Some new brushes

I've been working on some varying approaches to turning brush handles over the past few months. I am a long time woodworker (almost 40 years) with a good but of turning experience, so my preference is for wood handles. The problem with wood is the durability and finish. I have come to the conclusion that resin stabilizing the wood, then finishing with something durable is the preferred solution. So, I now have a vacuum chamber, pump, and heat activated urethane resin that I use to infuse the wood blanks before turning. Here are a few examples of the latest efforts. I also coat the knot socket with epoxy before inserting the knots. The brushes shown only have the knots dry fitted with either TGN Super Badger, TGN Silvertip, or Virginia Sheng Silvertip.

This one is bubinga and wenge.



Cherry burl and wenge



Red palm and wenge



Wenge and holly



The finish on all of these brushes is 10 coats of CA, sanded to 12,000 grit with Micro Mesh, then buffed on a buffing wheel with plastic buffing compound.

Thanks for taking a look,

Matt

Amazing brushes my friend!! They all look very nice!

Those are very nice. You are a true craftsman. Start selling!

BSAGuy said:

Those are very nice. You are a true craftsman. Start selling!

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+1 They look great! How much do you charge?

Excellent work and very nice looking brush handles.

Thanks for all of the kind comments, gents. I have a couple that I have not photographed yet, so once I have, I will post those photos. I will probably put a few up for sale in a week or so, as I just sold a few razors last weekend on the B/S/T, and so I can't sell anything quite yet. I am looking at the possibility of Hobbyist/Vendor status, but that process and designation is currently being reviewed by the B&B Board as I understand it, so I can't move on that right now. Again, I appreciate the encouragement.

Matt

Very nice brushes!

Very nice work. I like that you have used 3-band knots rather than 2-band, there's something about the softer 3-band colouring that goes so well with the amazing wood material & finish.

Reevers said:

Very nice work. I like that you have used 3-band knots rather than 2-band, there's something about the softer 3-band colouring that goes so well with the amazing wood material & finish.

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Thanks, Reevers. I wish that I could say that I used the 3-band on purpose, but that is what I put in the handles because I happened to have them. I took the following photos of the same handle, but with three different knots, just to see the difference. I have to say that I like the three bands better than the two band, just as you seem to prefer.

The following photos show a handle of oak burl and walnut with the different knots. I bowl lathered each of the knots once to get them to bloom so that you can see what they will actually look like after use.

Virginia Sheng silvertip



Virginia Sheng finest



TGN two band finest



Matt

Super job - they all look great.

rdeakle said:

Very nice brushes!

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Appreciate the comment, Ryan. Here is a photo of one more. This one is wenge and oak burl with a 24 mm Virginia Sheng silvertip set at a loft of 48 mm.



Matt

Your brushed look amazing!!

Hope to be able to make some of that myself some day!
Thanks for the inspiration!

Excellent job on all the brushes!
As a fellow wood turner, I can
Appreciate the craftsmanship!
my favs are the first brush in
Bubinga, and the Wenge/Holly
handle.

3gor4 said:

Your brushed look amazing!!

Hope to be able to make some of that myself some day!
Thanks for the inspiration!

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Thanks, appreciate the kind words. Just work at it, keep practicing, and don't be afraid to try new things. Looking forward to seeing some of your work in the future.

Matt

Sploosh said:

Excellent job on all the brushes!
As a fellow wood turner, I can
Appreciate the craftsmanship!
my favs are the first brush in
Bubinga, and the Wenge/Holly
handle.

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Thank you very much. It's always rewarding to receive such kind comments from fellow woodturners and woodworkers.

Matt

mlzettl said:

Thanks, appreciate the kind words. Just work at it, keep practicing, and don't be afraid to try new things. Looking forward to seeing some of your work in the future.

Matt

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I don't have a lathe and I live in an appartment so i don't have much space in the small shed.

But luckily we do have a lathe machine on board of the ship I work on. But as you might allready know. Also no proper wood to work on.

I do have turned my first brush handle recently. Only need to order a knot.




More pictures in this link http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/431267-Selfmade-shaving-brush-handle-and-DE-handle

3gor4 said:

I don't have a lathe and I live in an appartment so i don't have much space in the small shed.

But luckily we do have a lathe machine on board of the ship I work on. But as you might allready know. Also no proper wood to work on.

I do have turned my first brush handle recently. Only need to order a knot.

More pictures in this link http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/431267-Selfmade-shaving-brush-handle-and-DE-handle

Click to expand...

Wow, that looks fantastic. Great job. Solid brass - I like it. The handle looks great as well. No doubt that you are hooked. It's just a matter of time before you get your own lathe, but beware, it's a slippery slope.

Matt

Thanks for the comment.
And yes i'm gonna turn another one soon. Also full brass.

And i got a knurling tool coming for the lathe. So more DE razor handles with knurled grip.

I've done some turning, but more of a flatwork guy here! Looks like you've solved the durability issue. Shiny doesn't usually appeal to me when it comes to wood, but it works very nicely here.

My only issue with wood handles is that I much prefer the look of the quarterwawn side as apposed to the flatsawn side. The Red Palm and burl blanks solve that issue, though. I've toyed around with the idea of a segmented blank in order to get rid of the flatsawn grain, but just can't seem to find my round tuit to get it done!

Beautiful brushes there and that handle looks great. Is that a razor handle that you have turned also?