Why does the bottom unscrew?

[rth97601]

Howdy folks ...

I ended up with a Culmak "Major" brush as part of a razor lot, and I think I may clean it up and give it a whirl ... but I have one question:

Why does the bottom unscrew? It's a small brush, and the cavity inside has no immediately identifiable purpose, but it seems important enough to seal off with a watertight gasket.

Any suggestions?

 

[Sueto]

Sounds like you have a travel brush. Is it something like this?

If not, then it could just be the way the brush was made. Without pics, hard to give a good answer. I am sure there is a shave brush jedi that will have specifics on your brush to come by soon.

from some brushes I have cleaned up two dissimilar materials were often put together by threaded ends or by some sort of friction fit.

 

[rth97601]

I should get pics up tomorrow ... but it's a tiny cavity, and the brush certainly won't fit in it, so It's not a "travel case" type deal. Plus, the bottom plug is serrated, or ribbed, or whatever, while the rest is not--it's clearly meant to come off.

 

[RocketMan]

I just watched an old 1934 Hitchcock movie today - The Man Who Knew Too Much. The reason he knew too much is he read a note about an upcoming criminal meeting - the note was stuffed inside a shaving brush with a threaded 'secret' compartment.

Maybe that is what ya got!

 

[Greybeard]

At one time it was fashionable to have 2 tone brushes. Usually the top was a roundish part in white, ivory or black and the bottom was available in many colors and styles. It could also be different heights and shapes. Most brush bottoms were injection moulded plastic. The screw on bottom allowed for the greatest flexibility and variety at the least cost.

Even if the brushes were monotone, the manufacturing process was already set up for 2-piece brushes.



- Peter

 

[SRock]

Definitely need pics on this one.

 

[rth97601]

Here we go:

 

[blantyre]

Maybe they made one "head" and offered different bases? You could have a 7-day set of bases - all the colors of the rainbow.

 

[Greybeard]

I've seen that same model brush with a red trim ring, a brown trim ring and a burgundy trim ring. I've also seen it with the screw-on base all black and all red.
It's a travel brush that I believe originally came with a stand/holder.

There was another thread about a similar brush not too long ago. It was speculated that the cavity might serve to hold shave cream for travel.

If you search for "Culmak" the thread should come up.



- Peter

 

[Yonjuro]

... I have an old Vulfix with a screw off bottom -( I have had it for around 20 years and it is now in retirement.) - THe little cap on mine contained a small styptic ball/block. Mine is long gone.

I would wager that yours was for this as well.

 

[rth97601]

... I have an old Vulfix with a screw off bottom -( I have had it for around 20 years and it is now in retirement.) - THe little cap on mine contained a small styptic ball/block. Mine is long gone.

I would wager that yours was for this as well.

Oooh ... that makes perfect sense!

It's too small for any real quantity of shave cream, it's got a gasket on it (and is thus clearly meant to be watertight) so the interchangeable bases doesn't quite ring true (at least not fully) ... but the styptic ball really fits the bill.

so, presuming that's true, is the any way to shape alum/styptic (or buy some that will fit) into the space?

Thanks all for the input, btw ...

Ryan

 

[Yonjuro]

... It would be ideal if there was a styptic pencil in a similar diameter so you could just finely saw off pieces to fix in.

It might be worth checking local Indian grocery stores to pic up a cheap alum block and experiment with the shaping. Jewelers saws and files should do the job with plenty of water as well.

Another thought would be to see if Vulfix still sell replacement inserts. Unfortunately I dropped mine years ago and had to glue the cap back in place.

Good luck with it, let us know how you get on?

 

[Sueto]

Thats kind of cool. An alum block in the end of a brush seems like a good idea for travelling.

 

[Darjeeling Express]

Very clever design. Thank you for posting this.

 

[mdw15]

Sounds like you have a travel brush. Is it something like this?

If not, then it could just be the way the brush was made. Without pics, hard to give a good answer. I am sure there is a shave brush jedi that will have specifics on your brush to come by soon.

from some brushes I have cleaned up two dissimilar materials were often put together by threaded ends or by some sort of friction fit.

 

[Rudy Vey]

 

[SamplingNature]

Oooh ... that makes perfect sense!

It's too small for any real quantity of shave cream, it's got a gasket on it (and is thus clearly meant to be watertight) so the interchangeable bases doesn't quite ring true (at least not fully) ... but the styptic ball really fits the bill.

so, presuming that's true, is the any way to shape alum/styptic (or buy some that will fit) into the space?

Thanks all for the input, btw ...

Ryan

Take one of the Pinaud styptic pencils, hold it to your face as if you're using it on a nick, then drop it on the tile floor of your bathroom. The pencil will automatically resize itself.

 

[huck1680]

I have a DaniDom 2 piece brush that has the knot/ferrule in one metal piece and the rest is the wooden handle. The reasoning was that back in the day (World War I) shaving brushes, because of supply interruptions were being made out of horsehair and boar hair that had not been properly disinfected. It seems the bacteria which could cause Anthrax was able to survive in the brush knots. Then if while shaving, you had a nick you could be infected. There was a "mini-epidemic" that had the army commanders quite concerned. Things were filthy enough in the trenches etc without the addition of anthrax as well.

"Old-fashioned shaving tools are getting trendy with younger men these days, but one such tool has an interesting history: Men's shaving brushes made from animal hair were linked with cases of anthrax around the time of World War I, according to a new report.
The report describes several hundred cases of anthrax, which occurred from 1915 to 1924, were tied to shaving brushes, mainly among men in the U.S. military. Shaving brushes are small facial brushes that are used to apply shaving cream or soap. They were invented in the 18th century.
In 1921, researchers in New York City tested shaving brushes purchased from street vendors, and they found Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that causes anthrax, in 78 percent of the brushes, the new report said".

So the thought was to make brushes that could be unscrewed to make disinfecting easier. The knot/metal ferrule would be unscrewed from the usually wooden handle and disinfected.
There's a number of brush makers that still make brushes in this manner although it's not really necessary because of the laws in place that concern public health and things made from animal hair etc.