I should have taken before and after pics but I just jumped right in with the restore in my excitement. Here's an Ever Ready vintage brush I took a crack at restoring. I replaced the old thin boar bristle knot with an 18mm pure badger I bought from China on eBay. After cutting the original bristles down and then using a dremel to get them out and prep the hole, I polished up the metal and removed a couple of scratches, then I cemented the new knot in with epoxy. After a few test lathers and some additional shampooing to de-stinkify it, I used it for this morning's SOTD with some Barrister & Mann Cheshire soap, and it seems to be a great brush. Decent backbone for a Badger but it is very soft and whipped up a fantastic lather. All told, the original brush was $5 and the knot from China was $6. So for $11, I think I've got a pretty good brush!
Try not to smile while you are thinking about that brush while shaving, don't want you to nick yourself. You did really good!
