First shave brush

[Aaron Craven]

I've wanted to make myself a shave brush for some time, but didn't want to spend the money for a bottle stopper chuck just to make one shave brush. But my old shave brush (a cheap job from Wal-Mart) was getting pretty ratty, so I decided to take the plunge. I decided to take a chance with real wood (I had some small Walnut pieces that would be perfect), so I took a blank and rounded it between centers. Then I cut a blank, cut a depression for the decor cup and used the included bit from the bottle stopper chuck to drill the screw hole. Then I put it on the chuck and it immediately slid all the way on -- without screwing it in...

It turns out (after looking at reviews online), the bit that comes with this chuck (manufactured by PSI) is basically useless. It doesn't leave enough material behind to screw into. So I tried a smaller bit, and that sort of worked, but since the screw on the chuck is not self-tapping, it eventually tore out while trying to screw the piece on. I ran out of time and decided to sleep on it. A few hours later, I had a very simple solution: create a jam chuck and run a wood screw through it (from the back) into the work piece. Voila -- $0.25 shaving brush chuck. Lesson? Put a little extra thought into things and you can probably save yourself some dough.

Anyway, a quick question on making these... the little decor cup (metal cup that inserts into the piece which you then glue the brush into) gave me fits. I filled behind it with epoxy, then inserted it, but I had a hard time getting it seated because there was nowhere for the air and excess glue to go; I could press it in, but it would pop back up if I let the pressure off. I finally ended up putting the piece in a clamp. The squeeze out gave me more trouble, but I was able to deal with that relatively easily. How can I make inserting something like this easier? It's like I needed to create a relief hole, but I'm at a loss as to how to do that without it showing. Of course, I could go without the metal cup, but I rather like the way it looks. Surely someone else has run into this and can give me some tips.

Finish is an oil/CA finish technique I picked up somewhere (Tim Yoder, maybe?). Hopefully it sealed the wood well enough that regular usage in the shower won't cause problems. But if it does, I can always just make another.

333181

Apologies for the crappy cellphone picture.

[Ed Wood]

Looks good and I like the way you worked around the psi adapter.

[Matt Zettl]

Aaron,

I have made dozens of brush handles. I also use a jam chuck, although I don't screw it into the blank. That is actually a good idea, and I may give it a try. I usually just bring up the tailstock, turn the shape that I want, then remove the tailstock for for final tuning of the shape, sanding and finishing. As far as the cup is concerned, I do not use one at all. If you look at traditional brushes from England and Germany, it is interesting that the British brush makers like Simpson, Rooney, etc. do not use cups. The brush knot is glued directly into the handle. On the other hand, many of the German makers use cups, especially in the vintage handles that I have seen and restored. Shavemac, probably the premier contemporary brush maker in Germany, does not use cups.

For what it is worth, here is what I do. I decide upon the knot size before I start on the handle. Then, I drill the knot socket with a forstner bit, sized 1-2 mm larger than the knot diameter. Fit the knot in the socket at this point to be sure that it fits. Some knots will have a significant bulge above the base, and a larger diameter socket than expected may be needed. The depth of the socket is not really important at this point. It just needs to be deep enough for a good interference fit with the jam chuck. I turn the handle as described above, and finish it. Next, I decide how deep I want to set the knot, and either drill the hole deeper, or if is too deep, make it shallower using cork discs cut out of cork sheet, available at any hobby shop. I epoxy the cork spacers in place. Next, I apply a thin coat of epoxy on the walls of the socket, essentially creating a totally waterproof socket. I use West Systems epoxy, the standard of the marine industry, and allow it to dry overnight. I do not use 5 minute epoxy like many do, as it does not have the same degree of water resistance as regular, long setting epoxy. Maybe this is overkill, but I would rather err on the side of the handle being over built than under. Finally, I epoxy the knot in place with the same West Systems epoxy. During this step, one needs to be careful to not use too much adhesive, as if it oozes out of the top, you have a mess on your hands that is difficult, if not impossible, to correct. Allow the epoxy to cure overnight, and the brush is ready to go. This is just my method, and it works for me. There are many ways to skin a cat, and others may use a different technique that works as well.

Hope this helps some.

Matt

[Aaron Craven]

Thanks for the tips, Matt! You mentioned that you decide on the size of the knot before you start. The location I got my knot from only had one (a PSI product). Where do you get yours?

What finish do you use? I've always heard that a film finish over wood will fail if water gets under it, so I was afraid to use non-stabilized wood at first. But I didn't want an acrylic handle, so I finally just risked it. My hope is that the 10-20 coats of thin CA (I didn't count, so I don't really know how many it was) sealed the wood well enough to make it durable.... and of course, the wood at the end should be well-sealed with epoxy. I did use 5-minute epoxy (and cheap Harbor Freight epoxy at that), but this is basically a working prototype anyway, so I'm not too upset if it develops problems later.

[Matt Zettl]

Glad I could be of some help, Aaron. I get my knots from several different places. Here in the US, both Golden Nib and Whipped Dog are good suppliers. Golden Nib has a bit larger selection as far as type of hair (badger, boar, synthetic, etc.) as well as knot size. I also order knots direct from China (that's where all of the badger hair comes from anyway) via eBay. The seller that I have used, and has proven very reliable with a good selection and quality is Virginia Sheng. If you really want to go top shelf, you can also order from Shavemac in Germany - extremely high quality, and quite pricey, especially after you figure in the shipping. They tie all of their own knots, so these could be considered almost custom made. You may find knots as good, but probably not better.

I have used several different finishes, but I also stabilize all of my own blanks. That lessens, but not eliminates, concerns about water getting underneath the finish. Most commonly, I use multiple coats of CA glue, as you are doing. I agree that if this finish becomes chipped or cracked, and water gets underneath it to unstabilized wood, bad things will ultimately happen. Another good option is Waterlox, which is a polymerized tung oil. The nice thing about it is that it results in a finish that does not look built up or like plastic. It can also be easily refreshed or repaired if necessary. It becomes quite hard and waterproof once it is fully cured, about 30 days. It is a bit time consuming to apply, as 24 hours drying time between coats is required, and at least 3 or four coats are needed. Also, the pot life of Waterlox is rather short. Once it comes in contact with oxygen, it starts to polymerize. So, if you get a quart, and only use a little of it, then come back a couple of months later, it is going to be jelled. Plus, it is not cheap, in the range of $35-40.00/ quart. With the CA, you can apply 10 or more coats in a matter of minutes. So, there are trade offs with each.

To be honest, a lot depends upon how the brush is cared for. I thoroughly wash and dry off the handle of my brushes immediately after each use. I have a couple of handles that have only an oil finish on them, and they look great after many, many shaves. But, I am almost obsessive about how I care for them.

Hope this helps.

Matt