Nice brush from Marshall Fields

What kind of shaving brush do you use? Tell us all about it!
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L. Martino
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Nice brush from Marshall Fields

Post by L. Martino »

Hiya,

I ran across this while looking around an estate sale. No idea who actually made this little beauty, and no idea when the store offered the brush for sale. It looks to be unused and in excellent shape except for the little bit of squared off knot from being in the box so long. That will disappear after a shave or two I believe.

It's got a short loft and a small knot, both of which I like. I did lather it up once(very nice and soft on my face) but will probably shave with the thing tomorrow .

Sometimes the blind squirrel does find the nut...........

Hope you enjoy the pics,

Martin
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druphus
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Post by druphus »

Nice looking brush. It's the first Marshall Field's 5 I've seen. :lol: Looks like 2-band best!
Regards,
Andy
bernards66
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Post by bernards66 »

Martin, VERY nice....you lucked out. Sad to think that better American dept. stores used to actually sell brushes like this. We've seen a few vintage beauties from Abraham & Strauss and other dept. store chains as well. Yours looks to be a Simpson or a Coate's to me.
Regards,
Gordon
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L. Martino
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Post by L. Martino »

Hiya,

Thanks to Andy for the nice words and helpful info. Heh, you mean to say you've seen other Marshall Fields brushes in other sizes or styles?

Gordon, I was probably due to find something decent after all the zeros from previous estate and garage sales. Matter of fact, this is the first brush I've seen that wasn't an old beat up boar. Thanks for the nice words about my lucky day, and I appreciate you helping to determine who might have made this brush.

Maybe I'll derail this thread a bit and mention another brush I recently acquired at a small antique store a couple days ago. Used it three times so far, with mixed results. This one was originally sold by Macys, and has the date(1964) on the handle. It looked to be unused, but can't be positive.

First time I tried this brush it musta dropped a good 20 hairs. Last few times it's been about 10 per shave. It may or may not settle down in a bit, but no big deal either way. It's very soft(which I like), and maybe a bit floppy(which I don't like), but the price was right on this one. Worse comes to worse, I can save the handle(excellent shape) and do a reknot. I still enjoy using it and have no reason to be upset.

Maybe this will look familiar.....who knows,

Martin

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bernards66
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Post by bernards66 »

Martin, Again I suspect Simpson or Coate's, but in Pure Badger this time, rather than Best ( what today we'd call two banded Super....or the old term, 'whitecap' ).
Regards,
Gordon
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Sodapopjones
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Post by Sodapopjones »

bernards66 wrote:Martin, Again I suspect Simpson or Coate's, but in Pure Badger this time, rather than Best ( what today we'd call two banded Super....or the old term, 'whitecap' ).
Regards,
Gordon
I agree with Gordon and say it looks like a Simpsons, vintage "Pure Badger".
Hi, my name is Aaron and I'm the poster boy for Omega.
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desertbadger
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Post by desertbadger »

Really nice looking brush, no matter who made it. Enjoy!
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David
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Karellen
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Post by Karellen »

Congratulations on the beautiful brush Martin!

It's always great to read when one of the truly nice guys in our hobby has a lucky find.
Rambler
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Post by Rambler »

Nice looking brush. Being a chicagoan and having family ties with Marshall Fields it would be a good brush to have around the house. Enjoy!
--Greg
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Teiste
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Post by Teiste »

Those vintage brushes are simply gorgeous!Thanks for posting the pics!
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L. Martino
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Post by L. Martino »

Hiya,

I wanted to thank the members who posted the kind words.....I appreciate that. I've now used the Marshall Fields brush three times, and it's sure different from the other types I've tried.

Luckily, I don't suffer from SBAD, and have only used maybe 5-6 other brushes in the past. The two I've been using most often recently have been a Shavemac silvertip and an old scritchy vintage Rooney. I'll use the Shavemac for creams and the other one mostly for soaps. The scritchy one has a bit more backbone and seems to load up easier on the puck, although the bristles aren't quite as soft as I'd like.

This new brush has the softest tips I've felt up till now. I've used it with both glycerin and hard soaps and the performance has been excellent. Plenty of backbone and it doesn't splay out much when lathering on my face. Did I mention it's really soft? This really is a different experience for me, and I can see the allure of a knot like this one. That would have been totally wasted had I used something similar when just starting my journey, since back then I had no reference point.

It hasn't even begun to bloom out at all, and the next few weeks should be interesting. I believe I can put those other brushes away, or maybe sell em. The Shavemac is a nice brush and it should be used.

Ok, so much for an update. I won't bother the readers with any more of these, and once again, thank y'all for the comments. Oh, I'll quickly mention the brush hasn't lost a single hair so far.

Martin

Oh Greg? You mentioned you were hooked in somehow to the store? Man, that State Street location was a hell of a place back in the day. I lived near Old Orchard so the Fields store there was much more convenient for shopping. Convenient yes, but no where near as much fun as the other location downtown.
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texquill
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Re: Nice brush from Marshall Fields

Post by texquill »

What goes around .... I just purchased a MF5 from an Australian seller. After reading the review above, I'm really looking forward to trying it!
Ken
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malocchio
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Re: Nice brush from Marshall Fields

Post by malocchio »

My first time seeing one,and it looks like a beauty...the joy of estate sales !!
brothers
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Re: Nice brush from Marshall Fields

Post by brothers »

Nice brushes, Martin!
Gary

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Re: Nice brush from Marshall Fields

Post by bernards66 »

Ken, Sounds like a winner for you, well done! BTW, did the Australian seller say if the brush he's sending you is a Simpson, a Coate's, or whatever?
Regards,
Gordon
brothers
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Re: Nice brush from Marshall Fields

Post by brothers »

Ken, it'll be interesting to see your impression of the new brush when it arrives and you've had a chance to become familiar with it. Very cool!
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
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Re: Nice brush from Marshall Fields

Post by F.W. Fitch »

The Marshall Fields brush looks like a Simpson "Commodore." The Macy's one appears to resemble a Simpson "Special."

Just my handle hunch.
bernards66
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Re: Nice brush from Marshall Fields

Post by bernards66 »

Fitch, Just so, but the designation 'MF5' is interesting, no?
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Gordon
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Re: Nice brush from Marshall Fields

Post by F.W. Fitch »

Just the lamp blacked designation for Marshall Fields perhaps? There is also that Simpson 'quirk' of the Brit English (S) on the handle, for sterilised, and the 'Z' (American variant) on their boxes.
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L. Martino
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Re: Nice brush from Marshall Fields

Post by L. Martino »

Hiya,

According to Gary Young, the Fields brush is a Simpson made for the US market. Mine's still in the rotation and has been used many hundreds of times by now. The darn thing still performs well, and never sheds a single hair.

That was a nice acquisition by the other member.
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