My new Don McIvor custom shave brush

Good Morning Gents,

Sometime between Christmas and New Years, I contacted Don McIvor asking is he could make me a shave brush based upon the design of the cocobolo brush pictured here:

http://www.pollaroelegance.com/ShavingBrushes.html

While I know this brush was done before for other forums and such, I wanted something unique. I gave Don some guidance as to wood characteristics & inserts I found attractive. I had zero time frame and I let him do his thing. A few weeks later he contacted me that he found a few wood types he would like to work with and told him, "use your best judgment." He did experience some minor issues with wood breaking and inserts not fitting properly but a week or so back he sent me pics of not one or two finished pieces but THREE of them to choose from. One was done in Rose Myrtle, another in Amboynia and a third in Cocobolo! Don had not only gone through the extra effort to make up three brushes but he also gave me the choice of six inserts for the top! I felt Don really went beyond what I had expected. After much deliberation, I chose the Amboyna burl brush with a crazy lace agate stone insert on the cap.

Please excuse my poor pics - my skills are limited.

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Don is truly an artist and a fine gent to deal with for sure. I also ordered one of his fine bowls on his website to keep on my nightstand. I would not hesitate to order from him again.

s~s

Its a gorgeous brush. The only problem I have with these custom brushmakers in general and I have never handled you brush before but have had work done by others is that I view these as custom handle makers. The business end is usually imported from china ready made pucks and they don't measure up to the main brands we're all familiar with. I have several brushes made by a guy up in Canada and the handles are perfection but the badger though generous is very floppy. I've never seen a custom that held a candle to a good simpson or rooney. I don't want to knock your brush but thats just the way I see it.

Thebigspendur said:

Its a gorgeous brush. The only problem I have with these custom brushmakers in general and I have never handled you brush before but have had work done by others is that I view these as custom handle makers. The business end is usually imported from china ready made pucks and they don't measure up to the main brands we're all familiar with. I have several brushes made by a guy up in Canada and the handles are perfection but the badger though generous is very floppy. I've never seen a custom that held a candle to a good simpson or rooney. I don't want to knock your brush but thats just the way I see it.

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+1

I really like the look and shape of your brush. Keep us posted on how it works.

Thebigspendur said:

Its a gorgeous brush. The only problem I have with these custom brushmakers in general and I have never handled you brush before but have had work done by others is that I view these as custom handle makers. The business end is usually imported from china ready made pucks and they don't measure up to the main brands we're all familiar with. I have several brushes made by a guy up in Canada and the handles are perfection but the badger though generous is very floppy. I've never seen a custom that held a candle to a good simpson or rooney. I don't want to knock your brush but thats just the way I see it.

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I wonder if a handle like that could get shipped off to Shavemac for bristling. That's the kind of thing that would open the handcrafted handle market up a bit.

I've been looking over his website and considering picking one up myself - very nice!!

scoopster said:

I wonder if a handle like that could get shipped off to Shavemac for bristling. That's the kind of thing that would open the handcrafted handle market up a bit.

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I thought that same thing. It seems like Shavemac could pop a new knot in there for a fairly reasonable cost if the on it has is simply unacceptable. However, with that kind of price tag, you would assume it would be a fairly nice brush to begin with.

I've got a brush from Don too. I really like it and use it a couple time per week.He has great customer service! Soulshine, that brush he made for you is incredible!
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Ookla The Mok said:

I thought that same thing. It seems like Shavemac could pop a new knot in there for a fairly reasonable cost if the on it has is simply unacceptable. However, with that kind of price tag, you would assume it would be a fairly nice brush to begin with.

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It wouldn't be fairly reasonable. Figure this.... at least $15 in shipping each way ($30) and more than likely at least $30-50 for the old knot to be reamed out, and a new one purchased and installed - adding an additional $60-80 to the brush. Considering you can purchase an outstanding shaving brush for $60-80 alone, I hardly consider that "fairly reasonable" but YMMV.

joel said:

It wouldn't be fairly reasonable. Figure this.... at least $15 in shipping each way ($30) and more than likely at least $30-50 for the old knot to be reamed out, and a new one purchased and installed - adding an additional $60-80 to the brush. Considering you can purchase an outstanding shaving brush for $60-80 alone, I hardly consider that "fairly reasonable" but YMMV.

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+1. I would use the shavemac re bristling service for a brush I have, except that I can buy the B&B essential for less money than it would cost to have Bernd recondition the old one for me, and I will most likely end up with a better brush from the B&B when it finally is released [hury up guys!!!] than I will with a reconditioned handle. But again YMMV

I agree that a reasonable brush can be purchased for much cheaper. Hell, my $10 tweezerman is a very reasonable performer.

The MSRP on this brush looks to be in the $500+ range. Spending another $100-$150 to re-bristle it is about as reasonable as spending half-a-thousand on a shaving brush in the first place.

That said, it's a beautiful brush, and the craftsmanship looks to be first rate.

Ookla The Mok said:

I agree that a reasonable brush can be purchased for much cheaper. Hell, my $10 tweezerman is a very reasonable performer.

The MSRP on this brush looks to be in the $500+ range. Spending another $100-$150 to re-bristle it is about as reasonable as spending half-a-thousand on a shaving brush in the first place.

That said, it's a beautiful brush, and the craftsmanship looks to be first rate.

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Erick,
I think you misunderstood - soulshines brush is a less expensive copy of the $550 Pollaro brush.

And if you think that $550 is a lot of money to spend on a Pollaro shaving brush, I hope that you don't have a dog

http://www.pollaroelegance.com/DoggyDivan.html

Cheers


Jeremy

joel said:

Erick,
I think you misunderstood - soulshines brush is a less expensive copy of the $550 Pollaro brush.

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Yes, I did in fact misunderstand. I find $100+ a tad superfluous myself.

Must Dash said:

And if you think that $550 is a lot of money to spend on a Pollaro shaving brush, I hope that you don't have a dog

http://www.pollaroelegance.com/DoggyDivan.html

Cheers


Jeremy

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I am a huge admirer of high quality, hand made items and I respect the craftsmanship and dedication required in their production greatly. With that said, this guy's prices seem completely ridiculous. I might pay what he asks for a truly unique piece of custom furniture, but $550 for a shaving brush that is little more than a nicely turned and finished chunk of wood?

You pay prices like that for the cachet of owning something made by a craftsmen thats considered the best, or atleast one of the best. If I'm gonna do that, I want the item I buy to reflect that craftsmanship, to be indicative of what makes that craftsman superior(for example, if it was possible for me to order a custom rocking chair from Sam Maloof, I would in a second, despite the ~$25k pricetag...but the man is like 92, and his waiting list is ~10 years long.) I don't see how this dude's shaving brushes can be any more than marginally better than other custom wooden brushes out there.

This is all just my opinion, of course.

the custom brush made by don was no where near $500! yikes - my wife would flip her lid if that were the case. my brush was $100...

s~s