Brush I put together

I just thought I'd share this brush I assembled that I've really been enjoying lately. I wanted to try a different synthetic knot so I picked up a 24mm Tuxedo from AP Shave Co. on Etsy (@"AndrewPalombo"). I originally wanted to restore a vintage brush with this knot, but I couldn't find one I liked or would work at the time. I ended up grabbing a cheap resin handle from Whipped Dog instead. It's actually not a bad handle at all for $8. They have different colors available, I chose butterscotch. The other two components are a 3mm spacer cut out of acrylic sheet and a 1" metal ring with gunmetal finish. I got the idea for the trim ring from an Instagram post from DblDe where the brush in his SOTD was a Whipped Dog handle with a Maggard synthetic knot and chrome ring. Thanks Doug! I thought it added a nice detail to the brush. I have been using this brush for a while with the knot temporarily glued in with silicone. It's quite the cool trick you can use to figure out the loft you want before setting it permanently. With the initial uses, I felt like it had a tad too much backbone so I added the spacer and used it a few more times. Perfect! This brush is super soft and makes some killer lather with any soap I've thrown at it! I'm thinking about ordering the 30mm to make another brush out of. I'll probably make my own custom handle for that one. Anyway, here's a couple pics.

Parts



Spacer and ring glued in.



Finished product.

Thanks, Jeff.

Great job!

That looks really nice! Well done!

Sweet! The colors work well together, and the ring made it look really fancy.

I also have a Whipped Dog Synthetic brush with that handle. Try their knot sometime, Jeff. It's darn good and soft. It's my go-to when my skin is extra sensitive. Even softer than my Plisson-types.

looks great, Jeff.

I wanted to try a different synthetic knot so I picked up a 24mm Tuxedo from AP Shave Co. on Etsy … I ended up grabbing a cheap resin handle from Whipped Dog instead. It's actually not a bad handle at all for $8.

Jeff, that is so cool! I also assembled a Tuxedo + Whipped Dog combo (also 24 mm) last week, and tried it for the first time today. I’m more than impressed — extremely happy with that brush.

…
I also have a Whipped Dog Synthetic brush with that handle. Try their knot sometime, Jeff. It's darn good and soft. It's my go-to when my skin is extra sensitive. Even softer than my Plisson-types.

As I was assembling the brush mentioned above, I talked with Larry of Whipped Dog, and sadly, the Whipped Dog synthetic knots have changed a bit. I have a 24 mm from last year’s September, and like you said, it is one of the softest, most comfortable things on the planet. I was a little bummed to find out that getting the exact same knot is now out of the question, but I’m sure the new knots are very good, as well.

Larry’s description:
“Older knots... more backbone, less absorbent
Newer knots... less backbone, more absorbent”

Doesn’t sound too bad.

I wanted to try a different synthetic knot so I picked up a 24mm Tuxedo from AP Shave Co. on Etsy … I ended up grabbing a cheap resin handle from Whipped Dog instead. It's actually not a bad handle at all for $8.

Jeff, that is so cool! I also assembled a Tuxedo + Whipped Dog combo (also 24 mm) last week, and tried it for the first time today. I’m more than impressed — extremely happy with that brush.

…
I also have a Whipped Dog Synthetic brush with that handle. Try their knot sometime, Jeff. It's darn good and soft. It's my go-to when my skin is extra sensitive. Even softer than my Plisson-types.

As I was assembling the brush mentioned above, I talked with Larry of Whipped Dog, and sadly, the Whipped Dog synthetic knots have changed a bit. I have a 24 mm from last year’s September, and like you said, it is one of the softest, most comfortable things on the planet. I was a little bummed to find out that getting the exact same knot is now out of the question, but I’m sure the new knots are very good, as well.

Larry’s description:
“Older knots... more backbone, less absorbent
Newer knots... less backbone, more absorbent”

Doesn’t sound too bad.

Oh no... I really liked those. I thought I can grab a couple before the year ends... drats..

Do you think those knots are the same with TGN synthetic? They kinda look similar on Peter Wolf's webpage.

Nice winter project - beats shoveling the snow.

wyze0ne Nice job. How did you decide on the epoxy, amount to use and spacer. I have a brush to repair (no spacer or it fell out and hiding).

Oh no... I really liked those. I thought I can grab a couple before the year ends... drats..

Do you think those knots are the same with TGN synthetic? They kinda look similar on Peter Wolf's webpage.

It’s really difficult to say. I believe there are quite a few sources for synthetic knots, and though many of them look alike, they may not be exactly the same. For instance, some have said that the synthetic Stirling brushes have the same knots as Whipped Dogs, but having both, to me they are ever so slightly different.

Sorry I can’t help more.

Thanks everyone!

Nice winter project - beats shoveling the snow.

wyze0ne Nice job. How did you decide on the epoxy, amount to use and spacer. I have a brush to repair (no spacer or it fell out and hiding).

It was a fun little project, but unfortunately I did have to shovel snow yesterday and this morning too. We got dumped on about 10 inches over the course of the day and overnight.

I thought about using marine epoxy, but I thought it would be overkill since I never fully submerge my brushes. I just went with the regular quick setting stuff. It should be fine. To be honest, the silicone that held it in before provided a good enough bond and it's waterproof. You dont need to use a lot of epoxy at all. Just enough to coat the bottom of the knot with a thin layer. The stuff is really strong. For the spacer, I just added that because I wanted less backbone. AFAIK, brushes don't come with them. The loft would be set at the factory or artisan shop. We have varying thicknesses of acrylic sheet material where I work. I found a piece with the height I wanted to raise the knot (3mm) and had my coworker cut me a 1" circle of it on our laser machine. Unfortunately, that ring I added was a tight fit around the base of the knot so I think it added the backbone back, thus negating the effect of the spacer. I used it today and it felt like it had less "give" than before.