28mm OB knot by Andrew at Viking, Handle by Peter Wolf at Wolf Whiskers
The BEST kept secret in shaving is the “Odin’s Beard” knot. [font=Trebuchet MS]PURE LUXURY....dense, gelly hooked tips (even better when wet), the correct amount of splay and Andrews experience for the install on his custom made handles or your “un-knotted” handle. [/font]
I could have saved myself a ton of cash had I researched artisan knots more and asked questions....more. I PREFER dense, gelly, hooked, firm backbone, scritchy knots. Unfortunately you can’t have ALL those qualities. I’ll take 3 out of 5 any day (dense, gelly, firm backbone)!
Some knots cost $150-$200 installed in “your” handle. You better pray they know how to cement/glue/silicone; and of course experience of modification to the handle not just the “forced twist” to install resulting in a “Tornado knot.” Yes, tornado knot, it looks like it was twisted in and it looks exactly as my words describe!
My experience with Andrew was very easy, no complications, I emailed, introduced myself, told him what I wanted and what would make me very happy. It’s my opinion this WW handle is one of the finest Peter Wolf ever turned. Photos of the brush don’t do it justice, you have to see it with your own eyes. It’s like Peter put moving organisms in the handle. I explored many avenues, reviewed what I have, borrowed a few brushes from friends with knots I thought I would like and my actions resulted in contacting Andrew. One stop shop. It wasn’t just a knot this handle needed, it was a complete R&R. Not many artisans will touch this work, because there’s no guarantee, it’s time consuming, and the end result could be a brush destroyed. I chose wisely.
This brush (the Dark Nebula) had a fantastic synthetic knot in it, but it didn’t make me happy. Synthetic knots just don’t do it for me. Special handles require special knots.....end story.
If you want a $200 knot, but want to spend $40-$70, look no further, an Odin’s Beard knot and any work to your handle from Viking will not disappoint.
(Last image is brush before the remove and replace of knot)