Anyone know of a good supplier here in the UK for blank brushes to add to companion sets?

Having trouble finding nice ones. Have had the standard wooden dome ones with the black bristles but the quality isn't the best.

Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks,
Tim

Tim can you post an example of just what you are looking for ? Please .

 

Best Regards

 

Ret, Sgt. Robert D. Yates

This is what I have used in the past, they do the job but the quality isn't that great, they sell for £1/$1 each and often the bristles fall out before even being used. Would be nice to have something a littler nicer to put on a fireside set, especially if a customer is paying quite a bit for one.

Hello Tim,

 

A good Friend of mine sent me these sites for you , you may have them already .

 

http://www.castlegatestores.co.uk/new-round-replacement-companion-hearth-brush-head-refill-5926-p.asp

 

And this one is the better one of the two :

 

http://www.castironfires.com/detail.aspx?id=1357

 

Best of Luck & Best Regards

 

Ret, Sgt. Robert D. Yates

Thanks for the links! I'll order a couple and see how I get on.

Hi Tim, There was a time you could easily source brush heads for companion sets, alas it is a little more difficult now, so you have to do a bit of adaptation, or think outside the box.

 

Here are a couple of old pictures I dug out that may assist in what I mean.

 

 

This quickie companion set has a brush head that came off a 4" brickwork brush with its handle removed, a steel shroud made to fit the part where the bristles are secured, and then the two items secured to the end of the forged handle.

 

You can purchase these as jamb dusting brushes/ painters dusting brushes, some have wooden bodies with screw in handles, others are plastic/polypropolene with screw in handles 

 

 

 

This was another one that was made using a deck scrubbing brush (the only one available at the time but chosen by the student as suitable for the situation at the time)

 

Hope this helps,

 

I have a rather large Horse Brush I use on mine that I fixed up .... though Tim was looking for a Much nicer style like he posted so I did not add that. Good job on the Brush replacement Brother John!

Thanks John, some good ideas there. I'll have a look around the hardware stores next time I'm in one to see what they have!

I remembered this thread from a while ago...

I've recently had a few enquiries about companion sets with brushes so set about trying to find some sensible sized brushes that could be adapted into fireplace brushes. Today I came across these small brushes with softish bristles in "Mole" countrystore. They also did a firmer bristled brush of the same size. Both types were £1.86. The irregular shape of the wood means they'd need a little bit of cosmetic tweaking but all in all I think they're a winner.

Whenever I upload pics they appear rotated through 90 degrees but if you click on them they rotate  back to the correct orientation.

You definite want to use a natural fibre if it is for a hearth brush.

i would say that one is a hit too coarse Joel. Ash is very fine.

I used to buy Harris dusting brushes and cut the handle off. I invariably made the brush in the form of an ordinary dust pan brush because I hated the long wand style, found them very awkward to use.

Alan

ps found a picture in a catalogue of a companion set with Harris brush I made in 1987 for the Friedrichshaven exhibition. The photographer managed to get the brush twisted out of line with the holder fortunately...if it was in the correct position you would not see the shape of the brush head.

Do you have anyone over there that does the hand woven corn brooms? I remember seeing an ad awhile back from a guy over here that would attach a hand woven brush to your forged handle.

Nice set Alan, typically unique, as much at home in an art gallery as a fireplace.

These ones say 'soft natural coco(nut)" on them. The bristles are a good inch and a half dense, hopefully that's enough to catch all the ash.