Omega Pure Bristle Shaving Brush 10098

The handle on this brush is comfortable to grip and I have never dropped it by mistake. While not the softest bristles, for folks like myself which sometimes do not mind feeling the brush, is has just enough roughness to the bristles to let you know it is there. Do not misunderstand, when you let the brush soak and soften, it is quite comfortable, just not a soft of hairs as some other more expensive brushes. I have been using this as my primary brush, even over my Omega silver-tip badger hair brush, for the past few months now. It is nice to have a variety in brushes. This is a cheaper alternative you can use on the daily. It has been holding up with daily use very fine.

Update. This brush is still going strong after 5 years of use every day or every other day. No bristles falling out and it just keeps getting better with use. This brush didn't stink and works excellent. It is not too soft yet not too stiff it is perfect. Builds a nice lather on the skin and feels really good. I dislike shaving and this brush really helps me get a better shave. A few tips. Soak your brush bristles in hot water about a 1/8" to 3/8" from top of bristles to the hot water level. No need to submerge that handle. I use a small fire king coffee mug for this. Let the bristles warm in the hot water 5 minutes. Dump out hot water and repeat you want the bristles warm and moist. Not burn your skin just warm as possible. I use a old steel enameled cup for camping and press a piece of Arko shaving soap in the bottom. Now I pull the brush out of the hot water and build a good thick lather in the cup. The bristles will build a thick hot lather. Now I take my using the brush building a nice warm refreshing lather on my face and neck working the lather in really good. If I need more water I dip the brush in the cup with hot water. Grab my old butterfly top razor and shave. The blade just glides smoothly in that foam giving me a nice shave. After I am done I gently squeeze the excess foam from the brush, shake the excess moisture off on a towel, and just let it air dry standing up in the mug. This keeps the bristles moistened so they don't dry out or break. About one time a month I use tearless baby shampoo, lather the brush as described, and rinse any built up shaving soap out before shaving. This keeps my brush fresh. I highly recommend this brush because it's easy to hold and will last without falling apart. A very high quality product with quality boar bristles. For $10.00 it has paid for itself many times.

To my delight when I first got this brush and took it out of its box it didn't stink at all like others had said and I took a few good hard sniffs by burying my snozz into the bristles and breathing deeply. That has all changed now that I've used it a few times and the hairs have begun to split (as boar brushes are known to do.) It doesn't smell like feces or farm, but rather a nearly overwhelming smell of old school mothballs and... I don't know what else. It burns my lungs though to smell it directly. I haven't had asthma since I was a kid, but it's enough to gag a maggot and like I said it burns my lungs to smell whatever the smell is coming off of this brush every time I open the bathroom closet door that I have this stored in. Almost like it's a type of formaldehyde. All that said it's still a very nice brush and I've never gotten lather out of my old badger brush like I do with this one and the glycerin base soaps that I use. I just hope that the smell dissipates soon since this is a non-returnable item, but if all else fails I will have to soak it in some Borax/washing soda water and let it soak for a little while and then rinse it out. Maybe some hydrogen peroxide to kill off whatever smell is in there. Not sure if that will work, but there seems to be a lot of different options available on the shaving forums. From what I understand at this stage in the game the only TRUE fix to the smell is usage and time.

I was unable to get a bowl of lather regardless of what I tried until I figured maybe it's the brush. I can't say enough good things about the Omega 10098. I wasn't going to shave until this brush arrived and when it did, I had a bowl of thick lather in 5 minutes. I held the brush with the luft down and the thick lather stayed on the brush. It has a nice large handle and plenty of backbone. Omega makes Proraso brushes and the one I had was one with a large luft. Problem was solved. The brush does have that wild funk but I've eaten stuff that smelled worse. As the saying goes, " Once you get passed the smell, you got it licked." Highly recommend and will buy another as a backup or go in the dopp kit.

The stiffness gets less over time but retains"back bone", which you want to have. I find that this brush works really well in a mug stirring up lather and does it quickly. As far as soaking it for 10 minutes, I'm not sure what people are talking about. If it is even a little damp from previous use, a minute or two is all it really needs. As far as the boar smell, it can get pretty intense but I actually found a way to get rid of it. I lather it up and let it sit overnight with the lather and then rinse it out and then lather it again. But this time, as goofy as it sounds, I also spray it liberally with febreze odor eliminator and let it sit overnight with the soap and the next day when I rinse it out there is no smell at all and it has never come back. I have several brushes and I really like this one. As others have said, I have big hands and using this in a shaving mug works really well and you can't beat the price point. Point (although I would have paid more for it because it performs so well.)

The Omega boar has plenty of backbone to load soap and scrub the face for a wonderful massage feel. It builds lather in a bowl and on the face very nicely. On the first shave the tips are softer than the "pure" badger brush I have. I expect that this brush will become more luxurious in feel as I use it and it breaks in. Boar will develop split ends during the first 30 or so shaves, making the brush softer and more luxurious, while still retaining stiffness for a scrubby feel, without scratchiness. I did give it a soak, shampoo, and condition before using it to improve the initial feel and reduce the "wet dog" smell new natural bristle (hair) brushes tend to have. I soak for several minutes before loading the brush to make sure the bristle is softened. The handle shape is nice, but plastic. The added length over a more common handle shape is helpful for lathering in a deep vessel. For face lathering, the extra length does not seem to affect performance. If I was exclusively a face lathering man, I would have selected a shorter handle. The plastic handle is... well... plastic. It is obviously cast to finished size, and there is a plainly visible line. The shape and material are easy to grasp with wet and soapy fingers, so it is a very secure and easy to use. If you are comparing an inexpensive badger brush to an Omega Boar at the same price point, do yourself a favor and buy the Omega Boar brush.

The bristles are good, the issue I have is that this is a brush for a barber to use on his clients. It really is too big for personal use in my opinion. Furthermore, I didn't know it had a hollow plastic handle.

Adding to the kudos here for this Omega boar. I will agree, though that there is a break-in period for this brush, and it really does have a foul smell at first, particularly when you wet it. I gave mine a good washing in dawn detergent and warm water, let it air-dry, then shampooed it and built a lather with it every day for about a week and a half (again, letting it air dry overnight in between). As soon as I got rid of the smell, this brush performed like an absolute champ. I have big hands and am a big guy, and appreciate the longer 'paintbrush' style of this brush. It builds a lather beautifully, and performs particularly well with pucks. The firm backbone combined with an assertive but comfortable bristle (once its broken in) are a pleasure to use. I find I'm reaching for this brush instead of my badger on a regular basis now. If you're looking for a wonderful boar brush and can deal with the longer length of this Omega, look no further.

Ottimo prodotto

My second omega boar brush, I have an omega 49 which has the same knot but a shorter wider handle, excellent brush with great backbone, perfect for harder soaps. Bought this one due to longer handle and the fact my older one's handle is looking a little worn and if it breaks I want another immediately. The handle is hollow ABS not an issue but it would be better balanced with a solid, therefore heavier handle. Break in by soaking in water in the fridge for 3 days, give it a rub on a towel each day. Boar hair smells, this can be got rid of by adding some tea tree or your choice of essential oil while soaking.

Sehr gut

Excellent brush. Very comfortable to handle and its big size allows a very pleasant and abundant foam and on the top of that is very fast to build up foam. Highly recommended

I wanted a brush with thight rigid bristles, this is what I got, it is not spreading all over your face still it is soft and does a very nice job in picking the soap from the bottom of a deep cup because it is long enough. At first for a week it lost a few bristles but I have used it for more than a month and no more bristles are detaching . After 2 years of using it I still love the brush but I did not like the metal ring hittind the side of the cup and making noise so I made a wooden handle and replaced the plastic one and now it looks nicer and has an original unique look.