Gentlemen, I have a custom brush idea and would like to get some feedback. As stated before, I'm currently active duty military and have worked on the A-10C Warthog aircraft. That plane is famous for the huge 30mm gun on the front of the nose. I took one of the 30mm round casings and polished up to a chrome finish. I then attached my occupational badge (Aircraft Maintenance). Most people will do this so that the casing serves as a shot glass. But I would like to purchase a brush knot to fit inside and make a custom shave brush. I really wanted to try and complete this myself, but I know there are some well-known custom brush guys on these forums. Is this a good idea? Should I let a pro finish the project? I would appreciate the feedback. Thanks
May I now introduce my custom brush. It is shabby compared to Warthog brush but it is easy to make. The handle is slip proof. Why I don't know but it is not slippery when wet. I have rheumatoid arthritis and diabetic neuropathy which affects my hands. I needed something relatively large and pain free to use. It is made from finest badger hair. Quite dense. 22mm knot. 50mm loft. It is soft and luxurious with no skritch at all. All this terminology is from The Shave Den's "Back to basics: brush terminology. I hope I have used it correctly. The handle is made of two plastic medicine bottles. It is 70mm high and 44mm in diameter. It affords me a good solid, slip free, pain free grip. Iy is so luxurious. The knot, and both bottles are tight friction fits. No glue. It is my favourite of 9 brushes. Mickey Meet the PBB - The Pill Bottle Brush.
I think you have a great idea there to memorialize your service with something specific and cool to your job. I cannot wait to see what the final result looks like!
Having worn that badge myself, I think it is an excellent idea! Make sure you let us know how it turns out. You just might be hearing from me.
Question-do you think this will need constant polishing to keep it from tarnishing? I hope this works out for you. Good luck
You started it, now see it through. You will enjoy it more. You can always ask for tips, techniques and advice. Thank you for your service to our country.
Great idea! Of course you want to do it yourself, if you can fix a Warthog you sure as heck can do something as simple as knot a brush. Try The Golden Nib for a knot. Assuming you have 30mm opening I would go with a 28mm knot. The glue plug should be 28mm but the hair will flair out just above the knot so it may limit the seating depth. If it is too big, just file it (the knot) down some till it does fit, and don't worry about it because the hair will fill in when it blooms. when you get it to slide in, put in a stack of coins, add and remove till you get the right depth. Draw a line inside at the top of the coins, dump em out and (I like Hoosier Trooper's idea here) fill with clear silicone (epoxy is a little too permanent), and let it level off and set. Then using a little (not too much) silicone, glue the knot in. Done! If you don't like it, as HT says yank it back out, dig out the silicone and do it again. Good luck.
Man that is a nice looking brush handle. I think it would work fine but it might be a little big. Now I need to ask around to get a 3omm casing to make my own.
Nice handle and it'll certainly look great when its done. You've done the hard part already, I think stonyloam has some great advice on setting the knot.
definitely want to see this i myself was in the army and was thinking of using a 50 round for a brush but im not skilled in the works of things like this.
