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Please see our Knot Types & Properties page.

For brand integrity reasons, Morris & Forndran brushes only come with Morris & Forndran knots and brushes bearing the Brad Sears ShaveWorks logo and provenance are only fitted with knots made specifically for Brad Sears ShaveWorks.  

Both knot brands have characteristics or "properties" that help define their respective brand names.  (We attempt to describe those characteristics on our Knot Properties page.)  

Because we create brush handles for both Morris & Forndran and Brad Sears ShaveWorks, some designs have become common to both brands. We realize that this commonality could cause brand confusion.  Therefore, to assure you that the Morris & Forndran or Brad Sears brush in your hands is genuine, the Morris & Forndran logo is imprinted on Morris & Forndran brushes while the Brad Sears ShaveWorks logo is imprinted on Brad Sears ShaveWorks brushes.

Not at this time.  We realize that synthetic knots have improved greatly in recent years, however because Morris & Forndran and Brad Sears ShaveWorks brushes are largely defined by their badger hair knots, we believe offering synthetic alternatives would detract from some of the essential characteristics for which Morris & Forndran and Brad Sears ShaveWorks brushes are known.

After you've selected your custom shaving brush, an Order Form opens up for you to tell us exactly what you want.  

After you've filled out the form and hit the "SUBMIT" button, you should look for an email that shows everything you've asked us to make.  Please carefully review this email and let us know as soon as possible if anything needs to be changed.

We ask for a $50.00 non-refundable deposit on each brush ($100 each for Ebonite brushes.).  As soon as we receive your order, we will send you a PayPal invoice for the deposit which is payable upon receipt.   

We will notify you when your brush is complete.  Any remaining balance will be at that time. 

Some things to consider:

• We can no longer accept periodic payments.  You can, however, make periodic deposits to your PayPal account.  That way money is available to make the final transfer/payment.
  

We will let you know when your items are ready for shipment.  We will send you a PayPal invoice for any outstanding balance along with a photo--or a group photo--of your brush at that time.  If we have not heard from you within seven days of this notification, we reserve the right to cancel your order and your deposit will be forfeit.

As mentioned above, we accept payments through PayPal.  We find this to be the fastest and most secure method of payment.  Although PayPal will encourage you to set up an account, they do give the option of paying with a Credit Card without setting up an account.  Let us know if you have any problems and we'll try to help out!

We ship via USPS Priority Mail, Insured with tracking to all U.S. and APO/FPO addresses.  Your invoice will include a shipping fee that partially covers our cost. 

Once your brush is shipped, you will receive the tracking number so you can see its progress along with periodic updates.   

We regret that ReadyMade and Custom BSSW brushes can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.  That's because U.S. law makes it difficult and costly for us to ship our brushes internationally.  

Instead...

• Custom Morris & Forndran brushes are shipped directly from the U.K. by Lee Sabini of Morris & Forndran.  Brad Sears ShaveWorks will bill you for the US$50.00 deposit per brush.  And Lee will bill you directly for the balance due, plus shipping, when your brush is ready for shipment
  
  
• For Custom BSSW and ReadyMade brushes, International patrons may use a package forwarding service like Shipito.com or USGoBuy.  A Google search for U.S. Package Forwarding Services" will show others.  For a small fee, these companies act as your agent providing you with a U.S. shipping address.  Please note: (1) We have no affiliation with Shipito or any other package forwarding service.  We provide this information simply as a courtesy to our international customers with no specific recommendation. (2) Because we have no control over the package after it reaches a forwarding service, our shipping liability ends once the package reaches that service based upon USPS tracking.

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Unlike most major brush makers, every shaving brush that leaves our shop is made completely by hand in much the same way brushes were made 150 years ago.  Our handles are lathe-turned on a manually-controlled wood lathe and painstakingly hand polished.  Our knots are hand-crafted by a small company in China while the Morris & Forndran knots are carefully hand-fitted to each handle by Lee Sabin in his one-man shop in the U.K.  

All this work takes time; however we do our best to fill your order as quickly as possible.

All shipments are well padded and securely packaged using environmentally responsible packing materials.

Once your new brush is in hand, we try to invoice within 1 - 2 business days and ship within one business day of payment receipt.

Our Shipping Address is: 

P.O. Box 791

Ridgely, MD 21660-0791

Every custom brush is made to order and, because each one is completely hand-crafted, your brush might exhibit minor variations from the examples shown on this website. Prior to shipping your custom brush from our Maryland workshop, we send you front and back photographs. If you don't like what you see, please let us know as soon as you can! 

Although we carefully inspect your brush before we package and ship it, we also ask you to promptly inspect it upon receipt--before you use it.  If you find something we missed, please contact us immediately via our Contact Form so we can make it right.

Please note:

1. Return requests must be made by the original purchaser.
2. Brushes may be returned for refund for manufacturing defects only.
3. Brushes that have been wetted or lathered may not be returned for refund.  (Brushes that exhibit defects after use (e.g. shedding after the 8-12 shave break-in period, for example) may be returned for repair or replacement at our discretion under the terms of our one-year Warranty.)
4. Return requests must be made within 30 days of receipt at its original shipping address based upon USPS tracking.

(See our Guarantee section for additional information)

Please note:  Due to U.S. Import/Export laws, returns of Morris and Forndran brushes originally shipped from the U.K. will need to be returned directly to Morris & Forndran.

Receiving a new shaving brush is--or at least we think it should be--exciting.  A quality shaving brush should give you many years of fine shaves; but how long your brush lasts depends mostly on how well you care for it.   We explain proper brush care on this page.

We hope you enjoy many years of fine traditional shaving!

Short answer: No.  BSSW logos are only imprinted on brushes filled with BSSW knots.  To do otherwise would violate our collaboration agreement with Morris & Forndran.

Due to our large backlog of orders, we must spend our time wisely to first meet the needs of those who have placed an order.  That means we have limited time to develop new handle designs. 

While we are always looking to expand our handle "repertoire," we reserve the right to accept or reject proposed designs.  Generally speaking, whatever designs we accept must conform to the look and feel of what fine artists call, "voice."  In other words, a new design must look like a BSSW or Morris & Forndran design. That said:  we do not copy other artisan's work, nor will we copy any handle design that's not in the public domain.

If we agree to create a custom-designed handle--or produce a limited or special edition design or color ("work product"); any such designs/work product automatically become the property of Brad Sears Shave Works unless we agree otherwise at the beginning of any custom design conversation.  Please understand that the price of proprietary or "one-off" work products will include additional charges.

While we have occasionally sold our handles without a knot in the past, the demand for our brushes has increased to the point where we can no longer sell handles by themselves.  We've taken this step in order to maintain the distinctiveness of the Morris & Forndran and BSSW shaving brush brands.

We do not.  We have expended considerable time, effort and money developing proprietary knot specifications while locating and cultivating relationships with makers willing and able to meet those specifications.  As a result, our knot inventory is reserved for patrons who order complete brushes.

We take great pride in our workmanship; so it's extremely important to us that you be delighted with your purchases.  For that reason, we guarantee every hand-crafted piece that leaves our workshops for one (1) year from the date of purchase against defects in material and workmanship to the Original Owner.  

Please note that this warranty does not cover matters beyond our control like improper care or damage due to inappropriate use, accident, or neglect. 

To obtain service within the guarantee period:  Please contact us via our Contact Form.  Let us know your concerns and we will provide the necessary instructions.

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry best practices to make sure it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored with a AES-256 encryption.  Although no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional generally accepted industry standards.

For further information, please see our Privacy Policy.

What a great question!  The short answer is:  a LOT!  We use only the highest-quality imported and domestic cast polyester resins to create our shaving brush handles.  We have spent many hours testing and evaluating different handle materials in order to bring you the best shaving brush possible.  Check out our Handle Material page for more information.

Ebonite is a hard, vulcanized rubber--a natural material, food-graded by the Fresenius Institut in Germany. 

Originally conceived as a substitute for Gabon ebony--an exotic hardwood from which the Ebonite name is derived--Ebonite manufacture has now evolved to include multiple colors:  intricate patterns reminiscent of precious burl woods, Grecian vases and Oriental pottery, to name but a few.  Each piece of Ebonite possesses its own unique patterning and coloring, which means your hand-crafted BSSW or Morris & Forndran Ebonite shaving brush will be unique in all the world.  

Our Ebonite brush handles are polished to what one patron recently described as the brightest shine he has seen on an Ebonite brush.  While we have not seen every maker's Ebonite, and thus cannot validate his assertion, we can say that achieving this degree of polish takes considerable time coupled with numerous inspections from different angles under varying light sources.  We can also say that this "finish" is completely natural.  We apply no waxes, lacquers, etc. that would alter Ebonite's distinctive feel.  Please note however that this high degree of polish does occasionally uncover minor unevenness, usually along color lines and minute "pinholes" most often on the base, but sometimes elsewhere.  These are natural characteristics, much like the grain in wood, that come about during the vulcanization process and are not considered manufacturing defects.

Ebonite brushes are offered one at a time.  As each handle is sold, we will replace it with a picture of another handle as soon as we are able.  Because Ebonite can--and typically does--vary widely, this is your assurance that the brush you order will be the one you receive. 

Unfortunately not.  While many good looking woods, plastics and other materials are being offered these days, we have learned through often hard experience that only a very few can be made into a best-quality shaving brush handle.  We have spent many hours researching and testing numerous potential handle materials in order to offer you the very best in the world.  You need only read the many "tales of woe" on the shaving forums in order to understand our position.  

Check out our materials inventory here.

We wish we could accommodate such requests, but we have had too many issues with materials we haven't tested and evaluated in advance.  For those reasons, we no longer work with patron-supplied materials.

We try to keep a good selection of materials in stock, which you can see here, to give you a wide range of handle options.