics. Now you should make your own handle with a fine machine like that instead of re-using an injection molded one.

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That is the next step. I actually bought two Silver Tip knots (one used for this upgrade), so the second one will go in a handle made from scratch

Will

Here is the new upgraded brush after being used this morning:



And here is the SilverTip next to the Omega Synthetic Badger brush, the Omega boar 31064 "banded" model, and Omega boar #49:



SilverTip on left, Omega artificial badger on the right:



In terms of softness, the Omega artificial badger is the softest, then comes the new/upgraded SilverTip, then the Omega #64 and finally the Omega #49. I no longer use the Omega artificial badger for face lathering as it is way too soft, but I really liked the SilverTip this morning: not quite as firm as the boar brushes (and does not hold as much lather as the large Omega #49), but it was soft and firm enough for face lathering.

Will

No offense, but I don't understand why anybody would go through the trouble and expense of putting a nice knot in a *** handle like that.

It's like wearing a $1000 suit with $10 shoes.

ras120 said:

No offense, but I don't understand why anybody would go through the trouble and expense of putting a nice knot in a *** handle like that.

It's like wearing a $1000 suit with $10 shoes.

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No ofense taken. Besides my labor, total cost was $20 for the new Silver Tip knot, so it was not a lot of trouble (it was rather easy on a lathe), nor a large expense.

I want to try making my new handles from scratch, so this was a learning experience

Thats a badass way of restoring, I dont think I've ever seen a lathe used in the process. Great job!

wquiles said:

No ofense taken. Besides my labor, total cost was $20 for the new Silver Tip knot, so it was not a lot of trouble (it was rather easy on a lathe), nor a large expense.

I want to try making my new handles from scratch, so this was a learning experience

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Okay, I can accept "practice run" as a viable reason.

Kudos on your equipment. I've done about 30 restores with a hand drill and a table top vise. It gets adventurous at times.

Someday, when I've finished some of my other restore projects, this is the same plan I have for my amazing(crappy) VDH brush. I hate the knot that it comes with but the handle is okay. And a $20 silvertip is a great deal IMO.

Nice work sir!

Nice Lathe set up!

ras120 said:

Okay, I can accept "practice run" as a viable reason.

Kudos on your equipment. I've done about 30 restores with a hand drill and a table top vise. It gets adventurous at times.

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Also I think those VDH handles may not be great in a lot of aspects, but it is rubber. I know the hefty brushes feel nice in the hand, but they scare the ---- out of me in regards to dropping them!

pipskicks said:

Also I think those VDH handles may not be great in a lot of aspects, but it is rubber. I know the hefty brushes feel nice in the hand, but they scare the ---- out of me in regards to dropping them!

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Really, rubber? I didn't know that!

I find the whole idea a bit ironic. Cheap brush with a great knot. I like it!

The VDH handle when polished down can actually look good and has a solid weight to it. You have to wet sand it to get those mold lines out.

I think it looks great! Using that kind of machinery is kinda cheating though for just replacing a knot.

blzrfn said:

I think it looks great! Using that kind of machinery is kinda cheating though for just replacing a knot.

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I get that a lot, so I know what you mean. As a hobby, I do a lot of LED/flashlight work, custom parts, 3D design, etc., and yes, having the machine shop means I have a lot of versatility, not only for very complex jobs, but also very simple jobs like this knot upgrade.

But the best thing from this mod, besides the learning part, is that I have been using this brush non-stop every single day, and it is awesome. It can hold a large amount of face lather, it is soft on the outer side and firmer in the middle, and it just plainly feels great on my face

The rubber handle sounds like a good idea - I wonder if/when the clinking of my resin handled brush will break my pottery bowl!

What if you restored that Omega Pro handle with a silvertip knot? That thing would be massive!