Some interesting Butterscotch Information

[fidjit]

For those of us who desire to partake of the butterscotch brushes here's some interesting information.

I send a email to Vulfix re dating my Butterscotch 514 "Hyde Park" and here's what I got back from Philip:

...and I would guess, judging by the printing and the color that it is approximately 40 years old.

It would have started life as a creamy/white handle but it is age that has turned it into a Butterscotch color. We currently turn our handles from Polyester rods which are resin based and they seem to retain the color for ever. In the ‘good old days’ our handles were turned from a material called Catalin and this is what your brush was made from.

mm, interesting......... More research finds:

You’re probably wondering, “What’s with the Catalin colors? Why are so many things ‘butterscotch’ or ‘pumpkin?’” Ultraviolet light, that’s what. All those radios and knife handles you see in ‘butterscotch’ color these days started their lives as white plastic. In many cases it wasn’t plain white, but heavily marbleized white, having streaks of transparent swirled throughout. But the phenolic resin itself is chemically converted to phenyl alcohol through the action of ultraviolet (UV) light – and phenyl alcohol is brownish in color. That’s the bad news. The good news is that phenyl alcohol is an excellent UV block, so that its presence on the plastic surface prevents the UV light from penetrating into the Catalin cabinet walls; thus the yellowing effect is only skin deep. This yellowing effect turns the whites (Catalin Corp. called their white phenolic ‘alabaster’) into dull yellow, or butterscotch. Source [

So some of the butterscotch we've been finding might actually have started as a white chocolate bud and even now might still have a milky white centre

 

[mdunn]

i would have to doubt that, anyone who has popped the knot out of a butterscotch brush should have seen a white inside (no UV) but im pretty sure thats not the case

 

[fidjit]

i would have to doubt that, anyone who has popped the knot out of a butterscotch brush should have seen a white inside (no UV) but im pretty sure thats not the case

I agree in some cases, as my Kent is yellow in da hole !

From what I can gather it really does depend on what the handles made of.

Remind me to look inside the when I have to reknot the Vulfix.....shouldn't be too long now as it's only brand new

However, just emailed Kent about the KS7 asking if it started off butterscotch and Vanessa replied with:

The sockets start of as an off white ivory colour and yellow over the time. It would be off white not bright white, it was made to look like ivory.
As for the material I have and can not trace now what it was made from sorry.

Curiouser and curiouser............

 

[mdunn]

i looked inside the tube of my simpsons major, and while it is whiter, i think thats only because it hasnt been polished.

 

[fidjit]

mmm, just found this............

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=98728&highlight=butterscotch

Look at the base............

( and also around the knot hole where he's obviously more aggressively cleaned )

Butterscotch covered Creamy white centre ????

If this is the case I don't think it's UV alone that's changing the colour. The Vulfix I found in the box probably sat in a cupboard somewhere hence no UV, in addition even if it was outside you'd expect the front to be exposed to the sun but not the back and have a two tone handle.

In fact the most common other butterscotch items you see in antique shops are old cutlery, now surely they also spent most of their lives in drawers again no UV.

Perhaps some other chemical reaction is caramelizing the milk to butterscotch over time ?

Now a combination of UV , oxidisation and other factors makes more sense....

These once bright and cheerfully colored cabinets over the years have transformed into much darker, duller colors once affected by years of smoke, dirt, dust and sunlight. What was originally white (alabaster) oxidized into a butterscotch, or even pumpkin color Source

 

[heirkb]

EDIT: realized I'm just saying what you're saying

I've seen brushes ( mostly rooneys and simpson's) that actually seem to have butterscotch paint on them. The link you posted above with the Kent actually doesn't prove that they were white inside. The seller mentions sanding the bottom and I imagine he did the same to the hole. This is what i mean by paint. But it could just bee the UV tainted plastic that got sanded off...
None of this explains why the insides are yellow or why many NOS and pristine brushes are an even shade of butterscotch
Hmmm...

 

[heirkb]

i would have to doubt that, anyone who has popped the knot out of a butterscotch brush should have seen a white inside (no UV) but im pretty sure thats not the case

I see a color between offwhite and butterscotch in the hole
I think this explains my bias for English butterscotch. It's a richer different color from American ones and I always thought I had imagined that. Now my guess is that the American ones are some cheapy cast yellow plastic, while the English ones turned their rich hue with age. If you pay attention to Rays Rooney for example and compare it to a Klenzo, you can completely see the difference. The klenzo looks like some shiny toy while the Simpsons and Rooneys are a different hue. I'm not just being a snob either, I really do see a color difference that is hard to describe. The American ones are more yellow, and less deep in color

 

[fidjit]

Well I'm in a quandary what to believe.

I suppose really I've got to believe the makers of fine English shaving brushes ( Vulfix and Kent ) over a young whippersnapper from Siderney ( Hi Dunny )

I'm guessing the difference in hues would also relate to how old the brush is. The Kent is 60 years old and has an almost orange hue to it, the Vulfix about 40 years old.

I can see subtle differences in the colours too, it's not consistent and where I've cleaned more vigorously on the Kent I can see some white coming through.

To me this belief just makes the butterscotches even more desirable, as they're like a fine wine. They haven't got this way from day one and have matured ( and will keep maturing ) over time........

( I have put an entry in my diary and I'll be posting a piccie of both brushes in 40 years time and we'll be able to do a comparison to see if the hue has changed then )

 

[mdunn]

you could always cut yours in half to find out

 

[heirkb]

You have a point. It makes them even better, since you can't just get them anytime you want. They have to ripen

 

[napoleon]

Also, there is that Kent brush that the user "thanks" bought. The part where the sticker was, is much lighter in colour.
But than again, if darkening with age was the case, why are my butterscotch brushes (even the travel one) even in colour all the way round and inside out

 

[velvetgoldmine]

Butterscotch fans may be interested in another of my posts. See here.