Magic Brush?

[RocksArePeopleToo]

There's a legend floating around in my brain that Kris Wild had a wire brush that survived all 13 pitches of Millennium Falcon without disintegrating. I have a couple questions about that legend that people here might be able to answer.

1. Can this really be true?
2. Where can I get me some of that?

I live in Seattle. Currently, my best theory about this brush is that it's the thing that shows up on UK sites when I Google "spid brush":

Is this it?

Spid.JPG (73.18 KiB) Viewed 6278 times

I could order some of those on ebay, but want to know that they're the real deal before paying all that shipping.

Thanks, Eric
P.S. 3" putty knives work pretty well too.

[Dru]

You can buy them at Dunbar Lumber and similar places

[RocksArePeopleToo]

Ah, nice. So, they work?

I don't get N of the border much, but may be able to get friends to make the errand.

Also -- you haven't seen any for sale in Squamish or in Penticton, have you? Every hardware store I've tried on trips there just has the cheesy ones that fall apart after a few hours of use.

Thanks, Eric

[matt magee]

I second the red brush from Dunbar Lumber. Good size for all but the smallest of cracks and lasts for a long time.

[smallman]

You can buy these brushes at Triton Industrial supply in Squamish (across from the Tim Hortons). I think they are 3 bucks. They also can be used as a crack pick too. Best brush ever.

[kirk]

I swear by the red ones too. Bought my first one at climb on in squamish and since then i have seen them in the auto parts store and at Rona in Whistler. Only weakness is that sometimes the handle slips off - but easy to fix. Makes a great BBQ brush too.

[scrubber]

Okay, the legend of the brush is growing slightly with time, but the truth is still pretty close. One brush did indeed last me from Bellygood ledge all the way to the ground. That was ten fairly short pitches, with quite clean rock. I've never had one last less than two pitches of intensive scrubbing. They are amazing for actually getting inside cracks a bit too. The hooked tip is handy for scraping loose stuff out of cracks. Be careful doing this though, as mentioned the handle can pull off.

The best part of all is that the bristles don't start breaking off from the tip like on the wooden ones, leaving you with a bit of a proboscis in front of a diminishing business area.

The brushes come in three flavours, and only one of them will do for your needs. The red handled one (from the manufacturer I know) is the galvanized steel bristles. This is what you want. There is also a grey or blue handled one with stainless steel bristles, and a yellow handled one with brass bristles. Don't waste your time with either of these.

John Howe gave me my first one of these brushes back around 2002. He had gotten a couple from Robin Barley who swore by them and claimed they couldn't be found anywhere except the paint section of Dunbar lumber. I (and I think some other people too) asked Triton to bring them into Squamish. They're sold as welding prep brushes, although I'm sure Triton can't believe how many welders there must be in Squish at the rate they go through those things. Even Dan sells them at Climb On, although when I popped by a couple of days ago his store was empty and dark. Climb On RIP ???

A good brush is your absolute starting point for cleaning tools. Back when I had no one showing me what to do I cleaned Calculus Crack with a brush and a nut tool...

Best of luck with your cleaning endeavors. There's hard earned knowledge around here if you have any questions along the way.

Kris

[RocksArePeopleToo]

Thanks -- I'm looking forward to getting a quiver of these from Triton soon. And I must say I'm in awe of what the Squamish Diggers have been doing in recent years, in terms of both sheer effort and developing systems and practices for reducing risk to people below. You've really taken things up a notch.

-Eric

(My secret weapons:
BD X15 Adze
Landscape fencing (for rockfall containment on wooded ledges)
3" putty knife
not-yet-magic wire brush
plastic upholstery brush
static + dynamic double-rigging
Rod of Undeniable Submission
lunch)

[Optimally-Primed]

I two wire brushes... the above-mentioned wire brush for inside cracks. For open face, I use this