shaving brushes

[ahoiberg]

howdy there... relative newbie chiming in...

i'm preparing to make some shaving brush handles for some badger hair blanks i got.

a few questions if you will...

1) has anyone any experience with what woods work well with the constant potential for getting wet? i've heard the cocobolo causes skin irritation and that it doesn't take coating well due to it's oily nature.

2) as far as hollowing the area for the brush, would you recommend hollowing it out with a tool or using, say, a 22mm forstner bit with a tailstock jacobs chuck? seems that might be a little easier... but just looking for experience in the matter.

3) if anyone's got any pictures of ones they've turned, i'd love to see em!

thanks all.

cheers,
andrew

 

[John Nicholas]

Hollowing a handle to hold the brush is a simple exercise of end grain hollowing. Develop this skill and then you can do a box, a cup or a pot.

Wood, most of the domestic woods would work well. You can pick a color or grain pattern you like and leave it natural. You can pick a light color and dye it. You can buy some type of imported exotic, like the Cocobolo or one of the Rosewoods.

Finish. Probably sometype of wipe on Poly is what I would try. Others will chime in with their opinions.

If the brush is for you, make it to suit yourself. If you are giving it as a gift, it will be appreciated for the choices you make.

If you are going to sell them, then -- you have to please the customer.

Welcome to the vortex.

John

 

[Kenneth Hertzog]

I hope the picture comes thru. these are some of the brushes I did from acrylic. I would drill the hole for the brush in the blank first so the tailstock has the center point so you turn the handle round with the brush. Other than that have fun

 

[JWW]

I still use a mug and brush and would like to try and turn one. Where do you find the badger hair blanks?

 

[Kenneth Hertzog]

shaving brushes and such can be located at aftosa.com

 

[JWW]

Thanks for the quick reply! It looks like they have my soap also!

 

[ahoiberg]

I actually got the badger hair from China, that's where it's all produced. I researched the topic ad nauseum. Any place you find them in the US, they're from China, any place you find them in Europe, they're from China. It's one of the only countries that has the right type of badger for the hair. Believe it or not, there's certain badgers that work better than others for the hair.

It took a lot of hours to set up the transaction, wiring money to China, getting a permit from the dept. of fisheries & wildlife (a permit that they only started requiring a year ago or so from what I understand) and a bunch of other hassle. But, once it all got going, i got some nice blanks from a company over there. If anyone's interested, i'd be happy to supply the information for you but be warned, it's a pain in the butt. You'd be better off getting them from blankity-blanks.com or something.

Thanks for all the info guys!
Andrew

 

[ahoiberg]

kenneth,

so you drilled a hole the size of the hair tuft and then secured that end with the tailstock? the resulting hole inside the tuft hole from the live center didn't mess with anything did it?

so, in essence, i could drill the hole with my drill press instead of a tailstock jacobs? And then you mounted the other end in a chuck or on the drive center? i suppose it could be done either way if you're going to drill the hole first?

thanks again.

 

[Kenneth Hertzog]

sorry had to think how I did the turning

1. drilled the hole with the drill press (forestner bit )
2. I have a small adaptor for my lathe that will accept a wood screw in
the center. so I drilled a small hole and put a wood screw in to hold the
piece used the tail stock at first slightly for initial rounding and then
removed it for finishing so that there was no dimple on the bottom
3. this let you finish it with no obstructions in the way

if this did not answer your questions I will try to explain it futher or I can send photos if needed

by the way I've never sold one people think they are cute but totally useless
at the last show only had one fellow say he still used a brush

ken

 

[ahoiberg]

so you screwed in the opposite side from the drilled tuft hole?

then did you just part the brush off to the right of the screw leaving a little waste block on the mount?

and hand finish the bottom of the handle or did you reverse jam it to finish?

 

[Kenneth Hertzog]

after I drilled the hole ( tuft hole )
I drilled the center point the size of the screw
my adaptor fit into the drilled tuft hole and tighten it
down with the screw to hold fast
then lightly put the tail stock on the bottom of the wood
which is oversize leaving it a little long triming
I removed the tail stock in order to finish the bottom

did I answer the question
will try again if you need some help
PM me your email address and I'll send pictures of the
adaptor unless you think I should post it on the fourm

ken

 

[gran]

these folks have badger brushes

[url]http://www.blankity-blanks.com/index.htm [/URL]

 

[David Somers]

by the way I've never sold one people think they are cute but totally useless
at the last show only had one fellow say he still used a brush

Ken,

This is worth absolutely nothing, but I use one and I love it. Have used it for ages. I got tired of buying expensive cans of shaving cream that didn't last that long, and always discharged in my luggage while traveling. I also felt guilty about the propellants used at the time and the damage to Ozone they caused, and the waste of each can.

Now I have a little plastic screw top container I got in a drug store that fits the little round shaving soaps perfectly for travel. One cake of soap lasts many many times what the cans did and costs far less than just one can. The little plastic holder for the soap, plus my razor and my brush take up wayyyy less space together than just the can did. It doesn't make a mess of my luggage. And, it goes on hot if I want use hot water to moisten the brush. To do that with shaving creme in a can you had to have one of those silly heated shaving dispensers that cost a bunch. And I can't tell the difference in the smoothness of the shave between the soap and the cream.

I'm with you. They are great!!!

Keep trying to sell em. Better marketing might help. Push the environmental and cost saving angles if you aren't doing that all ready.

Shaving Brushers of the world....Unite!!!

<grin>

Dave

 

[ahoiberg]

ken & dave,

i wholeheartedly agree, i've been using a brush & soap for a few years now and even recently starting using a straight edge to shave with. it's a fantastic world. i love the authenticity of it all and the fact that i can buy a 10 pack of replacable blades for the type of straight edge i have for $5. instead of paying $30 for 5 gillette blades.

there's a whole cult following of the traditional straight edge shave... it's crazy!

can't wait to turn up some brushes... i think i might wait until i get my chuck however.

thanks for all your replies!

 

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Andrew
I chose to reply on site incase anyone else in interested in the information.
the chuck I use is available thru Penn State Ind. ( pennstateind.com )
the part number is PK-TOP-M ( 3/4 16 THREAD ) or PK-TOP-MJ ( 1-8 THREAD)
if you go to there web site and type the above part no. it will give you a picture.
Now I would like to ask where you got the straight edge razor. Like the idea of replaceable blades. Would like to get myself one.
ken

 

[ahoiberg]

Ken,

i got the straight edge at a Sally Beauty Supply here in town. the brand is FROMM and it's all metal and you can usually find the replacement blades right next to it. i'm sure any beauty/barber supply store will sell them. if you want something nicer, you can look for one online called a Dovo Shavette, but i don't think other than looks it's any better than the cheapo FROMM. if you want to get more into it, you can check out real straight razors but then there's the added cost of getting a strop, hone, etc. and the razors themselves aren't cheap unless you get one off ebay... and then you have to account for some time to hone it back into shape, etc... so i'd suggest starting with the FROMM system, it's cheap and gives me the best shave i've ever had. it's a little nerve racking at first with the idea of a razor blade shaving your face, but once you get past a few initial nicks and tentativeness, it's quite a nice experience.

how do you get around the hole that is caused by the mini screw chuck? or am i understanding how you did it wrong... do you screw the adapter into the tuft hole or the opposite end? and if the opposite end do you just turn the handle above where the screw would be and part above the screw or just fill in the screw with wood putty or something?

thanks again.

 

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Andrew
the adaptor goes into the tuft hole after being drilled with the forestner bit.
that way when you glue the tuft in the hole glue covers the small drilled to hold the adaptor.

ken

 

[ahoiberg]

ah-ha... ok, thanks for all your info ken. i look forward to turning one...