Ever ready model numbers -- post your numbers here

[SavantStrike]

I am attempting to do something that, to my knowledge, has never been done before in the shaving community. In an attempt to decipher the model numbers on Ever Ready brushes, I am putting together a spreadsheet with data about all of the Ever Ready brushes either I or anyone else can find or has found.

Please read and digest all the information in this post so we don't end up with a ton of posts that have to be re written to include the data you didn't read about in this initial post . Then please start posting like mad with the following:

-Information about Ever Ready brushes you own/have seen
-Pictures of said brushes if at all possible
-Wild speculations about what all of the data being collected means
-Personal stories about Ever Ready Brushes
-Shavegeekery


If you've got a large number of brushes to report, please by all means post pics of them, but rather than just posting the data straight to the forum, PM me with your email address so I can invite you to make changes directly to the Google spreadsheet this is all being stored in.




Background Information and Wild Speculation:

All of the Ever Ready brushes I have seen have three digit numbers, and sometimes even a letter following the number. According to Mike (lax1mxr), who has had his hands on enough of these things to make all of us green with envy, he has seen brushes with model numbers as high as 1000, with higher model numbers having finer grades of hair and finer handles. I personally have seen that some Ever Ready brushes include a letter in addition to the 3 or 4 digit number provided.




I'm working under the assumption that the number on the brush may include all/some of the following information:
-Model number (both digits and letters) i.e. 1000, 100, or 100B
-Handle design (note that this may not always mean material, but it does mean quality)
-Type and grade of hair used
-Knot size
-Loft height
-Handle height
-Total height (Loft + Handle)
-Color (especially for those two tone beauties)
-A link to the post with pictures/information provided about that brush
-Some other information not yet known at the time of this post


Link to URL: Massive Ever Ready Spreadsheet


EDIT: As an update, I'm allowing you guys to edit the sheet. I'm hoping to get swamped here soon and may need the assistance.

 

[SavantStrike]

EDIT: After talking to Alex(Fnord5) about his Ever Ready, we both believe that my 150's are boar. The softness they have is due to being broken in.

Ever Ready 150:

This one is special because it belonged to my Great Grandfather. The estimated dimensions for this brush are already on the spreadsheet, as are any other noteworthy attributes. I'm pretty sure this is badger, but if anyone thinks otherwise, please let me know as I still have not figured out how to properly identify badger that has been exposed to sunlight for a few decades. I want to emphasize two things about this brush:

-The entire brush is made out of, or at least coated in, rubber.

- The bottom portion of the brush is tapered inward and then outward, creating a "neck" similar to what one might see on a chess piece (it also looks pretty sweet IMO ).

View attachment 67928

Ever Ready 150B:

This one came bundled with some razors when I won an auction one time. I'm pretty sure this is badger, but if anyone thinks otherwise, please let me know as I still have not figured out how to properly identify badger that has been exposed to sunlight for a few decades. The dimensions are listed on the spreadsheet, along with the dimensions for the 150, but again I would like to call attention to three features:

-The top of the brush appears to be made out of wood

-The bottom of the brush is made out of celluloid with a rubber coating, or is made entirely out of rubber but has a celluloid disc at the very bottom where it would rest on the counter (the celluloid disc is unfortunately not in the pictures). Furthermore, the bottom does not taper very much, but it has "knurled" ends, similar to those one might find on a hex head.

-The bristles are a little bit darker on this brush, and they are a little bit stiffer. I don't know if that means anything other than perhaps my Great Grandfather used his brush a lot more than whoever owned this brush used it, and this brush may have been stored in a location with less direct sunlight.

View attachment 67929

Wild guesses:

The fact that the 150B has a wooden top portion could mean either of the following two things:

1. The "B" nomenclature means that this brush is identical to the 150, but it has a different bottom, and the top is made out of wood.

2. The "B" nomenclature simply means that this brush has a different bottom, and the top portions of the two brushes are made out of two different materials simply because they were made at a different point in time.

And here's a shot of both of them together
View attachment 67930

 

[Fnord5]

200T (I assume T= turquoise? )
20mm knot.
107mm overall length
55mm loft.

 

[SavantStrike]

Either this is too much fun, or I've hit rock bottom. Either way, I'm now browsing auctions on the bay and looking for Ever Ready brush pics, and estimating what the brushes might measure dimensionally.

If anyone sees one of their pics and is upset they saw it, PM me and I'll remove it.

Ever Ready 100:

This is definitely either boar or badger hair, and I'm going to say it's boar. The top is either wood or rubber, and the bottom is definitely rubberized due to the seam that is clearly visible (I'll post pics of the seam if you guys absolutely must see them...).

View attachment 67938

 

[amishmotorboat]

Model 304L (I've seen these handles called Lucite before, so the letters might be, as was suggested above, a reference to the handle)

Octagon shaped handle, one and three sixteenths inch width.
Handle height, one and thirteen sixteenths
Total height, about 4 inches.

If you want to save these images for posterity, feel free. I can make no guarantees about how long they will remain in my photobucket account.

 

[SavantStrike]

Hmmm..


What I find most interesting there is the knot size. How big would you say it is?


Every other week someone says "what size knot should I get to put in my Ever Ready X," I'm pretty sure eventually at least that question can be answered.

 

[lax1mxr]

Here are photos of a model 1000 that is solide bakelite/celluloid and a model #750 that is solid rubber. Seems to me that the quality of handle got better...the higher the model number. 750 had a 22mm knot. 1000 had a 20mm knot.

 

[lax1mxr]

Heres another, either a model #550 or #580 with a bakelite/plastic base (hollow) and rubber top. the number is stamped on the back side of top portion and is very hard to make out. It is seen modeling with the 1000.

 

[SavantStrike]

Here are photos of a model 1000 that is solide bakelite/celluloid and a model #750 that is solid rubber. Seems to me that the quality of handle got better...the higher the model number. 750 had a 22mm knot. 1000 had a 20mm knot.

Hmm. So unless the 750 had a lower grade of hair than the 1000, guessing knot size based on model number isn't going to work.

I do notice those higher model numbers say pure badger on them, so that part makes sense (pure badger as opposed to pure boar in the lower digits).

 

[shm]

OK, here's my little contribution to the project

Name: Ever-Ready 12a
Handle design: Persian Jar (I think)
Hair: Boar (again; I think, but the yellowish color would suggest it)
Knot size: 17 mm (sorry but being European I'm all metric )
Loft height: 42.5 mm
Handle height: 43.5 mm
Total height: 86.0 mm
Color: Beige?, sand?, ivory? (I'm a guy, I don't know colors )
Link: None, I haven't posted anything about the brush
Other information: I got this brush as a part of a gentleman's travelling set

 

[SavantStrike]

OK, here's my little contribution to the project

Name: Ever-Ready 12a
Handle design: Persian Jar (I think)
Hair: Boar (again; I think, but the yellowish color would suggest it)
Knot size: 17 mm (sorry but being European I'm all metric )
Loft height: 42.5 mm
Handle height: 43.5 mm
Total height: 86.0 mm
Color: Beige?, sand?, ivory? (I'm a guy, I don't know colors )
Link: None, I haven't posted anything about the brush
Other information: I got this brush as a part of a gentleman's travelling set

That's a sweet little brush!!!!

And actually, my spreadsheet is in metric too so those numbers are perfect .

 

[Jack-in-the-Green]

Here's my collection of Ever-Ready brushes. Interestingly enough, some of the models with very different handles have the same number, while some very similar handles have very different numbers. So, I would say the number has little or nothing to do with the handle, unless they re-used the same numbers in different years. Unfortunately, some of them I've already de-knotted in preparation for restoration, so I don't have full info for them.

This first set has no numbers, and I would guess they are quite a bit older than the others. (20's or 30's?)

1) Burgundy rubber top, Bakelite*-covered plaster bottom in butterscotch. Someone has written "1932" on the plaster at the base. Don't know if that was done during manufacture, or if it was a note added by someone later on.

• Knot Diameter: 18mm
• Knot Loft: Too far gone to tell.
• Knot Hair: Badger
• Handle Height: 51 mm

2) Wood base, black rubber top w/metal insert to hold knot

• Knot Diameter: 20mm
• Knot Loft: ?
• Knot Hair: ?
• Handle Height: 73mm

50P - Black Bakelite with cream disc at the base. Fairly heavy. Marked "Sterilized N" on the back.

• Knot Diameter: 20mm
• Knot Loft: ?
• Knot Hair: Pretty sure it was bristle, but not certain
• Handle Height: 52mm

52c - Black rubber top, yellow Bakelite bottom. Marked "Sterilized A" on the back.

• Knot Diameter: 20mm
• Knot Loft: 45mm (aprox.)
• Knot Hair: Not sure. Would guess bristle. Maybe horse?
• Handle Height: 48mm

79 - Butterscotch Bakelite, top covered with red rubber. Looks as if the bottom part of the handle is filled with plaster.

• Knot Diameter: 20mm
• Knot Loft: ?
• Knot Hair: ?
• Handle Height: 51

89 - Blue plastic base, white rubberized top.

• Knot Diameter: 20mm
• Knot Loft: 51mm
• Knot Hair: Bristle
• Handle Height: 52mm

100 - Red plastic base, white rubberized top.

• Knot Diameter: 21mm
• Knot Loft: 45mm
• Knot Hair: Bristle
• Handle Height: 53mm

100 - Nearly identical to #89, but apparently older. Also seems to be slightly better quality.

• Knot Diameter: 21mm
• Knot Loft: 48mm
• Knot Hair: Bristle or horse?
• Handle Height: 52mm

102D - Heavy burgundy rubber with cream plastic disk on bottom. Similar to 50P but w/ stightly narrower top. Also matte finish, rather than gloss. Definite rubber texture. Marked "Sterilized Pure Badger" on back.

• Knot Diameter: 19mm
• Knot Loft: 52
• Knot Hair: Badger
• Handle Height: 51mm

150 - Nearly identical to 89 and 100 above, but in red.

• Knot Diameter: 21mm
• Knot Loft: 51mm
• Knot Hair: Would guess bristle
• Handle Height: 51mm

150 - Red marbled Bakelite base, black rubber top. Marked "Made in U.S.A." on the back

• Knot Diameter: 22mm
• Knot Loft: 46mm
• Knot Hair: Bristle
• Handle Height: 52mm

200 - Red and cream Bakelite

• Knot Diameter:23mm
• Knot Loft: ?
• Knot Hair: ?
• Handle Height: 57mm

300cc - Travel brush, came with white travel tube. Butterscotch Bakelite.

• Knot Diameter: 18mm
• Knot Loft: 48mm
• Knot Hair: Badger and Bristle
• Handle Height: 37mm

750 - Cream Bakelite in vase shape.

• Knot Diameter: 21mm
• Knot Loft: 46mm
• Knot Hair: Badger
• Handle Height: 51mm

*When I say Bakelite, that's just a guess. I'm really not an expert.

 

[nemo]

Blue, no # but letter H, knot looks about 20mm, likely boar
59mm handle
loft 52mm
total 110mm
Too bad about the crack but the price was right (free)

Red #79, about 20mm knot, bristle
52mm handle
loft 52mm
total 104

C40 handle, was bristle, soon to be badger
20mm

 

[TinFish]

I have a small collection of Ever-Ready brushes - here's my contribution....

This 150, similar to the one you have originally shown, but with a slightly different handle base:

...And these are quite like the 200T, but different color variations...

Left to right: 100T, 250T, F40

The F40 is much like the one I used during my college days (mid 70's)

I purchased this C40 around 1993 - it was packaged in a Burma Shave box. So far, the only one I've seen with
a brass ring at the knot.

And finally, my Dad's 100. It looks like you already have data on this.

Thanks for letting me share these. Good luck with your project!

 

[Cmaster03]

lax1maxr(Mike) restored this 100A for me. It now has a 22mm Nib knot, set to 52-53 mm.

I don't have any photos of it yet, but I also have a tiny 200cc travel brush that could use a new knot.

 

[the beav]

From left to right: Ever Ready 250 'beehive', 275, and 300L.

View attachment 68171

 

[s1mp13m4n]

I found an Ever Ready C40 brush in my dad's cabinet and would like more info about the brush. I know nothing about it.

 

[Fnord5]

That F40 looks exactly like my 200T.
I wonder if the numbers are lot codes as opposed to models?

 

[TinFish]

That F40 looks exactly like my 200T.
I wonder if the numbers are lot codes as opposed to models?

You could be right. I haven't been able to figure out a definite correspondence between model number and brush style/color variations. That doesn't mean there isn't any.....I just can't see one

 

[SavantStrike]

Dang!

I've got my work cut out for me putting all of these in the spreadsheet .

I've got another 150 on the way myself that is identical to my great grandfather's 150. Sadly my 150B is no more


The model number vs code number thing is an interesting observation. I also believe that in some cases, when a brush has a "B" in it, it refers to badger.

Recently I have seen pics of several 300 level brushes that look exactly like 200 level brushes, except they usually have a gold or silver ring on them, and they are badger instead of boar.

Perhaps Ever Ready changed their naming system two (or more) times during the many years they produced brushes?