Mid-Range Badger Knot Decision

BF&E said:

Dave, those rubbersets look great! Where were you able to grab those?

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I actually have three of them, two threes and a four. I got one from a forum user before they became so popular. It's the item that knocked me out of my first and only year long shaving sabbatical about six months in. I saw one someone had finished and just had to have one. The other two I got off of Ebay, one was reasonable, the other I paid quite a bit more for. I can't tell you how many times I've come in second place bidding on these things. At least a couple dozen. I haven't been so fortunate as to find one in an antique store for $8 like some here have. It would be a great story though as I've never seen on in the wild. The one that has a satin finish just lacks the last step of finishing it with aluminum polish. I've found that leaving at this stage keeps it from getting the tarnish that they seem to get when you shine them up to a mirror finish and then actually use them.

The brush to the right of the Rubbersets is an Adoration. It's even harder to come by and worth quite a bit more. I'm always looking for these to come up and when they do I bid what I think is a crazy aggressive amount, only to be outbid by a whole hell of a lot. The last one I saw come up in red ended up selling for twice my bid which I honestly thought would get me the brush.

You guys rock. I've looked a bit on eBay and Google for some of those and came up with crazy sticker shock! I'll look on and still for now fellas. I talked to Larry over at whipped dog and I think I'll grab a tall handle from him with the extra 5mm depth and experiment with the loft when I mount the TGN knot. Oh, and I'll use silicone so it stays water resistant and I can change the loft 20 times until I'm satisfied!

Thank you all so much for the help! This discussion had been a blast! Now I just have to be patient until after my euro-trip to put it all together.

Go for a Whipped Dog Silvertip. You can get the 24 mm knot set by him in the handle. I would leave the loft at the maximum, i.e. I would not drill it further, but then I like a soft luxurious knot with a tall loft.

BF&E said:

You guys rock. I've looked a bit on eBay and Google for some of those and came up with crazy sticker shock! I'll look on and still for now fellas. I talked to Larry over at whipped dog and I think I'll grab a tall handle from him with the extra 5mm depth and experiment with the loft when I mount the TGN knot. Oh, and I'll use silicone so it stays water resistant and I can change the loft 20 times until I'm satisfied!

Thank you all so much for the help! This discussion had been a blast! Now I just have to be patient until after my euro-trip to put it all together.

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Yeah, I didn't mean to discourage you. You don't need to find the priciest handles that seem to grab my attention. The ones I posted are some of the most costly ones available. They are rare and sought after by collectors. For this project you're not likely looking for the collector level stuff.

For example a Rubberset 200 is a great handle that can be had in the $6 to $15 dollar range. I own a couple of these as well. There are plenty of vintage handles available on ebay for $6 that'll clean up really nice and look great. Just search for shave brush and find one that appeals to you.

It's a lot of fun to find and refinish a handle. I promise you it'll make the brush much more meaningful and enjoyable to use. So maybe if not for this project then give it a try for the next one.

Yep! None of mine were more than $15. I'm excited to see what you come up with! And have fun in Europe.