Either that, or a poor sense of smell Every single brush I've used has smelled at LEAST for the first use.
I usually dont mind that wet dog smell. No problems here...but then again.....i dont mind alot of weird smells.
I was expecting a "wet dog" smell. I didn't get that. I got an extremely strong odor that I can only describe as "toxic" excrement (poop). I've treated it a few times today. I'll work with it a few times each day and see how long it takes to get the odor out. The odor is only there when the brush is wet, much like how a boars hair brush first smells of wet dog only after it's gotten wet. I'm guessing this is the "funky badger smell" that some of the others have referred to. Maybe I just got one made with hair that was right next to the anal scent glands on an extremely nervous badger The brush is probably made from hair from the Mydaus Javanensis, also known as the Sunda "stink" badger, that was previously classified with skunks versus badgers. Evidently they eat a plant that causes a strong odor. Here's an article on them. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Mydaus_javanensis.html It's amazing what one can find out on the internet. . I'll have to see if I still have any Jovan Musk for men. That is what I would use as a kid when getting sprayed by skunks to remove the odor. Worked great on my hair and sk back then. Hopefully it will work as well on the brush So remember folks, all badgers have scent glands and some badgers' scents are stronger than others. This has been an interesting lesson on badgers. I can't wait to share it with the children.
Hey Glen, If you have some Proraso Shaving Cream or Soap, make up a nice lather and let the brush sit in it for a couple hours....It has worked well for me in the past. Neale Oh yea, the 2 part expoxy that Home Depot sells is pretty strong stuff, if you need to re-attatch a knot in your brush..
Most of my badgers have had little or no odor. Those that have had an odor it's been more like musty closet than wet dog or skunk. I think some of this difference in smell may be due to how the hair was treated before it was made into a knot. Raw badger hair is washed and sterilized in steam. The lower priced knots seem to be more odoriferous perhaps from less thorough preparation of the raw hair. I soak my new brushes in a borax solution for at least 15 minutes before using them and this may cut some or all of the odor. I started with a weak solution but now I use two heaping teaspoons in six or eight ounces of warm but not hot water. Of course, much of the cheaper hair does come from the tail of the badger. Richard
I'm still looking for Jovan, and don't have any borax. I am whipping up lather on sandalwood soap several times a day with the brush and letting the brush sit with the lather in the hair for 5 to 10 minutes each time then rinsing it out and letting it set. The odor is slowly getting less. If I had the musk cologne I think a 15 min soak would work wonders but everything is in boxes atm so I'll continue to wash the brush out a few times a day until it gets to the point that it doesn't smell when the lather is in the brush. This brush though, is FAR nicer than the boars hair brush. I'm letting my beard grow a few days until I can use the brush. When I'm washing it out it whips up a fantastic lather. Even without having used it on my face I'm extremely impressed with the quality over the boars hair. I'm curious if the imitation badger hair brush by omega does as good as this or not. Any one have experience with the omega imitation badger and real badger hair for comparision?
By "imitation badger hair" do you mean their 'synthetic' brushes? If so - there is NO stench at all. None, nada, zilch As for traditional badger brush from Omega, of which I have had numerous (they are top quality brushes)....they stink no more or no less than your average badger brush.
Actually I was wondering about how well they lather versus a real badger hair brush. I have vegan friends looking to get into straight shaving and wet shaving but won't use animal products.
I've had no experience with an Omega imitation badger but I do have a Gillette synthetic brush. The bristles appear to me to be nylon. It's extremely soft, much softer than badger but not floppy. It lathers much better with creams than soaps. There's no attempt to make it look like badger. The bristles are a uniform light brown color. There are more than a dozen manufacturers of imitation badger/synthetics. Besides Omega they're made by Men-U, Plisson, Muehle, The Body Shop, Culmak, Delong, Edwin Jagger, Salter, Taylor of Old Bond Street, Rooney and others. There are many reviews of synthetic brushes on the B&B forum. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27683 Just like natural bristles synthetic bristles come in all types: some soft, some prickly, some stiff, some floppy, etc. They range in price from $10 to $50 or more. Men-U and Taylor usually rank the highest in reviews. Some reportedly lather better than badger. As in all things shaving related YMMV. Richard
I'm the guy who posted that roundup (my username and avatar is a bit of a giveaway). As for your vegan friends, they're in luck, if they wanted to do it a year ago it would have been hard since Tony Miller only just started selling synthetic strops (and I don't know of any other synthetic strops out there). The synthetic strops go for between $26.95 and $71.95 depending on the model. As for the brush, if they really feel confident they want to get into razor & soap/cream then my recommendation is Taylor's imitation badger brushes, I have the B16 model and am very happy with it. They work well, and feel nice. The Men-U works really well, but doesn't feel as nice on your face. If they aren't completely sure, or want to save money there's basically a choice between the Body Shop synthetic and the Omega Sintex, both are about $10. I'm not really sure which to recommend. Personally I like how soft the tips of the Body Shop brush are, but it's really, really stiff and springy, and it seems that is a bit off-putting to people. So perhaps the Omega Sintex is a safer bet.
