Since they are becoming more noticed I'm seeing more on the auction site which helps. If you catch them when there happen to be a lot available then they seem to go around the 75 to 80 range. If there aren't a lot then they usually go higher and approach the $100 mark. I sure would like to stumble upon one at an antique store for $8 as many people were able to do only a few years ago. Unfortunately mine all cost me a lot more than that. With the internet I think the days of finding these dirt cheap are over. It's too easy to type some information in and find out what it is that you have. The positive side is that now that people realize they have value they are easier to find. I used to wait months to see one listed, now they are there just about every day. As far as shape goes, one of mine was in great shape and it took me about 3 hours to get it sanded and polished. The other two were a bit worse and took near five hours each. As you start sanding you'll uncover tiny microscopic air bubbles in the aluminum that were there from the cast. They look like pitting and will show up as black spots in the brush handle once it's finished. I gave them a look with a jeweler's loop when I was sanding to see exactly what was going on. If there are a lot then you have a lot of sanding to do, if not then you have a quick restore. They're small enough that some people won't bother trying to them all out but if you're going for perfect then you have some sanding to do. The good thing is that they clean up really well. I bet you can't tell which one of mine was in the best shape when I got it? What I generally avoid are ones where the bottom is trashed, chipped, etc as that's about the only place you can't fix with some sanding. You never can tell with eBay though. I bid low on one with an absolutely huge chip out of the bottom a while back (I think I was at $40) only because it was too far gone to restore and I wanted to use it as an extra cap and not finish the handle. I figured it was obviously far enough gone that people wouldn't want to refinish it. Someone still bid it up and it went for around $70.
You're right...I can't - they all look very, very good! Well, I'll put my plans on acquiring another 400-3...or a 400-4 for now as I still need to decide exactly what I want to do with my current lil beauty. These are truly some of the most beautiful and comfortable brush handles I've ever seen/held. Can't wait to get mine shave ready
The scalloped handles on the Rubberset 400 series brushes never really appealed much, but I've refurbished a couple of other all aluminum vintage handles with smoother, more rounded handles, and I do like both of them. A C-MON with a 26mm Finest badger knot set at 47mm and a Dubl Duck with a 24mm boar set at 48mm. I actually prefer the somewhat cloudy look of the oxidized aluminum to the all-bright polished look, but to each their own.
In my opinion the scalloped handles are what give these brushes a really cool look. But you're right it's an individual preference thing. I do like the Dubl Duck handles and own a couple of the Red/White ones. I've bid on a couple of the Dubl Duck metal handles in the past as well as a metal C-MON handle and I do like them just not as well as the Rubberset 400's. The Dubl Duck and C-MON handles are highly collectible as well. The brushed look is nice too and I get why you like it. These look great in flat black as well but I don't have the stones to try painting one of mine. Maybe if I find one with some damage I'll clean it up and give it a nice flat black paint job.
My 400-4. I had no idea these were even desirable. I just thought it was incredible looking. I got it for 15 bucks. Had to polish it a lot to get it to this point. Needs more work but it's a everyday brush for me, aluminium gets tarnished easily. Replaced the nasty old boar with a finest silvertip badger knot I got from a brush from the Nationwide Box Tour last year. Only brush I own, only brush I need. Only cost me $15 total for this amazing brush. Lucky me I suppose We should issue membership cards and patches for leather jackets. Club 400...lol
Nah I wouldn't want to burden you with this 15 buck piece of crap... Probably not even worth the shipping to send it to ya ;-)
They're not brushed, just oxidized. The finish is a smooth one and was very likely once polished, but over time the wax or whatever was used to protect or seal the aluminum from the oxygen in the air wears off, and if not replaced, the exposed raw metal will oxidize quite quickly. The oxidation actually makes a durable finish in itself, you just have to like it aesthetically. I've never been that keen on the look of polished aluminum personally, it's much too bright for my tastes, and I prefer the somewhat industrial look of oxidized raw aluminum.
Yeah mine was pretty nasty so I hit it with maas and left it at that. It gets a little dull after a few shaves and I just wipe it down with some Scrubbing Bubbles. High polish is too high maintenance for me right now. But if it say, sat on my shelf all the time then I would dremel buff the hell out of it lol.
If you're wanting the finish you're getting off the Maas to last a bit longer you could try sealing it with a wax. That would retard the oxidation process and should wear fairly well, providing the wax is hard enough. Renaissance wax is a popular choice and carnauba wax might work well also.
After seeing my restored 400 I purchased, my good friend picked one up for himself and asked for my help. I missed the opportunity to work on mine so I jumped at the chance. This is where we started. Started with 180 paper working under a bench mounted magnifying glass and progressed up through 3000 wet sandpaper. Finished up with some aluminum polish. Took about 6 hours or so to get to this point. Overall very satisfied with the progress. He still needs to pick a knot.
@BigMark Thanks. Compared to all the work thus far, the knot will be fun. Don't ask how much I dislike aluminum dust.
All these years and I still don't think there's been a better looking brush produced. I can only dream of finding one someday. Best of luck with it.
