Shaving brush wood handles

Fido

Fido

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Location
New Forest, England.
This is an Acca Kappa brush made with a zebra wood handle:

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The handle appears to have been left in a natural finish with no sign of sealant. Can our wood experts comment on why this may be appropriate or otherwise for zebra wood?
 
Yeah, I've seen that. It certainly looks like it was oiled only, although there may be some finish in the wood -- no way to tell for sure other than by taking samples or asking the suppliers...

The pictures on their website actually suggest that the handles have some sort of matte finish, like the Semogue LE 2009?

Zebrawood isn't particularly moisture-proof, although it isn't particularly moisture-sensitive either. As stated before in another thread though, repeated wetting and drying cycles are very tough on wood, so you may want to re-oil it once a week (just a quick wipe with a rag with some boiled linseed oil, or garden furniture oil or something similar), just to be sure. Or give it a proper treat with something like owatrol or similar (sort of improved boiled linseed oil -- an alkyd resin based wood impregnation product).

Henk
 
I always thought that the Acca Kappa was one of the prettiest brushes of them all.

Zebrawood, (Microberlinia brazzavillensis)usually sold as Zebrano is most commonly encountered as veneer, cut on the quarter to emphasise the stripiness. The coarse texture suggests that some sort of finish is mandatory, otherwise it will wind up looking grubby. I'm willing to bet that it has been sealed somehow, even if it's just a thin coat of cellulose.

I'm glad you liked it when you tried it out Fido, but I think it's place is justified on your shelf based on looks alone.
 
I use shaving oil actually - Nuage(?) for 99p from Sainsbury or Asda!

It's not an oil that actually sets or cures, but it's natural and cheap and hasn't given me a problem yet. Note that I only use it on brushes that are naturally water repellent anyway - I wouldn't advise you follow that on porous woods.

Henk I know you can explain that with at least 4 more technical words.... :D
 
It rather depends on what's on it already Fido. Like I said, I'm sure it will be sealed with something, most likely a synthetic matt lacquer of some sort. If you get some water on the handle, does it "pearl" into discrete droplets? - if so it has been sealed. To add extra coats of lacquer, you need to know what's there already.

One thing which you could do which is relatively easy - and I'm not recommending this as such, please note - is to apply a thin coat of Danish oil with a rag. Don't get it on the bristles! (That might seem redundant, but it would be disastrous if you did). This oil contains driers so it will cure to a hard finish on top of sealer, but I'd give it a week to go off properly. Repeat occasionally. Danish oil is what you see on those knife handle pictures I posted recently - four or five coats given ample time to dry out and rubbed back with a green Scotchbrite pad to level the surface, remove any nibs and provide a key for the next layer. The brand I use is Colron, and yes, I do think it's noticeably better than the others.

Hope that helps, but I'd wait to see what Henk has to say.
 
Tung oil should be another good option for bare wood: it is a penetrating oil. The finish is likely to be glossier than Danish oil. It will not be affected by the wet / dry cycle to any significant extent, but as with any oil finish it will need occasional reapplication.
 
Major difference between Danish oil (basically a boiled linseed oil) and tung oil (a drying oil from the 'Chinese nut' tree fruit) is that tung oil dries faster, and needs less catalyst, but dries to a somewhat lighter resin.

If the zebrano is really finished, I would probably recommend cleaning, then buffing with beeswax...
 
Well, for once I'd disagree with you there Henk: not a fan of waxes at all really, certainly not in the bathroom. Since you mention cleaning, the classic stuff to use for that is an emulsion of linseed oil and vinegar with a dash of turps. Don't ask me the proportions because I can't remember :roll: Lib Net is a decent proprietary alternative.
 
What is wrong with waxes in the bathroom? not durable enough? I know carnuba waxes on cars breathe and some people apply a sealant on top of the wax, which some agree with and some don't, like Extra Gloss Protection from Autoglym. On bare wood I concede the wax would not last long because the wood is porous but on a painted of sealed surface I imagine it would be fine.
 
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