Just a word of caution

OK, the sad saga continues. I finally decided just to have the brush re-lettered and re-knotted with the Morris & Forndran name by Brad Sears and Lee Sabini. (Having the M&F name put on it was the only way Brad was willing to do it.) The brush came back, and unfortunately, whoever did the lettering was ignorant of the fact that the old Rooney Style 3 Finest brushes just said 'Finest Badger' without a printed number. But they printed my brush so that it says 'Hand 2 Made, Finest Badger' even though it is a 3/3 brush, NOT a Style or Size 2.


If they HAD to put a number on it, why not an appropriate 3??  In addition, just to further illustrate their ignorance or carelessness, the invoice that Brad sent me called the brush a 'Simpson.' I wrote to Brad complaining about the bad job they did on the brush, but I received no response at all - no offer to make it right, no admission of responsibility, and no apology. Nothing.

“A Word of Caution” and rightfully so….

John: 

Since the beginning of this thread you helped ME save monies and time on 3 separate and very similar projects;  A very big THANK YOU is in order, so THANK YOU!

1/ Extraction of a knot out of the most gorgeous MOZINGO Brush handles that can’t be replaced if the resin cracks during extraction of the knot.  I decided to accept/respect the knot decision of the original owner as it’s a wonderful knot that hits all my criteria (thank you again George for selling me this brush).  Total Savings if something went wrong: about $250

2/ The complete destruction of a one off brush in an effort to extract its B5 knot for use in another brush.  It’s implied the handle will be destroyed in an effort to preserve the integrity of the B5….HOWEVER, there’s the possibility the knot could also come apart….. I sold this brush 2 weeks ago.  The brush was novelty for me, I just wanted that B5.  Total savings if something went wrong: roughly $500-550

3/ Full Mirror Polishing of a Razor in which the original artisan only made 10.  The way the razor looks and performs is 100% BUT I want to take the chance of destroying the original ideas of this incredible Artisan because “I” think it could be more beautiful than it already is. The original Artisan asked me why I want to take the chance of distorting it’s perfect performance and gorgeous appearance? Um, yeah, why do I want to do this? Nothing better to do with my hard earned monies? Bored? The razor will not be mirror polished, I will continue enjoying this incredible instrument.  If the urge to mirror polish ever comes back, I will review this thread and sell the razor for someone else to enjoy.  Total savings if something went wrong: $500-$600 and the destruction of 1 of 10 made razors because I’m selfishly ignorant and can’t respect other peoples visions

Lessons learned……

John has given a fine example of things that can AND will go wrong if you try to restore, fix or make any modification/adjustment to ANY shaving brush; vintage, out of production, in production, etc

The lessons I’m taking from John’s personal experience and learning from someone else’s mistakes will save me future monies and multiple disappointments ….and the most important commodity: TIME. To my understanding reading this thread, the finest most talented and respected Artisans were commissioned trying to bring back the life of 1 brush

“YOU” take on the responsibility of ANY project when you ask ANYONE to do ANY modification of ANY finished product (even the original Artisan). THIS IS NOT LIMITED TO JUST A SHAVING BRUSH! I can’t stress that enough. If the project is a failure, who is to blame? The Artisans? Myself? 

Allow a product’s lifecycle to end, especially if I was happy with said product.  Sometimes its better to leave things be and retire the product

Again, THANK YOU John for sharing this experience, your words of caution helped me see the expensive mistakes I was about to make.  Total savings thus far: $1400-1500 and a whole bunch of time and disappointment 

Cheers