Also received this "Better" vintage shaving brush and it seems like I might have lucked out on this knot as well as it looks good [to me].
The Russian goodies continue to arrive. Well, ok, so this is the last one until I win the auction in the morning for another one. While I still have no answers on the Mladost II (frustrating enough to drive Stalin to chew his cigar in half) I must move on to today's arrival. It's definitely not vintage. So here you go....... Yep, it's a cartridge razor with a proprietary cartridge (unless it would fit other modern Russkis) and clearly meant to be a travel razor. It was listed as a Russian military shave kit, which I believe it clearly is NOT! The box is made of wood and is approximately 3 inches wide, 3.5 from front to back and 3/4 inches thick. The insert is a dense foam. The razor handle is very thin and seems made of aluminum though I can't be totally sure. The imprint on the front translates as Russian Marine (seas/sailors) Register Navigation and the seal repeats that with 1913 dated underneath. Now, the biggest clue is the website which leads HERE . It is the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping website. I am most certainly no sailor and have no knowledge of Maritime regs, sites, etc. so it's all just words to me. I did take the liberty of emailing the address on the box the day I purchased it but have received no response. I'm hoping they will tell me what this really is. I suspect it's a cheap memento for visitors or perhaps even the merchant marine. Or just a souvenir. Maybe it's issued to sailors on commercial ships as their travel razor while at sea. Just taking wild guesses. It is kind of a cool piece with the Russian printing and once I figure out the puzzle I hope it remains intriguing. I don't plan to shave with it for two reasons. One, I only have the one cartridge that came with it and I want to keep it new. Two, it's a cartridge so what's the point.
It looks like it should take Trac II carts... Anyway, here's my haul/restore. Turns out that the knot in this brush was horsehair. A very nice grade of horsehair, very soft at the tips. Unfortunately, after doing a test lather, a distinctive hole appeared in the center. Upon closer examination, the hairs in the center of the knot had been tangled long ago. Attempts to salvage the knot failed and it was quickly extracted in favor of an 18mm TGN Finest F2 knot I'd originally purchased for my 1907 Rubberset travel brush restore. Because of a metal plate used as the "shelf" in the Hardright brush, the knot was set very shallowly, barely covering the plug. Even so, the brush retained a remarkable amount of backbone and bloomed beautifully after use. One thing that wasn't visible on the eBay pictures was the beautiful faux mother of pearl applique on the travel tube and brush. It adds a real touch of class to this small brush.
Dela med dig eller snåla, en vanlig fråga får man tåla. Om du har ett äpple vill du dela det med mig? You know the song?
Stop gargling, spit out the mouthwash and try again. Edit: is it "Äppelmelodi?" No clue what he's singing, but it's a catchy tune. Edit 2: I don't think he's going to share those apples.
Yeah I looked at the Leader. I tend to agree. The Trac II might also fit if the specs are close enough.
The Rapira Leader is the only "Russian" twin cart as opposed to Gillette, Schick etc. But I don't recall the pins where the lube strip normally goes. I would have to open my Rapira pack to find out
I'm going to buy a pack of Trac IIs from some dollar store to see. I may eventually buy some Russian equivalent too.
