I purchased this old badger brush a few days ago at an antique mall. I believe that it is made of celluloid and it came with a matching celluloid mug. At the store it looked kind of smashed and discolored, so I bought it with the thought of replacing the knot with a new silver tip. Well I decided to wash it in some brush cleaner re-vitalizer and it actually came back to life. It's shape became full again and the color got much brighter, when I used it, it was the softest brush that I have ever used. Is it rare for a 60 or 70 year old brush to be in such great condition? Oh by the way, I've used it 3 times and it's never even shed one hair!
Very old pure badger brush!
- Thread starter ShaveMark
- Start date
Rare, yes. Unheard of, no.
Definitely keep it as is.
Definitely keep it as is.
- Thread starter
- #3
If you look closely at the handle it actually has a grain running all around and through it, would that be celluloid or could it be some kind of ivory? The bottom says "Sterilized 200 Pure badger RubberSet". Oh, it's also very heavy for it's size.
Rare... yep. I have a strange Simpson which I believe is from the 30's which I don't think has never been used.
I find with the really old brushes, even the NOS looking ones, the bristles tend to be either way too soft or too scratchy. I'm not sure if they have gone that way with age or that's just how they were.
I find with the really old brushes, even the NOS looking ones, the bristles tend to be either way too soft or too scratchy. I'm not sure if they have gone that way with age or that's just how they were.
It's Bakelite. Probably a butterscotch that someone polished back to the original faux ivory grain at some point. Or possibly a faux ivory that wasn't Catalin (uncommon, but possible) and as such maintained it's appearance.
Check the bottom of the brush, if the lines you see on the side intersect at about 115 degrees angle, it would be ivory (you mention it is heavy). These lines, called Schreger lines, are typical for ivory. Both mammoth and elephant ivory show these lines - mammoth they intersect at < 90 degrees, elephant at >115 degrees.
More info here:
http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/pub/E-Ivory-guide.pdf
More info here:
http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/pub/E-Ivory-guide.pdf
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- #7
The only way that I can describe the grain pattern on the bottom is that it looks like a bunch of chevrons all up and down the bottom surface.
Could be ivory, please post a picture.
- Thread starter
- #9
I hope that these photos give you a better idea of what we are working with.
I think that's French Ivory/celluloid. You can check by rubbing the handle vigorously with your finger. It will give off the smell of camphor if it's celluloid.
I'm almost certain Rubberset never used real Ivory.
Looks like it is an artificial (plastic, resin, celluloid) material. The lines and the mentioning of its heaviness made me think it might be plastic.
