A nick in time.

Discussion in 'The Brush' started by jar, Mar 25, 2018.

  1. jar

    jar Well-Known Member

    With all the recent butterscotch brushes that have been posted lately an recent experience reminded me that what we see ain't what was there.

    One of my old Simpson KH4s finally reached the point where it needed a new knot. It was showing its age and while it was still a lather making fool the center bristles were getting few and far between. It was also staring to show some visible cracks and so Brad Sears offered to re-knot it for me and stabilize the cracks. I wanted to keep it as close to the original "Simpson Best Badger" feel and performance as possible and let the restoration determine stuff like knot width. The goal was to bring it back to the original look, feel and function without losing the wear marks, coloration and tool marks that gave it so much character.

    Brad did his usual miracles and soon it was back with its siblings. He used a three band Silvertip that both looks and feels almost identical to Simpsons Best Badger grade. I shaved with the more modern KH4 and the experienced KH4 back to back over two days and except for the difference in feel between catalin and modern resins the two brushes were close to identical in feel and function.

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    There was one rotten spot right on the lip where the surface flaked exposing the original un-aged color of the handle. And that is something I love, another reminder of what the brush has gone through over the decades.

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    We tend to forget that the butterscotch color we all have grown to love is actually a defect, the result of the catalin degrading over time and that originally the handle was white.

    I imagine in a few more decades that spot will again match the rest of the body but its a great reminder as long as it lasts.
     
  2. Enrico

    Enrico Popcorn

    Are the new brushes made of the same material?
     
  3. jar

    jar Well-Known Member

    No. Catalin isn't used much anymore, maybe some still as late as the eighties.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2018
    Enrico likes this.

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