Fine Angel hair, not so Fine?

Hi. That's not good at all. What the engraving should be filled with is a harden enamel filler, it looks like they have used a soft filler instead, so when the brush handle gets warm the filler softens. To prevent this happening any more paint a clear nail varnish on the bottom of handle or spray a clear car spray as this should seal it.

I read this the other day and thought, "That is terrible, I'm glad my Fine brush hasn't had any issues like that."  Later I went to get my Fine brush from my travel bag.  That bag stayed with me on every flight, so it saw no drops or abuse the whole time.  When I pulled out my Fine brush the handle had come unglued just like yours.  So I believe that this is a common problem.  Just looking at mine the glue did not appear to be a good quality epoxy, this small assembly error hurts the reputation of an otherwise good brush.

I was thinking of picking up one of these, mostly for the handle but also because I have taken to synthetics lately. However, I won't bother until QC issues (and customer relations) are vastly improved. Thanks for the heads-up on these, gentlemen.

I read this the other day and thought, "That is terrible, I'm glad my Fine brush hasn't had any issues like that."  Later I went to get my Fine brush from my travel bag.  That bag stayed with me on every flight, so it saw no drops or abuse the whole time.  When I pulled out my Fine brush the handle had come unglued just like yours.  So I believe that this is a common problem.  Just looking at mine the glue did not appear to be a good quality epoxy, this small assembly error hurts the reputation of an otherwise good brush.

please let us know if you contact the manufacturer and what the outcome is...

I read this the other day and thought, "That is terrible, I'm glad my Fine brush hasn't had any issues like that."  Later I went to get my Fine brush from my travel bag.  That bag stayed with me on every flight, so it saw no drops or abuse the whole time.  When I pulled out my Fine brush the handle had come unglued just like yours.  So I believe that this is a common problem.  Just looking at mine the glue did not appear to be a good quality epoxy, this small assembly error hurts the reputation of an otherwise good brush.

please let us know if you contact the manufacturer and what the outcome is...

Here is the e-mail I received after contacting Fine:

[font=Calibri, sans-serif]I’m so sorry about your experience with my brush.  Unfortunately, the only way to manufacture things affordably these days is to have it done in China, and what happened here is a direct side effect of that. [/font]
[font=Calibri, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Calibri, sans-serif]The good news is that a few drops of epoxy will get it back to performing just like it used to.  The bad news is that I would normally send you a replacement due to your paint problem, but now I’m completely out of stock.[/font]

I read this the other day and thought, "That is terrible, I'm glad my Fine brush hasn't had any issues like that."  Later I went to get my Fine brush from my travel bag.  That bag stayed with me on every flight, so it saw no drops or abuse the whole time.  When I pulled out my Fine brush the handle had come unglued just like yours.  So I believe that this is a common problem.  Just looking at mine the glue did not appear to be a good quality epoxy, this small assembly error hurts the reputation of an otherwise good brush.

please let us know if you contact the manufacturer and what the outcome is...

Here is the e-mail I received after contacting Fine:

[font=Calibri, sans-serif]I’m so sorry about your experience with my brush.  Unfortunately, the only way to manufacture things affordably these days is to have it done in China, and what happened here is a direct side effect of that. [/font]
[font=Calibri, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Calibri, sans-serif]The good news is that a few drops of epoxy will get it back to performing just like it used to.  The bad news is that I would normally send you a replacement due to your paint problem, but now I’m completely out of stock.[/font]

My brush has worked fine(no pun intended) since I repaired it, but when it comes out of rotation in a week our so it will be retired and banished to the back of the cabinet.  I am not at all impressed with FINE products or Mr. Fine's excuse for poor quality.  If this is what FINE ACCOUTREMENTS is about, if that is their legacy so be it.

Signed,
No Longer a Customer...

maybe Fine Accoutrements should stick to soaps and aftershaves if it can't provide decent QC on their brushes.

This is a real shame, I understand the economics of the manufacturing in the West but people in this hobby don't mind paying a bit extra for better quality. Would people have baulked at paying a bit extra for a brush made in the States with the money going to american workers and going straight into the US economy, I don't think so. This is why the western economies and in particular manufacturing is in the toilet because of companies "responsibilities" to their shareholders ( outsourcing work to China to make bigger profits, sack workers and allow companies in the east to exploit their counterparts due to relaxed employment laws and regulations ) Now I'm not saying Mr Fine is working on that scale but it's just a step backwards when everyone else is innovating and creating ( granted more expensive products ) all different lines of handmade or otherwise products.

Surely someone could have been found in the US who could produce these type of brushes for not a huge amount more and provide a better quality of product? The problem is that some people might just bypass the Fine website after this type of experience and for what , to save a few bucks ; but at what cost. This would be a huge shame because I think the Fine splashes are great and decent value for money.

I read this the other day and thought, "That is terrible, I'm glad my Fine brush hasn't had any issues like that."  Later I went to get my Fine brush from my travel bag.  That bag stayed with me on every flight, so it saw no drops or abuse the whole time.  When I pulled out my Fine brush the handle had come unglued just like yours.  So I believe that this is a common problem.  Just looking at mine the glue did not appear to be a good quality epoxy, this small assembly error hurts the reputation of an otherwise good brush.

please let us know if you contact the manufacturer and what the outcome is...

Here is the e-mail I received after contacting Fine:

[font=Calibri, sans-serif]I’m so sorry about your experience with my brush.  Unfortunately, the only way to manufacture things affordably these days is to have it done in China, and what happened here is a direct side effect of that. [/font]
[font=Calibri, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Calibri, sans-serif]The good news is that a few drops of epoxy will get it back to performing just like it used to.  The bad news is that I would normally send you a replacement due to your paint problem, but now I’m completely out of stock.[/font]

That he would pass the buck like that is inexcusable. I think I can live without his products based on the QC and, even more importantly, his customer service.

I remember I bought one of Geofatboy's Shavenation lather bowls he was selling at a discount because the manufacturer didn't make them up to scratch. The bowl was fine but the logo and the finish was poor. He later went on to say that of all the bowls he had made in China almost 60% of them weren't fit to be sold at full price so when restocking he sought out a US based manufacturer to ensure the required quality and as a consequence he would obviously be charging more for the product.
The old saying still rings true no matter what you are buying " buy cheap, buy twice".