How is a Redecker brush made? Brush body, bristles and manual insertion
Manual insertion or front insertion – many work steps in brushmaking are old manual techniques that only few still master today. We strive to maintain interest and skills – let us take you on an exciting journey through the world of brushmaking!
This is how the manual assembly of the inserted hair is done.
The wooden body of the brush is divided into halves: the base, into which the stocking (bristles and related fill material) is pulled, has conical holes. The top has none since it is later put into place to hide the pull-in wire.First, the wire is passed through the first hole of the brush and a loop is made for the first bundle of stocking. Then, the brushmaker must grasp the correct amount of stocking material in order to be able to fill out the the individual holes in the body of the brush. For this purpose, a brush compartment machine serves to divide the material into uniform bundles.The material is laid into the wire loop which is then pulled into the body of the brush together with the stocking. In this way, the hole is filled. The wire is inserted into the holes in a certain order and the body of the brush is thus filled with material, loop by loop. After every finished row, the material must be cut to the proper length.So it continues, hole by hole, until the brush body is fully threaded. At the end, the wire is stitched up so that it cannot come undone. The top is screwed on and the brush is finished!
The historic bristle insertion method
Only a few experts master the technique of traditional bristle insertion. In work which is 100% manually crafted, holes are bored into the wood and one by one the sheaves of bristles are inserted into the wood. The extra stiff calcutta bristles used for this are so stiff that they cannot be inserted mechanically. The sealed holes are characteristic of hand-made brushes. These exclusive and rare brushes are made with skill and passion.