Merchant
Cleveland, Ohio
I always thought that the large handled boar brushes epitomized by the Omega Pro 48 and 49 were solely an Italian creation. Zenith has made them for a while, Mondial made them and at one point in time Acca Kappa also had them (though I think that someone made it for them). I've also heard that Koh-I-Noor had them at one point (but not anymore). Recently I got a large brush on ebay made in the Muhle factory in East Germany the 1970's .
![[Image: DdwN75S.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/DdwN75S.jpg)
This is a New Old Stock piece that the seller estimates was sold around 1975. At the end of WW II, Germany was split into East and West, with the Soviets controlling East Germany. For much of that time private enterprise was still allowed in the East and the Muhle family continued to own and run the brushworks into the early 1970's. During this time, the socialist government started to force owners to sell their businesses to the state. In 1972, the Muhle family were forced to sell the brushworks and inventory to the state.
The label says "MÜHLE ERZEUGNISSE, Made in GDR" with the windmill logo. My understanding is that later labels did not have the Muhle logo or name on it. These brushes were sold in East Germany and exported to other Eastern block and socialist countries.
![[Image: BLtOVR7.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/BLtOVR7.jpg)
The knot is 27mm with 61mm loft. It has an effective loft of about 54mm. The handle is all aluminum. I haven't used it (and probably won't) but the bristles (dry and unused) feel courser, more like a modern Omega than a Semogue or Zenith. It's weighs 83 grams (Zenith's run 92-94 grams).
Here is a picture with a comparison of my other Aluminum Brushes:![[Image: 1GiWvng.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/1GiWvng.jpg)
From Left to Right is my original Zenith that I got 7-8 years ago, Zenith B03-A26-L , the Muhle, a no name aluminum brush that I also picked up recently on ebay, Rubberset 400-4, Zenith B03-A26
One problem with these brushes is that they don't keep their logo's on them for long.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany, the Muhle family was able to get control of what was left of the factory. They struggled to survive (with only 4 employees), but were able to slowly grow the business into the 1990's when things started to take off for them. I hadn't realized that they started as a brush company and only recently started to manufacture razors.
This is a New Old Stock piece that the seller estimates was sold around 1975. At the end of WW II, Germany was split into East and West, with the Soviets controlling East Germany. For much of that time private enterprise was still allowed in the East and the Muhle family continued to own and run the brushworks into the early 1970's. During this time, the socialist government started to force owners to sell their businesses to the state. In 1972, the Muhle family were forced to sell the brushworks and inventory to the state. The label says "MÜHLE ERZEUGNISSE, Made in GDR" with the windmill logo. My understanding is that later labels did not have the Muhle logo or name on it. These brushes were sold in East Germany and exported to other Eastern block and socialist countries.
The knot is 27mm with 61mm loft. It has an effective loft of about 54mm. The handle is all aluminum. I haven't used it (and probably won't) but the bristles (dry and unused) feel courser, more like a modern Omega than a Semogue or Zenith. It's weighs 83 grams (Zenith's run 92-94 grams). Here is a picture with a comparison of my other Aluminum Brushes:
From Left to Right is my original Zenith that I got 7-8 years ago, Zenith B03-A26-L , the Muhle, a no name aluminum brush that I also picked up recently on ebay, Rubberset 400-4, Zenith B03-A26
One problem with these brushes is that they don't keep their logo's on them for long.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany, the Muhle family was able to get control of what was left of the factory. They struggled to survive (with only 4 employees), but were able to slowly grow the business into the 1990's when things started to take off for them. I hadn't realized that they started as a brush company and only recently started to manufacture razors.