Last summer I picked up a tired looking Strongset brush at an antique mall. I've been wanting to restore a brush, but I just kept putting it off. Finally, after some TSD member support (thanks, Jayaruh and Srnewb) and the help of Larry Andreassen of Whipped Dog I got my project completed. The handle was actually in pretty nice shape, but the brush had been hacked off and it was as hard as a rock. Larry suggested, as a first attempt, trying to pry the knot loose with a pair of pliers. Well, this knot wasn't about to let that happen. Thankfully, Larry provided additional “stubborn knot” instructions involving cutting the knot off short with an Exacto knife, drilling out the knot and then finally cleaning out the hole. It all went smoothly. Larry suggested using a Dremel tool to clean away the remaining edges of the old knot, but I don't own a Dremel. However, I found that the hole was almost exactly ¾ of an inch and I just happened to have a ¾ inch chisel. I managed to insert the chisel and twisted it back and forth until 99.9% of the knot was gone. Things were looking good: I then sent the measurements of the handle to Larry. I told him that the hole was almost exactly ¾ of an inch. Larry suggested that a 20mm knot should be just about right, but I might have to work on the handle a bit. Since I already have a WD silvertip I ordered a Whipped Dog Black Pure Badger 20mm knot. While waiting for my knot I got to work on the handle. I sanded off the old finish and stained it with Minwax Cherry. After several coats of stain, I finished it off with 5 coats of gloss polyurethane. Not much grain, but it came out nice. When the knot arrived, I excitedly went to my workshop to test things with a “dry fit” and, to my complete surprise, it didn't fit! It was close, but that knot was not going into that handle the way things were. I had noticed after I'd remove the old knot that the hard black rubber portion of the handle was lined with a metal ring and now that ring was in the way. I used a small chisel to cut the ring and it came out easily. Next, I used a ¾ drill bit to carefully widen the black rubber just a tiny bit. Finally, I used my Exacto knife to very carefully shave the bottom glue block on the knot. I tried the fit again. It went in, but it was still extremely tight. I checked with Larry who felt the knot would be fine. So I mixed up the epoxy (purchased from WD), put it in and then pushed and cajoled that knot into the handle. It worked! And this is the result: This is a really tall brush. I put it next to my Omega 10049 and it's just as big. I used the brush today and I immediately noticed that the black badger hair is both very, very soft and also a bit “scritchy” (that's an official brush-maker term according to Larry). It's not broken in yet, but it spread the lather thick and even and I went on to have a great shave (notice the Slim waiting in the background). So, thanks for reading about my minor accomplishment. Again, I want to thank Larry at Whipped Dog. He couldn't have been more helpful. This is my second WD brush and they can't be beat and Larry's customer service is second-to-none. (BTW – if you'd like Larry's full instructions PM me your email address).
That's what I'm afraid of. I have one other that needs done. Oh God, first it's RAD, then it's SAD, now it's BAD? Where does it stop?
No it doesn't. I know I get so much enjoyment from restoring and then using a piece of history. Add in the ability to use different knots and the possibilities never end.
Great job! The brush looks terrific! And yeah, you are in trouble, now. Restoring brushes is like eating Lays potato chips.
You did an outstanding job on a beautiful old brush! The only thing I would suggest to finish it off would be to get a bottle of white Testors model car paint and fill in the lettering.
Hadn't thought about that. It would "top it off" wouldn't it? I'll have to think about it. Thanks for the idea!
