Glue Bump and Effective Loft
Posted by Michael Polsinelli on



This is how far down the skewer went[/caption] [caption id="attachment_42" align="alignright" width="233"]
Skewer touching the top of glue bump
his is how far down the skewer went
Old Zenith Brush with a higher glue bump.[/caption] My old Zenith brush has a very large glue bump. the loft
Old Zenith Brush with a higher glue bump.
measures a little over 65 mm with an effective loft of just over 52mm. It face lathers well and is my favorite brush. [caption id="attachment_41" align="alignleft" width="232"] My thumb is at the top of the epoxy[/caption] The aluminum handled Zenith B03-A26: Zenith says that this brush has a loft of 57mm. I measured just over 60mm. The effective loft measured 53 mm. I was actually disappointed to find that the modern brushes had a smaller glue knot than the older ones. Because of the shorter effective loft, I like this knot a little better than the longer Zenith Pro
Omega 48 with the smallest glue bump
[caption id="attachment_44" align="alignright" width="279"] Omega 48 with the smallest glue bump[/caption] I originally thought that my old aluminum handled Zenith was an Omega. When I got it I immediately knew that it was a very different brush. It has the smallest glue bump and longest actual and effective loft measurements. Omega says that it has a 70 mm loft and I get about the same at 69.5 mm. The effective loft is just under 65mm. [caption id="attachment_43" align="alignleft" width="226"] Surprisingly large glue bump on the Semogue SOC boar.[/caption] The Semogue was a surprise to me, because I find it the floppiest. I measured it at 53 mm (most places say that it is 55 mm) It has an effective loft of just under 48 mm. This is clearly the shortest loft, both actual and effective, but it performs very differently. It blooms outward unlike the other brushes. I wonder if the bristles are glued at an angle rather than straight upward. Density and bristle thickness will also play a role how much backbone a brush will give. Also, a brush with too much backbone will feel scrubby in a bad way. I found it interesting that each of these brushes had a glue bump as there are some manufacturers that don't make their knots with glue bumps. Are Zenith brushes better or worse because of their larger glue bumps? No, but the glue bump will affect how the brush performs. In the coming week, I'll be measuring all of my brushes for sale and listing the effective loft height, so that you can have a better idea of what to expect from them.