Military Set stick/brush question

[danster.shay]

I just got an incomplete Military Set off the bay and have a couple of questions about the brush / soap stick canisters.
What are they supposed to look like inside? Mine has both, but one is completely empty (soap stick) and the other has a little gillette travel brush in it. I was under the impression that the canisters "twisted" to expose the soap and brush, but mine are just empty "chrome" tubes with caps on them.

Is there a source for mirrors for these things? Mine is missing... and it came with the wrong razor... but funny enough it was a 1941 Ranger Tech.

 

[ERVARGASNY]

How it works, your supoose to move the soap stick up with your fingers through the bottom hole of the soap canister, it should have an inner cap in the bottom of the soap cannister, this inner cap stops the soap from getting out and making a mess, also as you push the inner cap up, your hands never touch the soap.

Do you have an inner cap at the bottom of your soap cannister?

 

[MacDaddy]

To answer your specific questions:

Regarding the tins, no, they didn't screw up and down. The lids just pull off, though there should also be a small round tray insert in the bottom portion of the tin that you can push up through the hole in the bottom. You might be thinking of the turnback travel brushes that Gillette used in their Combination Sets, but these Military Sets used the small loose brush inside the tin like you've got there.

As for the mirror, short of fashioning one yourself -- the ones in these sets are just plated sheets of metal -- you're pretty much stuck for getting lucky and finding one either in another incomplete set (to keep the cost down) or loose on its own (highly unlikely, but still possible).

By the way, I know the exact set that you've got there and I think the seller made a mistake reading the name that's written on it. I believe it's Thomas Cafarella, not Caparella as they said. Could help you trace down the original owner, assuming it wasn't just someone scrawling on it after the fact. The story I'd tell about it, including the Ranger Tech, is that a father who used it in WWI passed it on to his son who was going off to fight in WWII and bought him a new replacement for the old Bulldog that would have been in there originally. Sounds pretty good, huh?

 

[danster.shay]

Do you have an inner cap at the bottom of your soap cannister?

Yes. Both canisters are identical and have inner caps that can be pushed up and out. Is the shave brush side correct, or do I have a second soap canister with a Gillette travel shave brush thrown in there?

PICS!

 

[danster.shay]

MacDaddy, you're absolutely correct in Cafarella. I had been fruitless in my search during the auction, and I was admiring it this morning when I thought "hey, I'm not much for cursive, but I think that's an F, not a P." Lo and Behold, I believe this guy may have been from Massachusetts. Now I just need to ask him for the bulldog and mirror. Anybody here a medium?

And yes, I love the story. Thomas gave it to Thomas Jr alongside the Ranger tech. The mirror saved Tom Sr's life in the trenches of "The Great War", but sadly was dented by the bullet meant for Big Tom's head.

The bulldog's fate is another story entirely.

 

[ERVARGASNY]

Yes. Both canisters are identical and have inner caps that can be pushed up and out. Is the shave brush side correct, or do I have a second soap canister with a Gillette travel shave brush thrown in there?

Yes both are identical ?

The soap needs to dry and so does brush, That is why they have those caos with little holes in them, There Amazing classy set, I lovem.

 

[S'eth]

Beautiful set!