Thread: Double Trouble: Couple of Fuller Brush Restores

Fuller is a cool retro brand that represents 'days gone by' better then most any other brush brand out there. Typically it is accepted that shave brushes fit in to two general categories: Drug Store Brands, ie- EverReady, Rubberset etc... and Luxury Brushes ie- Simpson, Omega etc... There was really no middle ground. But there was; Enter Fuller Brushes.

I may be too young to remember, but when i began wetshaving naturally i would discuss my new found hobby with friends and family. Most shrugged off my fascination of sharp object and premium toiletries with a polite "well your face does look better then ever"; but not the old timers. My grandfather had what to say about lathering up with a brush, and though he never used a straight razor to shave he too remembers a time before the can of goo. The talks about lathering up led up to him telling me how he remembers that the salesman used to come around and see his father shave brushes that were just nicer then those you'd find at the corner store in Brooklyn, NY... The salesman sold Fuller Brushes, a brush renowned for quality and style, yet a brush that would not break the bank. It was an every man's brush but the only way to get yours was to wait for that knock on the door when the Fuller Salesman would come around. Then Fuller got an idea, why not have women sell the shave brush.... This made perfect sense. Who better then a woman to tell a man how good a brush will feel on your face and how close your shave will be. A Fuller saleswoman once told my grand father that the brush would insure a shave so smooth you would be irresistible! What a sales tactic!

Since this conversation with my grandfather i had my eye out for Fuller Shave Brushes. I found my first at an antique swap meet. It was in rough shape with a foggy lucite handle and tangled nylon knot. The other i found on the bay that had a baklite handle that required a little TLC. Long story short i finally got around to the restoration. I ordered the knots from TGN, and ordered each knot specifically for each handle to perform a certain task. I ordered a Silvertip, Superbadger Bulb tip for the bakelite to give a luxurious look and feel. I ordered a big Black Badger knot that i set deep in to the chubby lucite handle to give a short loft for maximum 'stout' that whips soaps in to an absolutly creamy froth in no time.... Heres the outcome, hope you enjoyed the read. Best Wishes.

Nice Job!
I bought a badger knot from woodcraft and it is a charcoal color. Does that make it a "black" badger?
I thought I might make a set of scales and a brush handle from the same piece of hardwood.
Is there a list of premium and drugstore brands on a wiki or somewhere else?
It would be nice to be able to classify them when hunting shaving gear.

Originally Posted by Galaxy51

Nice Job!
I bought a badger knot from woodcraft and it is a charcoal color. Does that make it a "black" badger?
I thought I might make a set of scales and a brush handle from the same piece of hardwood.
Is there a list of premium and drugstore brands on a wiki or somewhere else?
It would be nice to be able to classify them when hunting shaving gear.

I'm not sure if theres a list categorizing the drug store brands from other premium type handles; though typically they are easy to tell the difference. For instance if the are plastic or painted wood looking and are made in the usa they are likely some sort of drug store brand, and dont get me wrong, those handle IMHO are just every bit as good as the imported or premium models. Us americans used to make quality goods for the every day guy. Now if you want a quality piece of american made anything your going to pay out your Wazoo. So if you see a Made-Rite that catches your eye i think your wise to buy! When it come to imports and premiums however you will typically know.... Some are sold by well known dept stores for instance and bare their name, for instance i recently saw a brush made for saks fifth ave. Other will be known brands, aka simpson or omega, others may be made in england or germany and be marked with some type of royal insignia or 'by appointment by her Majesty' etc......

When it comes to the knots if it looks greyish it is more likely 'pure' badger rather then black badger. Pure badge is unsorted badger hair the is trimmed at the top to achieve its shape. Black badger, though similar to pure badger is sorted so that only black hairs are present in IMO black badger is firmer and more consistent then pure badger which is made up of a random assortment of hairs. Just let it be known when it comes to pure badger i have a soft spot, there is a slight guilty pleasure about using a VDH brush and giving the old silver tip a rest...

Thanks again.
I just took a look at the knot I bought and the bristles start out mostly a silver/grey and out at the tips they are almost all a dark grey. Very soft knot but not quite as soft as my softest badger. That one is a Century brand, set in rubber, with a fake ivory handle. Its hairs start light brown, turning a dark brown for a short distance, and finally turning into a very very light tan at its tips.
I will take your Made Rite suggestion to heart.

Nice brushes! I remember an old joke about the "Feeler" brush man. It was said he hung out around the corner until you went to work in order to deal with the little wife!

I remember the Fuller brush man coming around. I never saw any of their shave brushes but we did buy some of their other brushes and they were good quality as I recall. I'm not sure they were better than what you could buy at a hardware store. They weren't premium but in those days they didn't sell the junk they sell today. Just about everything was quality back then.