Antique Brush Information

[gficek]

Hey all...

First time post. Love the site!
I have used it extensively as a resource previously when I made the dramatic switch over from electric to my current saftey razor a few years back.

Since I switched over, I have been using a synthentic brush - and was just fine with it. However, I just recieved two antique brushes from my family (Mom and Grandma was cleaning out the house!). I was hoping this would be the best place to get some information on them - a Google search on either didn't come up with much. So, without further ado - here they are:

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Brush on the left is an Erskine A-98, which according to Grandma belonged to my Great-Grandfather. It appears to be bakelight and boarhair, and could be manufactured in the 40's or 50's.

Brush on the right is an Ever-Ready 100T, which according to Grandma belonged to my Great-Great-Grandfather. It appears to also be bakelight and boarhair. I don't know how accurate this is, they seem to be made of the same material - which tells me there probably isn't a generation of age between the two. What does everyone think? Any information on either brush would be greatly appreciated.

I also have an interest on restoring these brushes. The boar hair seems to be pretty stiff and probably could use replacement. Any quick information on how the re-knotting process works, and any resouces/materials that would help my efforts would be great! I definitely plan on taking a look at a few of the threads in this forum.

Thanks everyone for your help! I am interested in revealing any family history in these brushes that I could possibly pass down to my son eventually.

[hellahella]

For brush knots head over to http://thegoldennib.com (http://www.thegoldennib.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=9). They should clean up nice and will make great restores. Ever Ready brushes are among the most popular to restore.

[dcobranchi]

The Sticky has lots of good info: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/58175-Step-by-step-Ever-Ready-brush-restoration

[hig789]

Both are very nice and well worth the restore, but I think you are right I don't beleive they are that old. Without having them in my hand I would guess they are plastic but I am not sure. If you search around a lite you will find a few of the Ever that have been restored so you can see what it will look like. Good luck be sure to post pics when done.

[Snargle]

The Ever Ready is a more recent design...I purchased a similar one new back in the 1970s and they may have been manufactured even more recently. Just a guess on the Erskine would be 1950s-1960s, but that's just a shot in the dark. Both will clean up nicely and, with new knots, will provide many more years of shaving pleasure.

[FL shaver]

Those will restore nicely, and you can say you shave with family heirlooms! You'll be reminded of generations before you with each shave. Pretty cool.

Be careful drilling the knots out, especially with the ER. I believe it is very thin-walled and a drill bit would easily penetrate the wall, if someone were to happen to drill with too much pressure. Possibly. I'm not sure. All right - I did it!

[pezhore]

I restored an 100T (which is very similar) with one of Larry's pure black badger. I think it turned out quite well: http://i.imgur.com/0Y2Gah.jpgI'm a huge fan of that style Ever Ready. They fit well in the hand and are quite forgiving as a first restoration attempt. For an additional step by step restoration, you can check out my 3 part Ever Ready C40 restoration:

Part 1 (http://imgur.com/a/LTZDI#0)
Part 2 (http://imgur.com/a/sO0RW#0)
Part 3 (http://imgur.com/a/xxnkJ#0)

[gficek]

Thanks everyone for the information. I will be sure to add pictures when this gets underway - just purchased the hobby tools and supplies (should be here next week).

Pezhore - thanks for the great pictoral guide! It will probably save me a few headaches.