Joel's Blog

A Brush With Destiny

12/18/2024

You may see a lot of tools, both good and bad, on the used market. But you will rarely if ever see a finishing brush on the used market. They simply wear out. These days brushes are considered largely a utility item in the woodworking world. Artists are known to be picky when it comes to brushes, and artist brushes can be quite expensive. But in the woodworking realm, finishing brushes were were seldom given much thought, much less the kind of scrutiny that other tools garnered.

About 15 or 20 years ago I posed the question: how do you brush on quick-drying finishes without brush marks? Varnishes and other finishes that take several hours to dry are self leveling. The finish simply floats on the surface until the brush marks melt away. Oil finishes don't really leave a buildup on the surface when applied properly - they soak in and that's it.

French polish, that wonderful shellac finish, is basically rubbed on flat surfaces minuscule thin layer by minuscule thin layer, but it's a slow process. French polish also doesn't work on molding or carved surfaces. So what's the solution?

Here's another peripheral question that's also relevant. Before spraying equipment was invented, how did car makers get glass smooth lacquer finishes on cars, or piano makers on pianos?

And the answer to that question turned out to be that there was special class of finishing brush made of superfine hair. That hair would have been made out of Badger, Fitch (aka European polecat), or European Ox. Over the years, fitches and badgers became endangered and those brushes made from their hair essentially disappeared from the market. They are certainly are not available for casual use. Brushes called "badger" or "Fitch" are generally hog or boar bristle that has been whipped against a post, resulting in tips broken down into a finer hair. You will get some brushes made out of ox, but not 100% ox. The rest would be hog bristle.
So about 20 years ago we found a brush maker in the Bronx, who was willing to make us a hundred percent European ox brush. And people loved them! Then company was sold to another brush maker, the hair got harder to get, and about 2 years ago our supply dried up.

About two months ago I got a call from the maker saying that they had found a stash of the ox-hair and they missed us. Did we want more brushes? Yes we did! Of course we said yes on the condition that the quality stayed the same. There is a change in the color of the ox hair, but otherwise we are satisfied with the quality. We ordered them in 2" width, by far the most popular size, and some 3". We still had some 1" in stock. When these are gone we do not know if we will be able to restock but for now at least I am very glad we have the brushes back.

N.B. The waterborne brushes, which use an artificial hair, will not return. We just ran out of the our remaining supply of 1" brushes we still have, sadly, they are gone.

A Brush With Destiny 2

Join the conversation

12/18/2024 Walter Egon

European ox brush sounds very good, so long as I'm not the one who has to shave the ox.

12/18/2024 Rafael Herrera

Using good brushes are often an afterthought on a woodworking project, but the readers should also note that pre-synthetic varnishes were applied over multiple coats (often many) and included polishing steps, not just brushing, to get the best glossy finishes.

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The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the blog's author and guests and in no way reflect the views of Tools for Working Wood.

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