Embellished shaving brushes

[AlanZ]

Lauren and I have applied some of the embellishment techniques that we use on our jewelry turnings to a recent interest/hobby... shaving brushes.

Like some other members here, we have recently opened an Etsy shop and a Facebook page.

We thought you might be entertained by some of these turning projects. A few have sold so far... one went out to Germany today.

There are many woodturners who use interesting materials for brush handles, and we do make some from highly figured burl woods. Some are dyed and/or stabilized. In any event, they have to be protected from the wet environment (it's called "wet shaving" for a reason!). Our brushes typically have high quality, badger hair knots.

But our niche is in embellishing mildly figured wood like hard maple, or yellowheart with archival inks. Lauren is having a great time with each handle I give to her... and I set up a unique workstation to hold the pieces during her drawing.

It took a while, and a lot of experimentation to come up with a set of tools, materials and processes that work together for high quality, durable results.

We hope you find these brushes entertaining.

 

[Odie]

Hello Alan.....

Just checked out your Etsy shop.....nice work! I would think you ought to do well during this Christmas season.

Wish you and Lauren the best of luck. One thing about Etsy, as I'm sure you are discovering, is the competition is fierce on there! I just ran a search for "shaving brush" and 1,418 brushes came up in results!

At times, I've had over 13,000 hits for searching the terms "wood bowl"!....but, I seem to be doing fairly well being found by potential buyers on there.

Your brushes are very unique, so you and Lauren ought to stand out from the crowd.....that's the only way you can succeed on Etsy.

ko

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Fantastic looking brushes. Best of luck on Etsy, as Kelly said rough place to be.

 

[Michelle Rich]

I did find them entertaining..very appealing too.

 

[John Torchick]

Awesome would not describe my reaction. How long does it take to do the embellished wood? Lauren must have a lot of patience. Thanks for sharing and best of luck with your endeavor.

 

[AlanZ]

John,

Lauren says... "It depends".

There's planning, execution, tweaking, and having to deal with me suggesting "it could use some more detail"

She gauges it by the number of TV shows that have elapsed while she works. Also, she may work on several handles at one time.

For me, it's a little stressful doing the final finishing. I have to carefully protect the inked surface. I have sanded through the finish more than once, not a good feeling to see ink disappear.

But when the brushes are complete they feel great in the hand, perform very well during the shave, and they are lovely to look at. No two are alike.

 

[AlanZ]

I forgot to mention...

Yes, Lauren does have a lot of patience.

But we have been married for 40 years, so she also clearly has a lot of stamina!