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c/chimney-sweeps•simonmooresimonmoore•2d ago

Chat with an old mason yesterday changed how I look at brush bristles

He said he's been using the same steel bristle brush for 12 years because he hammers the bristles flat instead of replacing it. I always tossed mine after a few months. Has anyone else tried that or heard of it?
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patriciaellis
That part about "hammers the bristles flat" is actually common with metalworking guys. The flattening keeps the bristles from catching on stuff and snapping off, which is why you get way more life out of them. Biggest downside I've heard is you lose some of the aggressive scrubbing power, so it's a trade off depending on what you're cleaning.
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finley_flores28
Wait, you can actually hammer the bristles flat on a wire brush? That's wild. Never once heard of that trick in all my years of scrubbing grime off stuff. I always just tossed them when they started looking ragged and bought a new one. Kind of annoyed nobody ever told me about this sooner, honestly. But losing the scrubbing power is a real bummer, depends what you're dealing with I guess. Still, gotta try it next time just to see for myself if it's worth the trade.
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