Vie Long Amphora Knot Swap

[pjgh]

Some years ago I pulled the horse hair knot from my Vie Long Amphora handle in favour of synthetic. At the time, choice was limited and the knot I used was a rather scratchy 22mm synthetic from Virginia Sheng and dropping into a hole that suits a 24mm perfectly well, it sat in a bit and had perhaps a stunted appearance.

Before:

Luckily, the knot was easily removed by immersing the whole brush in boiled water for a few minutes, twist and pull.

The new knot is a 24mm Cashmere from AP Shave Co. The size it more in keeping with current trends and a size which I find really suits me - today, 22mm does feel a bit, well, small.

So, my Amphora handle now sports a lofty Cashmere (24x60mm) and looks the business!

 

[hotmetal]

Yeah the cashmere in that handle looks very nice indeed!

 

[Gairdner]

That’s a bit lofty for me but I do love that knot. I find it just too floppy and springy at those ‘heights’. Brush looks great though.

 

[Digimonkey]

Amphora-ish Vie Long handle. The knot is horse - too much mane to tail to my preference - it tangles like a bastard. It's a good handle shape - a small silvertip knot would be the bollocks I think. Not that I have the skills to achieve that. @Gairdner - do you take commissions? - I.

 

[Gairdner]

View attachment 89088

Amphora-ish Vie Long handle. The knot is horse - too much mane to tail to my preference - it tangles like a bastard. It's a good handle shape - a small silvertip knot would be the bollocks I think. Not that I have the skills to achieve that. @Gairdner - do you take commissions? - I.

I’ve just put a G5 knot in a Chisel & Hound brush for a member here. He was delighted with the result. If you wish, I’ll shall take on the task. You buy the replacement knot, send it to me with the Vie Long and cover the return postage. That’s all I ask.

 

[Digimonkey]

I’ve just put a G5 knot in a Chisel & Hound brush for a member here. He was delighted with the result. If you wish, I’ll shall take on the task. You buy the replacement knot, send it to me with the Vie Long and cover the return postage. That’s all I ask.

Excellent - I'll need to measure the knot - it is quite small - 24 - 26mm? I don't know. Where might you recommend I buy a knot? I want a short loft silvertip. The brushes I use all the time are best badger or two-band but I want something softer. What do you think? - I.

 

[Gairdner]

Silvertip with a short loft sounds like a good bet to me. I’ve just put a 24mm Silvertip from Maggards in a Walnut handle I carved. It’s very good and I’m delighted with it but there will be softer out there. Perhaps a Boti Silk HMW Silvertip or Boti Leader Silvertip? I’ll go lookee see which is half the fun!

 

[Digimonkey]

Nice. I'll measure the knot - you go look. I will take your advice. If you happened to have the back channels to the knot makers - we could just bundle the whole thing up? We decide the knot - I send you the handle - I pay you. Job done.

 

[Gairdner]

Ok, so I’ve had a peep and a Boti Leader Silvertip at 24mm runs at a few pennies short of £30 delivered and the Silk HMW Silvertip at £40 ish.

 

[Gairdner]

Lets take this to PM.

 

[Digimonkey]

Lets take this to PM.

Indeed.

 

[pjgh]

View attachment 89088

Amphora-ish Vie Long handle. The knot is horse - too much mane to tail to my preference - it tangles like a bastard. It's a good handle shape - a small silvertip knot would be the bollocks I think.

I think the tangling was a problem with horse, generally. I had three different heights from Vie-Long and they all tangled up horribly. Having to comb through with the cat comb after every shave was too tedious. Yeah! Get it re-knotted and enjoy the handle.

Here's another Amphora I bored out for a (then huge) 24mm TGN Finest:

 

[pjgh]

That’s a bit lofty for me but I do love that knot. I find it just too floppy and springy at those ‘heights’. Brush looks great though.

Cheers! Trends change and the 22mm 55mm loft knot that as in feels just a tad too small. What I wanted was to sorta replicate the original horse knot but without the tangling ... and a cashmere equivalent of the super-flopper boar surgery I did in this episode with the orange handle: