DFS LE brush transformation

Hey all, I just wanted to share my "new" DFS/Envy Shave brush. I originally got this with the Envy White badger knot which I enjoyed for a while. Recently I've moved more into the synthetic realm and just wasn't using the brush really at all, which was a shame because I absolutely love the handle on this thing. I ended up trading it for another DFS brush that had the Ubersoft synthetic knot. I used it a few times and found that I didn't enjoy this knot at all. It had too much backbone and after using the Tuxedo and Cashmere brushes a lot, found that the ironically named Ubersoft wasn't that soft. So I picked up a Maggard 26mm black/white synthetic to reknot it with to create a limited to one Limited Edition, lol. Here is the result.



I used it for my shave today and while the knot is nice, it has too much backbone and didn't splay enough for me. Good thing I set it with silicone so I'm going to pop it out and put some shims under it to raise the loft before setting it permanently. Another thing I noticed is something that I think Wolverine experienced with his Maggard knot. The black dye used in the knot leeched out into my lather and turned it a grayish color. I hope after more use that this doesn't continue to happen. Here's a pic.

I noticed that dye effect as well. It went away after two shaves.

Thanks tdmsu. I was hoping it was a temporary thing.

Looks good with the white rings on the handle.

How did you remove the old knot? Drill? Boiling water? Blow torch?

Looks good with the white rings on the handle.

How did you remove the old knot? Drill? Boiling water? Blow torch?

Thanks! They are rubber o-rings I bought from PAA.

To remove the old knot, I started by cutting it as close to the handle as possible with heavy duty scissors and a really sharp steak knife. This was tough as the knot was super dense. I couldn't get as close to the handle as I wanted because I was going to use the drill press at work to get the rest of the fibers and glue out. So to get it flush with the top of the handle I used the belt sander at my work to "sand" the last millimeter or so of fibers that were still sticking out of the handle. Unfortunately, while I was trying to cut them with the knife, I put a couple of gouges in the top of it, so when I sanded the rest out I just went ahead and sanded the anodizing off the top of the handle. Now it's just bare aluminum. I was going to paint it black or something, but it looks kind of cool as it is. I think I'll leave it like that. To get the remaining glue/fibers out of the handle socket, I used a 1" Forstner bit on the drill press which made quick work of it. In hindsight, I could've tried the steam or boiling water method first since the handle is aluminum I wouldn't have to worry about damaging it. It seemed like there was a lot of glue in this sucker though so it might not have worked.

Deffinately wash a new black synthetic first.
A couple washes and it will not bleed.

Hey Jeff wyze0ne both my 28 and 30 mm leeched the dye.  Even though the second knot. (The28mm) I shampooed it a couple extra times it still bleed for the first two lathes. After that I didn't notice it anymore and they have been fine since.  How deep was the knot set. I used Whipped Dog handles for both and took them at standard depth which is supposed to be 10mm. I just took a crude measurement and they were approximately 11 mm.

Brush looks sweet. Congrats.

Maggards is now selling a 24mm beige knot that looks to be a Cashmere knot now as well. Love having all these options.

Deffinately wash a new black synthetic first.
A couple washes and it will not bleed.

I don't know. I didn't shampoo my "authentic" Tuxedo from AP Shave Co. and it never bled like that. I did shampoo this one once because I knew of the issue with Wolverine's brush. I'm not sure exactly how deep the socket is. It's deeper than 10mm though, that's for sure.