Doug Korn Brush Maker and other Artisans

Doug Korn Brush Maker

This post started out to be about the mastery of Doug Korn handles. But I got a little carried away, so bare with me as I give my opinion on some of those who have made and and those that are still making brushes for the wet shaving community

There are many people who have started businesses to turn brushes in the last 20 years, many have closed down, many were good but not exceptional, as it is today I feel many are good but not exceptional, don't get me wrong good is ok! Respect the good artisan, respect the exceptional.

Respecting the consumer

Good business is providing a good to excellent product and without question respecting the customer. I believed in customer service, showing respect to customers and prospective customers. Now I know that most bush and razor makers/machinists have primary jobs and have limited time to produce products because of work and family, but they choose to enter the wet shaving market and are doing it to make money, so be respectful to the customer and respond back to a question within a few days not a week or so later (illness, vacation and unexpected issues are the exception)

Brush Makers

In my opinion there are a few brush makers who make quality brushes throughout the years. To name a few I will start with Bob Quinn (Elite Razor) who for years has made the best handles from wood bar none (Bob also makes razor handles). Peter at Wolf Whiskers makes wonderful affordable brushes along with Rudy Vey who makes custom handles as well as Brad Sears/Morris & Fornhdran (who is retiring), And then there is Paladin who I feel makes the finest raisin brushes in the world that features a large variety of unique handles (well thought out designs) that are sustancial in feel, fit beautifully in your hand, and offer wonderful knots. Valet makes an excellent brush but I feel it is well over priced (I have 2 Valets before he went custom and the prices went up considerably)

As you see I have not included established companies like Simpson, Semoque, Shavemac, or Rooney and Thater who are no longer in business, etc who have a large selection and price range who also sell wholesale, Also I did not put in Declaration Grooming, Scott offers a limited selection of handles which are not to my liking, yet most of his knots are some of the finest available (I feel his signature is the slightly twisted knot since all the knots that Scott has put into my handles are all slightly twisted). I have put most of Scotts knots into Bob Quinns wooden handles, Scotts first knot B1 in a WW handle.

At this point I am going to name a few brush makers who are no longer in business (as far as I know). Romera made some nice handles but could be sloppy, though his knots could be some of the best (hit or miss) and communication was not his best suit. Then there was El Druida brushes.who I think also is no longer in business (I was informed that El Druida is still making brushes).. May it be wood, metal or resin his handles were always excellent, his knots had moderate back bone with lovely soft tips (he also makes metal razor handles). 


Now back to the main subject: Doug Korn. Doug closed his shop in January 2019, he made some wonderful handles for over a decade and I was very fortunate enough to have purchased some of his handles. If you needed Doug to take a knot out of a handle which meant killing the handleI saving the knot or if you wanted to have the handle no knot which meant killing the knot and saving the handle. Doug offered a nice variety of stock handles or you could work with Doug for a custom handle (like Rudy Vey) you picked the color or colors from his rod stock and worked out the design and you got a unique handle that you designed. Throuigh the years I have brushes from many brush makers so Please this is just my opinion through my experiences.

I have posted here a few of Doug's handles, I hope you enjoy them. all knots in these brushes are 26's

The turquoise transparent is 65 high witha a Thater 2 band 26

Nice thread.

I have 3 Doug Korn brushes [Pic 1 and 3]. Loved his tools.

3 other artisans worth mentioning:

Allen Long[pic 4], Vlad Ferdman [pic 6], and Chiseled Hound [Rob, pic 2, 5]



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The turquoise one reminds me of the glass insulators on the telegraph lines along railroad tracks.
The ones that weren't all shot up, that is.
Very nostalgic.

those are Doug brushs, I have somwhere a brush from Vlad that must have been 12-15 years ago and he alway shot his brushes next to the same rock

those are Doug brushs, I have somwhere a brush from Vlad that must have been 12-15 years ago and he alway shot his brushes next to the same rock

Red, he still does. A black chunk as I remember!

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If this is a pseudo in memoriam thread, I’ll throw in a quick shout out to Geoff Anderson and Dorian Craft, both made some very cool stuff. Dorian’s website is still technically up but has been “on vacation” for quite a while and I haven’t seen anything new in his social media…

This thread is about brush makers, I gave my 2 cents others should give their opinions as well. What I ask is that images of the brushes from the makers be presented so we can all appreciate their work.

Yes, i remeber the Andeson handles. A mix of jade and wood? Very cool brushes

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The turquoise one reminds me of the glass insulators on the telegraph lines along railroad tracks.
The ones that weren't all shot up, that is.
Very nostalgic.

Thought you were a sensible, responsible and polite Canadian?! Such destructive antics are the tell tale work of us hooligan Yanks.

I had a couple of Doug Korn brushes and loved the shapes, wish I still had them. Another fellow who seems to be retired from turning is Oscar11. I feel the same about his brushwork. Celestino, I think, has a rather large collection.