Thanks for the picture.....big help. Is there a metal plug on the underside of the knot? If not could I cut the knot almost flush with the top of the ferruel and then drill out most of the knot? this would alow me better access to get some penetrating oil on the treads. I have not attemped this yet due to time and I was afraid that the ferrule is thin like you said. I will try to fit this in sometime this weekend....I really need my 400 cleaned up, polished and in the den.
Currently,I am breaking in my new boar brush with dishwashing soap and water. I am going to let it soak close to 48 hours and that should loosen it up a bit.
Good idea, that should get rid of most of the funk too (mine was pretty funny when it arrived). I think I'll use mine on Friday, in your honor, Joe! Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk
Thanks, Danny! Prior to this shave, everytime I used a new Personna Headshaper blade, my shaves usually had multiple weepers or cuts. Today, my shave was an irritation-free BBS with a miniscule weeper. So this shave was a great leap. I just took my time to enjoy the shave and got a great result.
Great shave Andrew...those Valets are fun razors that deliver. Thanks for the picture of the boys. Declan looks like he is about to catch up to Logan. Logan better be careful...smack down may be coming.
Thanks, Andrew! We will be in sync using our Stirling brushes on Friday. I just want to say that my brush only had a very mild funk. The 48 hour soak is really to soften the bristles, however, I don't like any funk, hence the soapy water treatment.
I would not recommend removing the knot. The ferrule would be hollow and your are likely to break it for sure. You can cut the bristles off level with the ferrule. The knot really does not have a glue plug like we are used to seeing in modern brushes. It is a solid hunk of the nastiest black stuff you have ever seen. Penetrating oil might help a little. Removing the old ferrule is the most difficult part of restoring a 400 in my opinion. It is also the step most likely to destroy the brush. I have done 10 restorations on vintage 400s and always give a sigh of relief when I remove the ferrule without damaging the brush. Using 2 strap wrenches is the safest and most gentle way to remove the ferrule. Assuming you don't have those or its doesn't work I use the following method. I have a small vice with plastic inserts for the jaws. I gently place the handle where 2 raised ridges rest gently against the plastic jaws. This will hold the lower handle without too much pressure. I have then wound several layers of electrical tape around the ferrule. Using vice grip pliers adjusted to just gently bite enough to break no more than the top layer of tape. Slowly and gently turn enough to break the ferrule free. Once the ferrule is free cut the knot as close to flush as you can. Then drill a hole thru the center of the knot. Place the ferrule on a padded work table and begin to press down on the edges of the drilled hole with flat tipped screwdriver. With luck it will crack that nasty black stuff free in several chunks. From there it is a matter of polishing the brush up. I start with as high a grit as possible and go from there up to 3000 grit. Understand that the handle as inclusions that will show up as tiny black spots. Sanding sometimes removes them and sometimes creates new ones. So you just have to decide when it is good enough for you. If you have any questions or concerns shoot me a private message and we can chat through messages or phone.
That makes sense..the glue plug will support the ferrule and keep it from compressing. That is what has scared me about the process. I figured that is the worst part. I was thinking the same thing but using [soft] wood blocks in a vise to lightly clamp the handle. Good idea! Using the vise grips scares me and I will try and find my strap wrench. I like a little of the worm look to it but not beat up. I guess around a 8 out of 10 if that makes sense. Will do and I appreciate the help. I feel confident enough to give it a try this weekend. I'll keep you posted.
Soft wood should work with no issues. I do not clamp on the raised ridges but use them to my advantage in keeping the handle from spinning. Some of the handles were so tough I had to resort to the vice grips and tape. I am glad I didn't break the brush. One of my friends Clark got the bright idea of taking it to the metal shop and melting out the knot. It burned a hole through the ferrule. I did so many of the 400s that the matt in front of my work table has that nasty aluminum water stains from all the wet sanding.
