New Forest Shaving Brushes

Fido · Monday March 29, 2010

I needed some new plinths for displaying my bells and found a model maker with wood turning equipment in my village. He turned out some great plinths. I asked him if he fancied having a go at making shaving brushes if I supplied the knots. We agreed that he would use some odd bits of New Forest oak for a trial run. We did one with a knot from The Golden Nib (Finest 2 band with extra hair) 22x65 set to a loft of 52mm and a knot sample I got from a Chinese supplier of 22X64 (best badger but silvertip quality) set to a loft of 50mm. The handles were finished with a marine sealant and knot set with epoxy resin. I'm really pleased with the result. They go on the shelves with more illustrious neighbours but I know I will enjoy giving them an occasional run out.

Henk is making me a Wenge handled brush based on a Plisson shape using a high density version of the chinese knot. I'm very interested in seeing how wenge turns out for a handle. I use it a lot for plinths. I'm looking forward to getting that, and will post photos.

Learning all the time.........

hunnymonster · Monday March 29, 2010

A pair of beauts there Fido...

Blyth Spirit · Monday March 29, 2010

Stunning...well done that man!

Hearts of oak and all that, what?

:mrgreen:

fozz77 · Monday March 29, 2010

Very nice Fido.

Slow Shaving · Tuesday March 30, 2010

Well done, good job.

Could you tell me the name or link of the chinese badger supplier? :hungrig

Pig Cat · Tuesday March 30, 2010

I like them. I like them a lot.

Rev-O · Tuesday March 30, 2010

I love oak.

Elm is nice, too, but rare these days.

Jeltz · Tuesday March 30, 2010

Nice, I really must get some knots and have a go myself!

Damian Murphy · Wednesday March 31, 2010

I really like them as well , very nice.

henkverhaar · Wednesday March 31, 2010

Rev-O said:
I love oak.

I don't ;-)
It's not a happy turning wood, and it really needs a large object to show its beauty. Except for holly oak, a small mediterranean evergreen oak with a stunning pattern of radial cells. Called azijnhout ('vinegar wood') in Dutch for no particular reason.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.af.nl/voorraad/massief/azijnhout/azijnhout.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.af.nl/voorraad/massief/azijn ... jnhout.JPG</a>

Elm is nice, too, but rare these days.

I have some elm. Problem with elm is, it's not very strong or durable, but it would certainly work for a brush handle, it finished well.

Fido · Wednesday March 31, 2010

Leaving aside considerations of whether or not oak is nice to look at or an unhappy turning wood is there any other practical reason why it could not be a perfectly practical functional handle as long as it is properly sealed?
I note that Semogue use Portugese oak - I have no idea if that has different characteristics to English oak.

Any thoughts on sapele and walnut?

henkverhaar · Wednesday March 31, 2010

Fido said:
Leaving aside considerations of whether or not oak is nice to look at or an unhappy turning wood is there any other practical reason why it could not be a perfectly practical functional handle as long as it is properly sealed?

No, oak is perfectly adequate from a structural and durability point of view. Plus its density is OK for a brush handle.

I note that Semogue use Portugese oak - I have no idea if that has different characteristics to English oak.

Yep, different species Could be any of 3 or 4 species though.

Any thoughts on sapele and walnut?

Both are a little light to make a decent handle IMNSHO, but especially walnut (both European, Juglans regia, and American black walnut, Juglans nigra) are beautiful woods. I would seriously contemplate weighting a walnut handle, probably with a brass bar.

Fido · Wednesday March 31, 2010

Thanks Henk. Walnut and sapele are among my plinths which I use to display my bells as well as wenge and several other woods which I could not now identify. Come to think of it I have a large variety of woods in all my bell handles which I have never given much thought to. But they don't get wet.

Jeltz · Wednesday March 31, 2010

When I make some brushes I will be using Padauk for one. Heavy and finishes beautifully, its a very dense African hardwood so slow to work in comparison with oak.

antdad · Wednesday March 31, 2010

henkverhaar said:
Rev-O said:

I love oak.

Click to expand...

I don't ;-)
It's not a happy turning wood, and it really needs a large object to show its beauty.

Couldn't agree more with the good Dr.

Oak might be fine for a church pue but visual context is everything, a palm sized object made with a fairly open-grain hardwood like oak really does not do the form or the actual wood justice.

Rev-O · Wednesday March 31, 2010

antdad said:
henkverhaar said:

Rev-O said:

I love oak.

Click to expand...

I don't ;-)
It's not a happy turning wood, and it really needs a large object to show its beauty.

Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more with the good Dr.

Oak might be fine for a church pue but visual context is everything, a palm sized object made with a fairly open-grain hardwood like oak really does not do the form or the actual wood justice.

Good points. I am in the lucky place of having lot of "big" oak (panels, beams, doors) where the scale of the grain can really shine.