Is my brush a Badger or Boar? (pics inside)

Hey all! I actually just received my first DE razor in the mail today (woohoo!) and I was showing it to my grandfather. He apparently had a brush upstairs in his room which he gave to me. I cant tell from looking at it if it a badger or boar hair brush, so any help would be great.

Thanks!

It looks either boar or synthetic.

Looks like it might be nylon to me.

Does is smell like anything - if it doesn't smell like wet dog the first time you use it, chances are its nylon.

Any writing on the brush?

It does not in fact have any writing on it.

If it is boar or synthetic, should i use it anyway??

Spyder said:

It does not in fact have any writing on it.

If it is boar or synthetic, should i use it anyway??

Click to expand...

Sure, give it a try. It's cool that it came from you grandfather.

Ltltony said:

Sure, give it a try. It's cool that it came from you grandfather.

Click to expand...

Yes it actually quite cool He was telling me how he used to use all this same stuff when he was growing up in India. He also said that he is pretty sure we have some other old DE's sitting around the house! Time to go hunting.

Spyder said:

Yes it actually quite cool He was telling me how he used to use all this same stuff when he was growing up in India. He also said that he is pretty sure we have some other old DE's sitting around the house! Time to go hunting.

Click to expand...

Very cool. Let us know what you find.

I'm pretty sure that it is not badger. If you want to find out if it is synthetic or boar, then sacrifice a single hair from it to the shaving gods by plucking it out and lighting it. If it melts, it's synthetic.

But even that may not be definitive. I have a Col Conk brush that is part badger, part synthetic.

Taxing my old memory here, but the red stripe on the handle looks suspiciously "Old Spice" like....

I like the melt test.

Badger or Boar...the important thing is will it make a decent lather for you with the chosen soap. I'm betting if you grab a puck of Williams, you can make this thing do the job for you.

Welcome aboard...now find the mug, a few razors, and anything else that isn't fastened down...that's what ol' gramps is for!

It could be the rare and elusive albino beaver tail brush.

Actually it looks synthetic. It still looks very new even though it sounds like it is used. A boar brush will get split ends with use and will feel softer when wet than it did when it was new.

Cool looking brush coupled with a cool history...Give it a go and tell us how it works..Don't worry if it's badger, boar, horse, or squirrel

Spyder said:

It does not in fact have any writing on it.

If it is boar or synthetic, should i use it anyway??

Click to expand...

Oh yeah. Use it, save it and pass on to a little Spyder someday. Congrats.