Need help with brush ID

[kfralin]

I am in the process of restoring/reknotting a shave brush for a friend of mine. He was unsure of it's origin but said it belonged to his father. I was just wondering if anyone recognized the handle. It is an unusual shape (at least to me) I can't identify the material it is made of but it has more heft that plastic/bakelite IMHO. What remains of the logo only shows only the word "Germany", I assume the "made in" although it no longer is visible. When cleaning out the remains of the knot with my dremel, the dust particles creating with fine and light with no plastic smell. I don't know if any of these details help, but if anyone has any information or informed guess as to the maker of perhaps material I would greatly appreciate. I will post restore photos when the knot arrives from Tony at TGN. Thanks!

 

[Piff]

Not sure of the maker, but you can try the catalin/bakelite test. Run it under hot water and see if it smells of formaldehyde. If so it is most likely catalin. Could try the 409 test as well if you don't have a good sniffer. Spray 409 onto a Q-tip or paper towel and wipe it inside the knot hole, on the bottom or other place (just not the written on parts; that'll probably remove them). If it's catalin, it'll come off yellow.

I don't think it's bakelite as I've heard bakelite items were mostly dark colors because the formula used fillers like sawdust, cotton, and in some cases, even asbestos. However, for that reason, I would use extreme caution when grinding on those types of items. The Catalin formula supposedly did not use fillers, and therefore is safer (relatively speaking...I still wouldn't want to inhale any particulates) to work with.

Very pretty handle!

Regards.

 

[kfralin]

Not sure of the maker, but you can try the catalin/bakelite test. Run it under hot water and see if it smells of formaldehyde. If so it is most likely catalin. Could try the 409 test as well if you don't have a good sniffer. Spray 409 onto a Q-tip or paper towel and wipe it inside the knot hole, on the bottom or other place (just not the written on parts; that'll probably remove them). If it's catalin, it'll come off yellow.

I don't think it's bakelite as I've heard bakelite items were mostly dark colors because the formula used fillers like sawdust, cotton, and in some cases, even asbestos. However, for that reason, I would use extreme caution when grinding on those types of items. The Catalin formula supposedly did not use fillers, and therefore is safer (relatively speaking...I still wouldn't want to inhale any particulates) to work with.

Very pretty handle!

Regards.

Thanks for information. I am certainly not an expect but the weight seems a little heavy for bakelite or catalin. It almost feels like alabaster (again not that I am an expert on alabaster) or something similar. Anyway, at the end of the day it is a neat handle regardless of the maker or material...

 

[Gary Young]

Hi. Hopefully be able to help you work out the material of your handle....

Any chance of seeing the bottom of the brush? If poss at a slight angle so I can see the base cut.

Gary

 

[kfralin]

I will post pix tomorrow, I am not at home but will gladly put up additional pix. As I stated, I am reknotting/restoring for a friend and I thought it might be of interest to him to know more about the brush as I am sure it holds sentimental value to him. Thank you in advance!