Hi folks, just like the title says, I want to re-knot my two rarest brushes. I have been wet shaving again now for about 5 and one half years, and have never seen any brushes identical to these two. As far as my limited research can tell me I assume these brushes were made around the turn of the century. At least that's what the handle style looks like. I have not googled the names to find anything out about the company's themselves, but just asking around on the various forums over the years. Any way, these brushes were restored by a friend of mine four years ago, and have synthetic knots in them. All I want to do is re-knot them with a quality badger knot, suitable for face slathering, and I too have a couple of questions. I like plush, soft, knots, that bloom nicely, but have sufficient backbone to face slather. I like the idea of "white, or silver" tips, but tip color is not a disqualifying factor. So my questions are- what type and size knot would you folks suggest, and the other question is what options do I have as far as people to entrust my unobtainium brushes with to do the re-knot? These brushes are very dear to me, and I know nothing about these topics. Oh, here's a photo of them. The one on the left is a MAYD-WELL. The one on the right is a Held-Tite. Thanks for any input on this, folks. I may not do the work on these brushes right away, but I will be doing it. Thanks again. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Howdy Alan. I've debated and stared a thread on choosing between Silvertip and High Mountain badger knots, from Whipped Dog. I have a B400 handle that needs a knot. It seems to be the consensus that the High Mountain knot has more backbone, and yet still very soft tipped.
Hi Scott, thanks for your response! Yes I saw your thread, and read through it. I appreciate the heads up. It looks like pretty good advice so far. Is Whipped Dog the only vendors for the High Mountain knots? Or are they considered the best? How would I determine what size knot I need? Thanks for your reply Scott!
I don't know about them being then only gender, but they come highly recommended. They are also reasonably priced, compared to other sellers of badger knots.
Thanks Scott. I will probably go with them. I was just looking at a site called Alibaba. They have a huge selection of knots. I think they must be from China , judging by the prices. I'm going to look around a lot though, because I only want to reknot these brushes once. Thanks again Scott!
Beautiful brushes. IIRC, @Darkbulb has a collection of similarly-styled brushes; you may want to PM him and see if he has any advice.
I love the look of two band finest knots. I recently put one on these in my Ever-Ready restore . I don't know how these performance yet as it is my first badger brush ever. But I am very excited. Do you know what size synthetic knot was put in them 4 years ago ? Tonight I will shampoo the knot and do a test lather and take pre and post bloom pics.
Hi Andrew, no, I don't know the size of the synthetic knot he put in there. I suspect 20 to 22 mm. I don't know the loft. It seems to be about the average though, perhaps-45 to 50mm. I'm going to try to measure them later. I'm looking forward to seeing your report on the two band knots. I think they look great too. Looking forward to seeing your photos as well.
What unusual brushes; I've not seen anything like them before. Good luck with your re-knot, I'm sorry I can't be more helpful.
If you want the best, most perfectly formed badger knots, Shavemac is about the only answer if you are wanting to preserve or add to the brushes' value. I hesitate to throw a recommended badger type out there without knowing how deeply the knots can be set.
Thanks Ryan, I'll try to get some measurements on the thread later on. Thanks for the input about Shavemac. I'm going to look their website up.
I'm not a big fan of boar brushes. But thanks anyway. Your input is appreciated. And it probably would look more natural as you say. But I am a fan of badger.
This is the one you'll be wanting. It doesn't come up on a regular site search: https://www.shavemac.com/products/Configurator/Shaving-Knot-Configurator.html Edit: you can also send your brushes to them to redo, but that will add to the time and cost.
Shavemac is a good choice, I've never used one of their knots for a restore before but they do make fine brushes. TGN Silvertip Grade A and Finest knots are nice and reliable as well. Depends on what your looking for in a brush. Re-reknots can be tricky because of the modern epoxy. You don't want to steam a wooden brush so you'll have to drill it out. Take your time and you should be alright. Great looking brushes by the way -- good luck with the project.
