Monday, July 27, 2015

Walnut Shave Brush given new life to Walnut stair bannister

The walnut from an up-cycled bannister are turning out beautifully. Here are some of them:
The boar brush at the front was a special request.  We love to work with people to make their brush dreams come true. Our shop: http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k
 

This is Walnut #6 in the limited edition series.

Each brush from this walnut will be numbered because once the wood is gone, there will never be any more.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Reclaimed Bannister Walnut Wet Shaving Brush

We were at a reclaimed wood lot (looking for an old growth barn beam) when this walnut bannister caught our eye.  The brushes that come from this walnut will be a limited edition as the bannister has only so much wood that could be reused.  If you would like to see some of the brushes, pop by the Etsy shop: http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k

This is a raw bannister.  No finish on it anymore.  At first we thought it was mahogany which would have been much more likely for the period but it was a happy surprise once we caught into it.  Notice the peg and the holes on either side also had pegs in them.  The large hole below held a huge screw to hold the other piece of it together.  Really glad Eric found it before trying to caught into it.


 It is such an elegant curve.  It must have been beautiful in its time.

I'm shining a flashlight into the space where the nut which held the bolt used to be.

The nut cubby hole. without the nut.  The round hole is to hold the stiles of the bannister.
 
This is the first handle to come out of the bannister to go to its new home.  The knot is boar.  Our customer preferred the boar and he sent his knot and we made the handle to accommodate the knot and collar.
 
For more of the brushes this is our shop: http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k
 
*Yes, the people before us didn't level the floor before putting tile on it.  Thus they crack and crack again.  Yes, it's on the list of things to do.  Just not terribly high on it.
 

Special Request Boar Knot and how much we love it

We take great pride in offering superior quality knots but we only offer Badger Knots.  But, it doesn't mean we dislike boar.  Eric used one for a really long time.  When we were contacted by a customer who wanted a boar brush I offered that we could just put the customer's favorite boar in one of our handles.

We didn't realize there would be a collar on the knot so to make sure it would work with the handle we decided it would be better to remake the handle that was a bit thicker in the collar around the knot. 

This is the first Walnut that came from a reclaimed walnut bannister we fell in love with in the reclaimed wood lot.  Our shop: http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k
The lighter wood is Holly which came from a residential cut down in North Carolina.
 
These walnut handles are limited edition.  They are all numbered.
 
We usually put the logo on the bottom but the customer wanted his initials there.  The customer is our main concern.  This brush came out beautifully.  We really enjoy working with our customers.  It always teaches us something or is inspirational in design.
 
To have one of your own or to discuss a custom brush please contact us: http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Hanging Hanged Hung the shave brush that spoke a thousand words

One of the brushes we have just sent along to it's new home was a great example of communication with the customer.  One of the things we always do it send an email to confirm what the customer wants and font and placement etc. when the customer wants engraving.

I usually do a test run of the engraving on a scrap handle in order to see how it will look.  I like to do most and especially if there is a new font I have never done before.   Low and behold, our customer assumed that the brush would be hanging and wanted the initials to be read from that direction.  We assume that the brush will stand on the end which would make the initials best the opposite direction.  Always double check to make sure. 

Don't forget to stop by the shop:  Lovgren & Daughter http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k

Here's what it looks like: