[jikwan]

been using 10" vikan for a long time   always moaning
how heavy it was
after been advised with good tips from hardcore pros on this site
i started to hack away  lighten the brush

off comes the useless rubber around the sides
use woodsaw to make heavy tapered cut around the edge
use hacksaw to take 1/4-3/8" off the top-ends (up to the jets)
i stopped at that point   brush was getting so light i got worried
maybe it might float off into space

theres loads more to take off
right down the centre drill the centre out and cut off the rernainder off the top
the femail thread housing could be shortened

im not doing much more at the moment because im using
featherlight carbon fishpole    got to press down a bit more
because of no weight at top end

[matt]

any pics of the brush after you have lightened it ??

[macmac]

Been doing this a while now on the rec' vikans, it does make a big difference.

tony

[jouk45]

drill as many holes as possibile, on the plastic back end of the brush, get an accurate mesurment of the depth of the plastic going down just before the  bristles, this will take a lot of weight of,

[jikwan]

no, matt     no pics   dont have camera
what ive taken off so far makes it look like no other brush

if i get really serious with drill saw and file  i would bet a
thousand quid that no off the shelf brush would match it for lightness

[Jeff Brimble]

Did you know that the Feathers of a pigeon weigh more than its bones ?
The bristles of the brush also add to the weight, so less bristles and less weight and more splay. Got mine down to 6oz or so.

[jikwan]

this is very interesting jeff
i seen pics of your brushes an theres hardly any
bristles on it     couldnt understand it

the more bristles you have the more pressure you got to
put on the pole    have to press a lot

hell, what a concept

but the splay action has less scrubbing power

[jikwan]

this concept has blown my mind

a radical revolutionary idea

us guys have been huffing and puffing
heaving and hauling
pressing and pushing
expending a lot of energy.....    for nothing!!!!

but the splay action IS scrub action

we seem to think that the point of bristle on glass is real
optimal scrubbing/cleaning power

[Jeff Brimble]

Press your brush against a pane of glass and then look at it from the inside of the glass, its worth doing to see the point of contact.
For lightweight fishing poles, adjust the angle of the brush ever so slightly upwards and the pole does the scubbing work on the upstrokes. You do not want a stiff point only bristle action, as you have found.

[jikwan]

jeff    could you advise me on which tufts to pull out
how its all spaced out
i got my knives an pliers ready
im afraid of going overboard an pulling too much out
pulling out not enough will make no difference

the bristles in the centre...are they neccessary?

[Jeff Brimble]

The only ones you need to remove are  around the jets, If you use fans, others remove a row across where the water fans. I wouldnt go removing any bristles really as if you make a mistake drilling holes the holes will remove the bristles as you will find out if you drill too deeply. It really depends on the make of brush. The Addis dowsnt need ant bristles removing. Off to work-raining.

[Alex Gardiner]

jikwan,

What have you managed to get the weight down to now?

I would agree that easily splaying bristles are very important to overall glass cleaning.

A Bentley brush offers about the best splay action in the business. The other big splay contender is the Tucker brush. The Bentley only weighs about 220g to start with, for most purposes we find that this is light enough.

[jikwan]

alex, i have no accurate weighing equipment
a significant reduction though

im going no further in this project because of my
discovery of splay action

vikan bristles are hard wearing last an aeon
stiff!!!  no splay   got to push hard to get splay

going to check out some alternative

might try your suggestions

[jouk45]

just noticed this on the Internet, it really is uncanny how tescos have cought on to this, jeff brimble have you been talking  to tescos 

link    http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.100-6355.aspx

[Jeff Brimble]

Wouldnt spit on them Joe, ruining the small towns. Its also in other harware shops but only 4/10 bristles too long.

Jik, Find a friendly green grocer or coop weighing scales  I have 19 diff makes/styles of brushes in my collection. If you want monfilament(less dirt) use an Addis £2.99 , flocked use a bentley £1.49 or most similar to a vikan but not in the same league try a tesco blue maybeline

[Moderator David@stives]

I like the Bentley brush, but it has one major flaw.

It is availabale at tesco and for that very reason it is embarrassing and looks unproffesional, what brought that home to me was one of my customers said my pole looked home made as she had the very same brush.

It would be good if alex could approach Bentley with a view to getting the stock made differently just for window cleaners. If that could happen it would be Brilliant.

The Ionics and Vikan brushes look most pro, they both look purpose made even though the vikan was aimed at the car market.

Dave

[Alex Gardiner]

I like the Bentley brush, but it has one major flaw.

It is availabale at tesco and for that very reason it is embarrassing and looks unproffesional, what brought that home to me was one of my customers said my pole looked home made as she had the very same brush.

It would be good if alex could approach Bentley with a view to getting the stock made differently just for window cleaners. If that could happen it would be Brilliant.

The Ionics and Vikan brushes look most pro, they both look purpose made even though the vikan was aimed at the car market.

Dave

It is a good point about the image factor. I have to say though that I have been using them for about 2 years now and have never had anyone comment on them. Hard to see what they look like 5 storeys up!

We have got an all new brush coming out that will have all the benefits of the 'cheapie' indoor broom type brush without the image or bristle-wear downsides.

[magic1]

Alex, When they coming out. I use the ones from Wilkinsons at the moment. Wearing out & time to change.

[matt]

i love the Bentley brush

BUT

ive cut out the middle 2 rows of bristles and fitted jets, the only downside is the bristles tend to fold in a block the spray of the water

[NWH]

The bentley is best on PVC leads,i don`t find it has enough bristles for big panes of glass and i would never use it on a first clean.