blzrfn's brush restoration log

blzrfn · Sep 10, 2014

I found some spare time last weekend and came up with this:

I believe the handle is aluminum, but I'm not 100% certain. I buffed the handle with a sewn cotton wheel and white compound. The knot is a 22mm Virginia Sheng Finest Flat Top set around 45mm loft (I haven't taken exact measurements yet).

blzrfn · Sep 10, 2014

This is a real simple one, I bought this Kent handle off the BST and installed a Frank Shaving Silvertip fan.

blzrfn · Feb 9, 2015

I went on a restoration rampage this weekend. It all started on Friday night when I went out to buff a few razors for my collection. Sitting on my workbench is a small chest of drawers which contains various knots that I have purchased as well as handles/brushes that I have acquired for restoration. After wrapping up the razors I decided I would take the time and do a few brush handles since I was already there. I switched buffs and loaded one with white compound and the other with blue. After buffing out the first brush handle I decided to do another, but this one still had the knot so I broke out the drill and dremmel. Before I knew it I was elbow deep in these projects which all turned out rather fine if i do say so myself.

Ever-Ready 100T - This brush had the knot so loose I just pulled it out. I had sanded the rough corner off the top and then wet sanded with 600 grit, followed by 1500 grit, and then finally buffed out on the flannel wheel with blue compound. I filled the handle with hot glue, let that set and then hot glued a Virginia Sheng synthetic knot. Final specs are 27mm diameter by 54mm loft.

blzrfn · Feb 9, 2015

The 100T's two-toned handle was so attractive after getting buffed out that I immediately searched for a brush that has been neglected for far too long. This Gillette Extra Large had an ugly stained boar knot it it. After a little drilling and dremmelling I had the knot out. The entire handle was filled with some kind of glue or epoxy which I ended up removing entirely. As with the 100T above I used a stepped drill bit to widen the bore and filled the handle with hot glue. Once the glue was set I hot glued in a Frank Shaving Finest bulb that I've had sitting around which was extracted from a "defective brush". Final measurements are 26mm diameter by 53mm loft.

blzrfn · Feb 9, 2015

On a roll now I had another handle which I had already removed the knot. This Simms brush is french ivory (celluloid) over a nice apple juice colored acrylic. There is some interesting bubble effects going on where the two pieces were bonded, I'm not sure if it looked this way from the factory or if it developed over time. A quick turn on the buffer was all that was needed before I used some silicone adhesive to install an Angel Jian Super Badger knot. Final measurements are 23mm diameter by 50mm loft.

blzrfn · Feb 9, 2015

There was one more brush that I wanted to get to before the night was through. This old German brush was purchased on the cheap due to its knot having suffered the much feared doughnut syndrome. Unfortunately the knot was so dense it took quite a while to drill, dremmel and dig out the old beast. In my haste I got a little careless and caused a couple of small splits. I was so disgusted I nearly tossed the poor handle in the trash. I took a few puffs off my dwindling cigar and pushed forward. I had already buffed this handle before removing the knot so it didn't come out as clean in the end (some destruction and construction residue made it into the pictures, which I didn't notice until I came to post them here). I installed an Ace shaving Finest knot with the final measurements of 24mm diameter by 51mm loft.

Skinny Rogers · Feb 9, 2015

Man a lot of good brushes in here!

labrax · Feb 10, 2015

blzrfn said:
Ever-Ready 100T - This brush had the knot so loose I just pulled it out. I had sanded the rough corner off the top and then wet sanded with 600 grit, followed by 1500 grit, and then finally buffed out on the flannel wheel with blue compound. I filled the handle with hot glue, let that set and then hot glued a Virginia Sheng synthetic knot. Final specs are 27mm diameter by 54mm loft.
View attachment 547415 View attachment 547416

Very nice restoration rampage on all of the brushes!

What was the synthetic knot size of that knot - was it 24mm? I just did a 100T with a 20mm VS synthetic knot. I would be interested what you think of that knot if you are going to try it out, or have used them in the past.

Thanks,

Pete

blzrfn · Feb 10, 2015

Hi Pete, it was listed at 23.5mm but I don't recall measuring it before installation.

labrax · Feb 10, 2015

Thanks Dave - appreciate the info. May have to pull the trigger on the larger synthetic knot. Thanks for sharing your work!

FL shaver · Feb 15, 2015

That might be the nicest 100T restoration I've seen yet. The soft shoulders and 27 mm knot really improved that brush! I would not have guessed a 27 mm knot would fit that handle so nicely.

M_bisco · Feb 16, 2015

Great work man!! Really nice!!

blzrfn · Feb 17, 2015

Thank you for the kind words gentlemen. I took a break from restoration but this recent batch has rekindled the fire and I purchased a few more butterscotch beauties in need of some love. More to come...

blzrfn · Feb 8, 2016

How crazy, it's been about a year since my last restoration! Well the bug bit me again, posted from another forum:

A few years ago I spent as much of my limited spare time as I could out in the garage restoring shaving brushes. I find it rather calming even though I know one small slip of the drill or Dremmel can completely ruin the project, making the prep time up to that point a complete waste. Lately I haven't made it a priority to get back out there, not due to a lack of project material, but probably just because I already have a lot of brushes in my collection and sometimes just reorganizing the brush cabinet seems more relaxing than starting a new project. This past week I found myself sick with a cold for the first time in several years. After a few hours of watching very boring television programming I decided to find something more productive to do. Walking past my Gillette razor blade display case, which is practically full of old British brushes waiting for restoration, a particular brush caught my eye. This Simpson L9 is very similar if not identical to the 59 model. The original knot was at one time magical, having a similar coloration to some of my favorite old timers.

Unfortunately, like many brushes of this age, it suffered from Male Pattern Baldness!

Now before deciding to restore this brush, or even put it on display with the other brushes awaiting restoration, I did of course clean it thoroughly and took it for a test drive. The sparse condition was further worsened by some adhesive failure causing several hairs to fall out with each lather. The previous owner of this brush was a very lucky man (or woman) and I'm sure loved the use of it for several years, even probably beyond its prime condition well into this deranged condition. Knowing what a special knot this once contained I decided I needed to try and honor the heritage by installing something nice in it's place. At first a crazy thought occurred involving the Dremmel, a hammer and my 2-band Polo 8 Super 2-band, and while that may one day take place I knew I shouldn't make such a rash decision while medicated. I then thought about a similar situation with my excellent Chubby 1 Super 3-band, but again I talked myself down as this was in fact my first restoration in a while and I should keep it simple. So I opened up my drawer of knots, expecting to choose from an Ace, Virginia Sheng, or some other cheap but respectable knot. Then to my surprise I noticed a knot that I had forgotten I had. It was a 24mm TGN Super 2-Band. These were available for a short time and was the only knot that I have ever owned from TGN that I enjoyed more than the old extra-dense Finest 2-band gel tip. In fact this knot shares so many characteristics with the old Simpson 2-band hair that it would be a perfect match. Now that I had all the pieces, OK, both pieces of my puzzle solved I went to work. Some drilling, sanding, grinding, buffing and a little hot gluing resulted in this: