Home made synthetic knot experiment

When I was pondering what to do with my late father's old shave brush, I decided to give it a try myself and bring it back to something other than a memory from my youth. I researched knots and after alot of reading and a million and one opinions of which knot was the best , I came up with this idea .... I'll try making my own synthetic.
After sacrificing a 2" paint brush and my patience, I have not only made it , but have finished the handle also. Gave it a test lather and so far so good...no shedding and it lathers good for a trial run.
Since I'm doing a 30 day rule I will not be posting pics of the finished brush until the 23rd of this month when I'm finished my rule .
But for now here are a few shots of the knot . Let me know what you think good or bad . All will be appreciated... Thanks Patrick

 

I did the same a while ago and some paint brushes do have fibers close to synthetic knots, but of the older generations. Will be watching with interest to see how yours works out.

 

It worked, but I felt that going through the time making one, it was just better to buy them. Just couldn't find a paint brush with soft enough bristles. But it was softer than a boar knot.

 

Nothing wrong with trying out something.

 

Pretty much how I get my other ideas, being bored. And too much imagination.............

 

Great start to a fun project.

 

Can't wait to see/hear how it works.

 

I’m following along. I made some popcorn.

Love to see some of the stuff guys make around here.

 

Very cool. I am here to find out how it all works out.

 

Cool project.
I'm interested in all the details:
what kind (brand) of synthetic paint brush, diameter of the knot, loft, glue used etc.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Awesome, Patrick. I'm interested to see how your brush performs for you.

 

Very Interesting.
I have to see how it all turns out.

 

I just read this thread and am interested in how this all turns out.

I was painting a bedroom in my house this weekend and was a bit frustrated with the paint brush I was using. I felt that the bristles were too soft and actually thought they would make a good good knot for a shave brush. I didn’t think anything further on it till I read this thread.

 

It’s a Purdy synthetic paint brush. It’s a bit soft as a paint brush for my liking, but could work well as a shave brush.

 

Yeah, keep us posted.
Cool thread.

Thanks for sharing.

 

If you were -really- serious about making your own synthetic knots, the place to start would be art brushes, rather than normal paint brushes.

Of course, my brush set was discounted due to loose ferrules, and still cost $80 in 1993 money.

 

I’m impressed as Hell that all the bristles are holding together. I’m impressed.

 

Which did you use?

 

Okay - I could easily see that. That's a more easily flowing resin than standard 'glue' epoxy, isn't it? (I haven't seen fiberglass work done in 30 years, so I certainly won't depend on my memory)

 

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. I have some horsehair I was doing to try to make into brushes, and @RyX has some I'm going to autoclave for him to do the same. One of the biggest PITA of the process is making the plug, so you lose the minimum of hair - or at least, so I read in various 'make your own knots' articles.