Thread: Brushspotter Challenge

OK brush nerds, I need your keen eyes.

This brush is the only bit of shave legacy I have from my family. It belonged to either my Dad's father or grandfather, I can't be sure at this point. But, as I know my grandfather died in 1942 but my great-grandfather not til 1959, I may be able to figure out which was the owner with your assistance, and maybe learn who made it.

Most of the markings have rubbed off. There is NO TRACE of any markings on the brush anywhere except where I've tried to photograph. The first word under what appears to be a brandmark is "Vulcanized" I'm guessing, but that's all I can get. I'm hoping one of you gents can ID it and give me some facts about it (manufacturer, model, approximate years of production, etc).

Thanks guys. As I said, since it is my Family Shaving Legacy in its entirety, I'd love to put a name on it.

Looks like a boar. if that's the case it can't be too old because horse was the preferred alternative to badger. Boar came later. If you look at the outfits that made cheaper brushes in the 30s through the 50s there were only a few and I've seen some catalogs right here in this forum not long ago. That'd also assuming it's from the U.S.

It is definitely boar. I have some old white horse brushes (and a new one) and they're distinctively different from boar. This is boar.

If boar was uncommon prior to the early forties, I'm leaning towards great granddad (RIP '59) as opposed to granddad (RIP '42).

Nice piece, looks to be in great shape. By the look of the outline that's left, maybe a PEERLESS?
I have my Great Grandfathers straight (that started me down this slippery slope) and my Great, Great grand fathers shaving scuttle and a tin type picture of him when he was a kid.
It's nice to have family history connected to these items that we're all so fond of.

Nice old brush in great nic too

This is a pretty long shot to be sure, but maybe try inspecting the handle under UV light?

Cheers, Steve

Originally Posted by Steve56

This is a pretty long shot to be sure, but maybe try inspecting the handle under UV light?

Cheers, Steve

I like the way you think. And access to UV light sources aren't a problem for me. To the lab it goes!

They key is in the somewhat oval shaped mark above the word Vulcanized. It's really not oval but 3 circles joined with a letter in each. The first letter looks like an "L" . Pencil and paper may trace out more of the letters if they are still deep enough ?

More looking makes me think it says Boar.

Just thinking about your interesting problem - which I've had too. Since the handle is a primary color or close to it, I'd use a digital camera to photograph it in black and white using digital red, green, and blue filters, then try enhancing the best one in terms of contrast in Photoshop etc.

If you have image editing software that shows the red, green, and blue channels, just photograph it in regular color and look at the RGB channels. If one looks promising, discard the other two channels and enhance in your software.

Cheers, Steve

I think you may have nailed it 10Pups
something like this

(B)(oa)(r)
Vulacanised
Rubber