Replacing a knot on a brush.

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After my disaster trying to replace the knot on my Grosvenor 404 I decided to retry using another brush. I have taken a dislike to Vie-Long horse hair knots so decided to replace one of those with a Tuxedo knot. This time I was successful in removing the old horsehair knot...but I need some advice on replacing it.
The handle socket is probably twice the depth of the plug on the end of the Tuxedo. (Hope you understand what I mean) How can I provide a base for the Tuxedo which will ensure the knot is seated at the correct height. I had considered using 3x 10p coins which looks ok....but there must be a better method
 
Greetings
There is absolutely nothing wrong with 3 x 10p coins providing you are happy with the weight, if you are it would be a good idea to epoxy the coins together first and let them set before gluing them in place. If three coins are two heavy how about washers or lighter still plastic discs cut from whatever you have in the house/ garage, old credit cards, food containers etc how about a section cut from a wine bottle cork, it does not matter IMHO very much what you use if the spacing material is epoxied in well and it gives you the desired height it should work fine.

Regards
Dick.
 
Greetings
There is absolutely nothing wrong with 3 x 10p coins providing you are happy with the weight, if you are it would be a good idea to epoxy the coins together first and let them set before gluing them in place. If three coins are two heavy how about washers or lighter still plastic discs cut from whatever you have in the house/ garage, old credit cards, food containers etc how about a section cut from a wine bottle cork, it does not matter IMHO very much what you use if the spacing material is epoxied in well and it gives you the desired height it should work fine.

Regards
Dick.
Thanks....that's all I wanted to know. I will go with the 10p pieces.They are a good fit....and I don't mind the weight. I will remember the wine cork tip and save any which come into the house. They are less common now so I will have to treat SWMBO to a few bottles of nicer wine and hope she doesn't become addicted to the experience!
 
Be careful how low or high you set the knot in the handle as this has a bearing on feel and performance.
The way I do it, I find a plastic tube about the size of the base of the knot and set the knot at a low point, and test on my face for feel, until I get it to the best feel height. Then I set the knot in the handle at that precise height.
 
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if in doubt I start with Kindergarten strength glue to test lofts - enough for a week or two of test shaves - then immerse in warm water for five minutes and remove - when happy with loft - use epoxy or silicon
 
Greetings
I purchased the Tuxedo knot from Etsy and like you set it into my Vie Long handle. I set mine at the very maximum height I could so as to get more flex from the knot. I have to say that many people prefer less flex (more backbone) so the other posters are quite right in telling you to play around with the loft height until you are completely happy with it; a couple of millimeters deeper stiffens up the feel of the brush a lot more than you would think.

Regards
Dick.
 
Greetings
I purchased the Tuxedo knot from Etsy and like you set it into my Vie Long handle. I set mine at the very maximum height I could so as to get more flex from the knot. I have to say that many people prefer less flex (more backbone) so the other posters are quite right in telling you to play around with the loft height until you are completely happy with it; a couple of millimeters deeper stiffens up the feel of the brush a lot more than you would think.

Regards
Dick.

Having tried a few seating depths......it looks as if that is exactly what I will be doing. I also removed the knot from a smaller Vie-Long and inserted the smaller Faux Horse knot. No adjustment required. The AP knots are really quite special. I don't want too much backbone to minimise the splatter on the bathroom wall!
 
I've just pulled out the knot from my Midas shaving brush and it looks as though there's a square of folded, thick card in there to give the right height. It disintegrated a little in contact with the dremel but largely remained stable.

I think I'll paint on a fine layer of epoxy before the final gluing to give it some water repellency! :D

Now, what knot to put in here? :D (26mm).

IMG_4973.jpg


And for those curious folk, I didn't have the option to steam it so instead I put a pan of shallow water on to boil. Once it had reached a rolling boil I started dipping the tips in little-by-little up to just shy of the collar. I repeated this with pressure on one side, then another in a x shape. i.e. 'North-to-South', 'South-to-North' etc.
I repeated this with some drying out with aid of a tea-towel between presses, then gave a wiggle with an oven-gloved hand. It eventually (circa 3 minutes in) made a slight 'click' sound. I repeated once more, gave it another wiggle and the knot came free in its entirety. The knot is unusable (shedding like it's gone out of fashion) but it was a mighty shedder anyway so I'm not going to lose sleep over it. At the end of the day, the handle is entirely intact with no structural damage inside or out. It's set to a good height for a 26mm silvertip knot, but I'm certainly open to suggestion! :D
 
If I may insert my own questions on this topic: I have successfully removed the synthetic knot from my Simpson Classic 1 and want to instal a Muhle synthetic V2. The problem I'm having is that I've been unable to remove the residual glue from the knot hole because I don't have a Dremel and vice. I've tried coarse sandpaper, but it is ineffective, and I don't trust myself with an electric drill. Is it possible to dissolve the glue without harming the handle? Also, the Muhle knot has a black plastic collar around the bottom; does that stay on or can it be removed without damaging the knot?
 
If I may insert my own questions on this topic: I have successfully removed the synthetic knot from my Simpson Classic 1 and want to instal a Muhle synthetic V2. The problem I'm having is that I've been unable to remove the residual glue from the knot hole because I don't have a Dremel and vice. I've tried coarse sandpaper, but it is ineffective, and I don't trust myself with an electric drill. Is it possible to dissolve the glue without harming the handle? Also, the Muhle knot has a black plastic collar around the bottom; does that stay on or can it be removed without damaging the knot?
I'd say your best bet is to leave the glue there unless you're adept with a craft knife. As for chemicals for dissolving the glue, as epoxies and resins fall under similar polymer categories the likelihood is if you try and dissolve one you'll dissolve the other with it. Furthermore, the chemicals you'd need aren't exactly kind to people or plastics of any description. As for the collar I'm not sure but if it were to fit comfortably you might get away with it. See about putting a picture up for others to have a more educated guess. :)
 
image.jpeg
I'd say your best bet is to leave the glue there unless you're adept with a craft knife. As for chemicals for dissolving the glue, as epoxies and resins fall under similar polymer categories the likelihood is if you try and dissolve one you'll dissolve the other with it. Furthermore, the chemicals you'd need aren't exactly kind to people or plastics of any description. As for the collar I'm not sure but if it were to fit comfortably you might get away with it. See about putting a picture up for others to have a more educated guess. :)


Thank you. I thought that tying to dissolve the glue would be dodgy. Unfortunately the new knot doesn't seat properly in the handle with the residual glue there. Here's a picture of the knot.
 
If I may insert my own questions on this topic: I have successfully removed the synthetic knot from my Simpson Classic 1 and want to instal a Muhle synthetic V2. The problem I'm having is that I've been unable to remove the residual glue from the knot hole because I don't have a Dremel and vice. I've tried coarse sandpaper, but it is ineffective, and I don't trust myself with an electric drill. Is it possible to dissolve the glue without harming the handle? Also, the Muhle knot has a black plastic collar around the bottom; does that stay on or can it be removed without damaging the knot?
I don't think a vice is absolutely necessary for working on a handle. I suppose you could use an old glove if you need a better grip. I would recommend investing in a Dremel or Dremel-like tool though. They can be had fairly inexpensively and can be used for all kinds of jobs around the house besides prepping the hole of a brush :)
 
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