Thread: Creepy swastika shave brush

I don't even know what to say about this one. I know there's ancient Indian artifacts that have swastikas on them and of course have no connection at all to Nazi Germany, but this shave brush is not an ancient Indian artifact! Also, I suppose I could understand it if the brush originated in Germany, but you can clearly see that it says "Made in the USA." So does that mean that this brush was made in the United States for export to Germany before WWII? It seems like the only logical explanation, but I'm just guessing. Anyone have any better info about the origin of this . . . um . . . brush?

Anyway, it's on eBay now, but just on general principals, I'm not posting the auction number.

if you watch you will also see many razor hones that also have the emblem on them. i think that they may just have been made when the emblem was accepted and not thought of as it today.

I think the symbol (or one just like it) has a symbolic meaning of "balance" or something like that in asian cultures. There is a samurai comic where the hero has what looks like a swastika on him and it isn't. So it may well be a zen thing, not a nazi thing.

The swastika is a widely used symbol and can be found in a number of cultures. As you point out, it is very common in India (Hindu) as well as much of east Asia (Buddist). The word swastika is actually from Sanskrit. Most swastikas seen in India and Asia are left handed (i.e. have a counter clockwise orientation of the bent arms). The Nazi swastika is right handed it was also usually (though not always) shown rotated about 45 degrees from the vertical orientation used by others.

The vertical right handed swastika was also common among Native Americans in the Southwest US, and this symbol (yellow on a red field) was the shoulder patch of the 45 Infantry Division of the Oklahoma National Guard until the 1930s.

The swastika on the brush you show is right handed and vertical. It may indeed been intended for Nazi Germany, but it may also have been produced by or for Native American use or for use by a member of the 45 Infantry Division.

That symbol has been used around the world for thousands of years, one guy comes along and screws up everything associated with it.

I feel like I've been in this thread before...

Originally Posted by avatar1999

I feel like I've been in this thread before...

Did you wake up to Sonny and Cher singing "I got you babe" on the radio?

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

That symbol has been used around the world for thousands of years, one guy comes along and screws up everything associated with it.

And those who make a big deal every time they see one (no offense meant ot the OP) continue to give it that power. It is just a symbol. Take it back.

Originally Posted by Muirtach

And those who make a big deal every time they see one (no offense meant ot the OP) continue to give it that power. It is just a symbol. Take it back.

No offense taken -- I agree with you. What I was pointing out what actually lost along the way. It seemed strange to me that a swastika shave brush could be also "Made in the USA", but I suppose some US companies were supplying shave brushes to all parts of the world at various times in history, and at one of those times (like the 1930s?), putting a swastika on a shave brush would have no more significance than putting a maple leaf on a brush meant for sale in Canada.

WARNING: Not appropriate for work, home, secret caves, children, or any audience. This is in poor taste, some crude language, and will offend you if you believe in human decency and/or are sensitive about anything.

But I thought it was kinda relevant, and it always makes me smile.


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