I've been quietly and patiently working on a 3rd brush (still working on the 2nd) and I am truly happy with this one. It reminds me of a honey dripper (looks so much better in person). I was originally going to flip this one but I've decided to keep it. It has a 16mm TGN finest badger knot. I don't know how many layers of black paint it had on there but it was ON there and I decided to work with it (so I wasn't patient on that end). I'm glad I did - it came out just as I pictured in my mind - very rustic, belying its age. I should be able to try it out on my next shave, in 2 days. Here are the pics taking it through the restoration: