Heartbroken...

So...my first brush restoration, an all white Rubberset 200-4 that I set with a 24mm pure black badger, fell apart in my hands whilst lathering the other night. No added pressure, no signs of failure, just halfway through applying lather for the second pass, and POP!! the top half broke off the bottom half. I'm heartbroken because this was quickly taken it's seat as one of my favorites. I miss it, everytime I go to shave...

Anyhow...My question is for you gurus that do a lot with brushes.

How do I get my knot out of the handle without damaging it? I have a Zenith faux tortoiseshell handle that I would like to put this knot in, so I am really keen on getting this thing out of the remaining handle so it can re-set in the tortoise handle.

I'll try to get some pictures when I get home from work, so you guys can get a better picture of what I'm dealing with...

Wrap the knot in rubber bands and then tape.

Without seeing it, or knowing what kind of tools you've got, it's hard to be specific.

You can get it done though. All is not lost!

Good luck Chris, that is a bummer!

Chris, I'm sorry to hear about this.  Those old Rubberset 200-4 brush handles are one of my favorite shapes.  I hope you can manage to get the knot out safely.  All good luck to you.

Sorry for the unfortunate event, Chris!

If you have or can set up a double boiler, you could try to steam the knot out. I’ve done it once, and it worked well. Took about 15–20 minutes of the brush sitting in the steam, then the epoxy was sufficiently loosened that I was able to gently twist the knot away from the handle.

Good luck with the repair.

Pics! I seldom use steam because I ruined an old brush handle once with it. That said on occasion I'll still stem them up and it works great without killing a knot. Never had to wait too long for the steam to work its magic. But maybe you can put the rubber set back together. The handle is hollow. What's to stop you from steaming out the knot, then lining up top and bottom of handle and filling with an epoxy/sand mix. That'd add a pleasing weight and glue the two pieces back together without insightly glue lines. Pics pics pics.

Wrap the knot in rubber bands and then tape.

Without seeing it, or knowing what kind of tools you've got, it's hard to be specific.

You can get it done though. All is not lost!

Then what? Hit it with a hammer? Grind it off with a dremel? Sorry but I'm curious what you do next.

I'd first look to see if the handle itself can be repaired.

Is it un-repairable? Let's see some pics.