Shedding Simpson badger

hotmetal

hotmetal

Messages
2,996
Location
Not too far from LHR
I've had this brush (Simpson Commodore best badger X3) for a while and I have enjoyed it. It's started to shed, more than 5 hairs per shave, which is annoying, especially when using a straight as it messes up the stroke.

I guess it's not the brushes fault as it has only started doing it a while ago, and was sold to me used in good faith and I was happy with it for ages.

Simpson don't sell knots and it's too old to return, I'm not the original owner anyway. Not looking for a freeby or to moan. I like the brush and want to save it.

Simpson suggest washing with normal hair shampoo, buffing on a towel and allowing to dry for 24h then combing through. Repeat until its finished shedding...

Not sure if this will work. I'm going to try it though. Nothing to lose but time.

Assuming it doesn't, and I need to try to reknot it, how feasible is it? I've never changed a knot before. It's a 24mm (loft 46) best badger. Also any suggestions for sourcing the knot (I'll stick with badger because it says 'best badger' on the handle and I have synthetic and boar brushes already.

Cheers
Paul

Commodore X3 Best Badger approximate brush specifications:

Overall brush height - 97mm
Handle height - 51mm
Knot loft - 46mm
Knot diameter - 24mm

What they say about shedding.

Prepare to Shave

Prepare to Shave
www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com
 
hotmetal said:
I've had this brush (Simpson Commodore best badger X3) for a while and I have enjoyed it. It's started to shed, more than 5 hairs per shave, which is annoying, especially when using a straight as it messes up the stroke.

I guess it's not the brushes fault as it has only started doing it a while ago, and was sold to me used in good faith and I was happy with it for ages.

Simpson don't sell knots and it's too old to return, I'm not the original owner anyway. Not looking for a freeby or to moan. I like the brush and want to save it.

Simpson suggest washing with normal hair shampoo, buffing on a towel and allowing to dry for 24h then combing through. Repeat until its finished shedding...

Not sure if this will work. I'm going to try it though. Nothing to lose but time.

Assuming it doesn't, and I need to try to reknot it, how feasible is it? I've never changed a knot before. It's a 24mm (loft 46) best badger. Also any suggestions for sourcing the knot (I'll stick with badger because it says 'best badger' on the handle and I have synthetic and boar brushes already.

Cheers
Paul

Commodore X3 Best Badger approximate brush specifications:

Overall brush height - 97mm
Handle height - 51mm
Knot loft - 46mm
Knot diameter - 24mm

What they say about shedding.

Prepare to Shave

Prepare to Shave
www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com
Click to expand...
Personally I would buy a Shavemac knot and fit yourself, if the washing and drying does not work.



Paul.
 
hotmetal said:
Assuming it doesn't, and I need to try to reknot it, how feasible is it? I've never changed a knot before. It's a 24mm (loft 46) best badger. Also any suggestions for sourcing the knot (I'll stick with badger because it says 'best badger' on the handle and I have synthetic and boar brushes already.
Click to expand...

Aside from the Shavemac suggestion from Paul, if you are looking for a badger for a little less, then on Aliexpress Boti & Oumo have some nice looking knots, but I'm not really a badger user so I have no idea about the differences between different brands!
 
hotmetal said:
I've had this brush (Simpson Commodore best badger X3) for a while and I have enjoyed it. It's started to shed, more than 5 hairs per shave, which is annoying, especially when using a straight as it messes up the stroke.

I guess it's not the brushes fault as it has only started doing it a while ago, and was sold to me used in good faith and I was happy with it for ages.

Simpson don't sell knots and it's too old to return, I'm not the original owner anyway. Not looking for a freeby or to moan. I like the brush and want to save it.

Simpson suggest washing with normal hair shampoo, buffing on a towel and allowing to dry for 24h then combing through. Repeat until its finished shedding...

Not sure if this will work. I'm going to try it though. Nothing to lose but time.

Assuming it doesn't, and I need to try to reknot it, how feasible is it? I've never changed a knot before. It's a 24mm (loft 46) best badger. Also any suggestions for sourcing the knot (I'll stick with badger because it says 'best badger' on the handle and I have synthetic and boar brushes already.

Cheers
Paul

Commodore X3 Best Badger approximate brush specifications:

Overall brush height - 97mm
Handle height - 51mm
Knot loft - 46mm
Knot diameter - 24mm

What they say about shedding.

Prepare to Shave

Prepare to Shave
www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com
Click to expand...
I'm in the process of getting a replacement knot for a Vie-Long horse at the moment - It'll end up with some sort of badger knot. Here are a couple of suppliers I have been looking at -

Shaving Brush knot - Shop Cheap Shaving Brush knot from China Shaving Brush knot Suppliers at Shop402657 Store on Aliexpress.com

Shopping for Cheap Shaving Brush knot at Shop402657 Store and more from on Aliexpress.com ,the Leading Trading Marketplace from China
www.aliexpress.com www.aliexpress.com

maggardrazors.com

Shaving Brushes & Brush Knots

Shaving Brushes, Shaving Brush Knots, Shaving Brush Handles
maggardrazors.com maggardrazors.com

Shaving Brush Knots | Badger | Boar | Horse | Synthetic

We offer a wide variety of high-end shaving brush knots including badger, horse, boar, and synthetic
shaveforge.com shaveforge.com

Shave knots

Bad ass variety of shaving knots from High Mountain white badger,top of the line Silvertip, Finest,black,best,pure,boar,synthetic. We've got what your face desires.
thegoldennib.com thegoldennib.com

Hope this helps - cheers - I.
 
hotmetal said:
I've had this brush (Simpson Commodore best badger X3) for a while and I have enjoyed it. It's started to shed, more than 5 hairs per shave, which is annoying, especially when using a straight as it messes up the stroke.

I guess it's not the brushes fault as it has only started doing it a while ago, and was sold to me used in good faith and I was happy with it for ages.

Simpson don't sell knots and it's too old to return, I'm not the original owner anyway. Not looking for a freeby or to moan. I like the brush and want to save it.

Simpson suggest washing with normal hair shampoo, buffing on a towel and allowing to dry for 24h then combing through. Repeat until its finished shedding...

Not sure if this will work. I'm going to try it though. Nothing to lose but time.

Assuming it doesn't, and I need to try to reknot it, how feasible is it? I've never changed a knot before. It's a 24mm (loft 46) best badger. Also any suggestions for sourcing the knot (I'll stick with badger because it says 'best badger' on the handle and I have synthetic and boar brushes already.

Cheers
Paul

Commodore X3 Best Badger approximate brush specifications:

Overall brush height - 97mm
Handle height - 51mm
Knot loft - 46mm
Knot diameter - 24mm

What they say about shedding.

Prepare to Shave

Prepare to Shave
www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com
Click to expand...
Remove the knot and measure the diameter of the hole, get a knot that's 1.5 or 2mm smaller than the hole, otherwise it won't fit. THESE are pretty amazing knots.

I did this for my son with one.


100_2327.JPG
 
What is the best way to get the old knot out without knackering the handle? Also ideally I would like to be able to measure the knot total height so that I can select a similar replacement. Simpson say 24mm and 46mm loft but I'm guessing that's the visible height above the handle, I'm not sure how deep it's set.
 
Grab the handle with one hand and the knot with the other, yank and twist. This will work about 10% of the time, in other words; don't get your hopes up. Usually you will need to cut the hair off close to the top of the handle and drill some holes down through the knot base and break it up to get it out, DON'T pry against the handle while doing this, then clean out the remaining junk with a Dremel.
 
hotmetal said:
What is the best way to get the old knot out without knackering the handle? Also ideally I would like to be able to measure the knot total height so that I can select a similar replacement. Simpson say 24mm and 46mm loft but I'm guessing that's the visible height above the handle, I'm not sure how deep it's set.
Click to expand...
Yes, the 24 and 46 is what you see, not what it is.
 
TobyC said:
Grab the handle with one hand and the knot with the other, yank and twist. This will work about 10% of the time, in other words; don't get your hopes up. Usually you will need to cut the hair off close to the top of the handle and drill some holes down through the knot base and break it up to get it out, DON'T pry against the handle while doing this, then clean out the remaining junk with a Dremel.
Click to expand...
Very good advice about prying against the handle. In a fit of exasperation, I did this with a very old brush, and the rim around the hole looked as if a dozen rats or mice had been gnawing at it. Recovered with some turning and a lot of elbow grease, but best avoided in the first place.

I've managed to drill out a couple of recalcitrant knots with a Sandvik auger bit close to the hole diameter. Whatever drilling method you may select, it's very easy to drill beyond where you want to stop. Scuppers in the handle base aren't too useful.
 
I may do that Chris, it would be ideal to replace with the same knot. The whole brush is about £70 so it may be worth doing unless they want too much to replace the knot. If it's silly money I'll take my chances, but I'd rather not cock it up just to try to save a few quid.
 
hotmetal said:
I may do that Chris, it would be ideal to replace with the same knot. The whole brush is about £70 so it may be worth doing unless they want too much to replace the knot. If it's silly money I'll take my chances, but I'd rather not cock it up just to try to save a few quid.
Click to expand...
It's simple once you've done a few, it's easy to be too careful on the first one. No idea what they may charge for that.
 
I have heard back from Simpsons, they do indeed offer reknots, and the advantage of course is that they will not cock it up and the knot will be the same as original. However for the X3 in best badger they said I'm looking at fifty of her majesty's beer tokens. Obviously there are cheaper solutions but it's nice to have the correct knot in the correct handle, especially as it has the knot type stamped visibly on the handle. Now I have to decide if its worth the price or whether to try to do it cheaper. Ultimately only I can answer that, and I'm still thinking about it. I'm only posting for completeness in case anyone reads this in future.
 
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