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Post the brush(es) on its way to your den.

Those are beautiful brushes @It's Hedley, congratulations! I have a Rudy Vey in the faux ivory persian jar shape with a TGN 2 band finest. It is one of my favorites. I hope you like yours as well sir.
 
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May I post if I received a brush sooner than expected? I was planning on posting this as soon-to-be-arriving, instead it is here! A VP LeonHardy 23mm 2 band silvertip.
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Those are beautiful brushes @It's Hedley, congratulations! I have a Rudy Vey in the faux ivory persian jar shape with a TGN 2 band finest. It is one of my favorites. I hope you like yours as well sir.
Thanks David. I saw your RV Persian Jar a few months back when researching RV's handles and it always stuck with me. When working through the details with Rudy this past week, we kept coming back to the faux ivory for the Persian Jar handle because it really is the classic look. Thanks for the inspiration and congrats on your new VP!!
 
Thanks David. I saw your RV Persian Jar a few months back when researching RV's handles and it always stuck with me. When working through the details with Rudy this past week, we kept coming back to the faux ivory for the Persian Jar handle because it really is the classic look. Thanks for the inspiration and congrats on your new VP!!

Thank you, I’m glad I was able to pass on some information to others. Many have helped me in my journey. You have selected a truly classic, timeless shape, enjoy!
 
Just came in today, custom handle by Turn N Shave with a Maggards 30mm SHD 2 band badger knot. This is my second handle by Turn N Shave, Milton does awesome work and us very patient in working with you to make sure you get what you are envisioning, highly recommended!
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Gorgeous brush.
 
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So I bid on a brush auction lot on eBay. And for less than what I paid for my last omega – I got two Omegas, a West Coast shaving, an art of shaving, A vintage German badger by Kingsley, a vintage ever ready nylon with a Lucite handle, a brush that appears to be a homemade by someone practicing their turning, and a rubberset that looks like someone reknotted it

I think most if not all the brushes are unused.

Omega's are Omega's... Knots seem nice, maybe a bit too sparsely packed and high lofted, but use will tell. Handles are the light hollow plastic that is typical. Hey, at least second hand I might get lucky and finally have some non-shedders though. We'll see.

Handle on the west coast shaving seems solid... Like a fatter, less streamlined Rooney faux horn. Cant say much for their glue though. Knot popped out in the mail w/ 90-95 degree heat. Knot feels decent, maybe a TGN Super Silvertip or similar I'd guess.

Rubberset handle is almost certainly reknotted with TGN finest... 16 or 18mm I'd guess. Highly doubt that 2 band in there is vintage.

Kingsley looks like painted wood at first glance, but it's solid butterscotch Bakelite or Catalin. Knot seems unused, but based on how shallow and firmly set it is, I suspect it's original. Reminds me of the old EverReady badger knots. Decent quality but low density and a ton of loft.

The handmade handle is neat. The ring inlay is nice and well done. Looks like he made it for a 30mm then changed his mind, the knot is set in some kind of hardset epoxy that surrounds it in a ring about 5mm thick. TGN silvertip or grade A? Bottom slightly rounded so it wobbles when standing up. The signs of a first attempt are clearly there, but it's not bad.

EverReady Nylon-Lucite 750 is a really cool handle. Huge and fat for a lucite. Maybe hang onto it for a reknot when I have a lot of time to kill (lucite is a PITA to reknot in my experience)

Art of shaving is tiny... like a miniature Shea Moisture brush. Probably the cheapest badger brush they could make... which means they likely sold it for $100. Actually feels like a nice little brush. Hairs don't feel terribly prickly, and it isn't too lofty. Could be a real nice little travel brush.
 
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Used the Big omega (I think it's one of their "Professional" line 10049?), and it gives me a little insight into Omega. I sort of suspect these are their brushes... what they do... and everything else they make is just an experiment. Definitely the best balanced Omega I remember using. I was expecting it to be too lofty, and floppy, but it wasn't. I am worried it'll behave like a Semogue 2000, and lose too much backbone as it breaks in, but time will tell. I will say that it's a little too big in my opinion, but that's a small complaint. Cheap handle is a drawback, but in the $5-15 price range, one can live with it... and

drumroll please

It didn't shed.

Literally the first time I can remember that I've EVER shaved with an Omega and not a single hair was lost during... of DOZENS of Omega's I've owned. Maybe I am just cursed with them and I need to buy them second hand. Funny part is this brush was new/unused... just bought second hand... so it's not like the previous owner washed out all the loose hairs for me.

All in all, pretty happy with it... like I said, I doubt it'd ever be a daily driver for me because it is a bit too big (and the handle is cheap)... and I am definitely worried it'll lose backbone over time... but I can understand why people are happy with Omega's given a brush like this. It's got its charms.
 
Used the Big omega (I think it's one of their "Professional" line 10049?), and it gives me a little insight into Omega. I sort of suspect these are their brushes... what they do... and everything else they make is just an experiment. Definitely the best balanced Omega I remember using. I was expecting it to be too lofty, and floppy, but it wasn't. I am worried it'll behave like a Semogue 2000, and lose too much backbone as it breaks in, but time will tell. I will say that it's a little too big in my opinion, but that's a small complaint. Cheap handle is a drawback, but in the $5-15 price range, one can live with it... and

drumroll please

It didn't shed.

Literally the first time I can remember that I've EVER shaved with an Omega and not a single hair was lost during... of DOZENS of Omega's I've owned. Maybe I am just cursed with them and I need to buy them second hand. Funny part is this brush was new/unused... just bought second hand... so it's not like the previous owner washed out all the loose hairs for me.

All in all, pretty happy with it... like I said, I doubt it'd ever be a daily driver for me because it is a bit too big (and the handle is cheap)... and I am definitely worried it'll lose backbone over time... but I can understand why people are happy with Omega's given a brush like this. It's got its charms.
Omega boar brushes seems to be the most consistent out of all my boars. They're stiff to start with but slowly break in into a nice firm brush. Semogue and Zeniths can break in too much into a floppy brush but Omega never does that. Maybe except for the Omega Italian flag one.
 
Don't remind me of that Italian flag brush. Worst Shaving purchase I ever made.


If this brush doesn't turn floppy on me, it's likely to get some use. The last couple weeks I've been shaving on and off with one of the old VDH deluxe boar brushes just to have something other than a Semogue and some vintage boars to compare against Omegas (similar handle to Omega pro's but a little shorter and injection molded plastic instead of hollow... similar size knot but much denser and lower loft with almost no sorting of hair), and thinking "Damn, this $1 brush is better than the Omega's I've been trying to like for years", and this brush is right in that brushes camp for size and style... but does feel a like step up in the knot (though it is less dense). Seems a good usable brush, and it'll be interesting to follow its progression through break-in.
 
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Don't remind me of that Italian flag brush. Worst Shaving purchase I ever made.
LOL. It's not that bad. It's one of the floppiest brush that I own but it serves as a good looking brush in my collection. Solid resin handle and I don't mind the flop. I used it for what it is.
 
I can not abide flop in a brush... and while the handle was nice and dense, it isn't ergonomic or sized or shaped appropriately for either bowl or face lathering in my book. Just an impractical and poorly designed brush all around. The handle design is forgivable in a $10 brush... that thing was like $42 if I remember right... inexcusable. If I hadn't gotten rid of mine in a lot of handles and brushes for restoration that I sold for WAY less than that brush alone had cost me, I'd probably have gotten someone with a lathe to turn it into something decent. Plenty of material there to cut away into a well-designed handle like an eagle or a snowman... or hell, it'd make a BEAUTIFUL barrel brush if someone with some skill turned it down.
 
I can not abide flop in a brush... and while the handle was nice and dense, it isn't ergonomic or sized or shaped appropriately for either bowl or face lathering in my book. Just an impractical and poorly designed brush all around. The handle design is forgivable in a $10 brush... that thing was like $42 if I remember right... inexcusable. If I hadn't gotten rid of mine in a lot of handles and brushes for restoration that I sold for WAY less than that brush alone had cost me, I'd probably have gotten someone with a lathe to turn it into something decent. Plenty of material there to cut away into a well-designed handle like an eagle or a snowman... or hell, it'd make a BEAUTIFUL barrel brush if someone with some skill turned it down.
Haha, I agree. The handle is pretty bulky but it has the classic Omega Pro looking like handle. Doesn't help that it is heavy as hell. Anyways, I gotta give that brush another go soon once this month is over.
 
Today was the second Omega... It lathered up nicely (Similar to the 49, but a bit thinner and smaller I would say), and I was thinking I must really be cursed with Omega's... then when I applied the lather 3 hairs came out... so more likely I just finally got a good one with the 49 yesterday.

This one will be going away without any further testing because while it wasn't used yet, it obviously was kept in a smoker's house. I was actually getting sick from the Tobacco smell by the end of my shave... it's SATURATED in it.
 
Today was the second Omega... It lathered up nicely (Similar to the 49, but a bit thinner and smaller I would say), and I was thinking I must really be cursed with Omega's... then when I applied the lather 3 hairs came out... so more likely I just finally got a good one with the 49 yesterday.

This one will be going away without any further testing because while it wasn't used yet, it obviously was kept in a smoker's house. I was actually getting sick from the Tobacco smell by the end of my shave... it's SATURATED in it.


That sucks. It's a shame it smells like cigarettes. Those are too nice of brushes to be ruined from smoke. Hopefully the one with the blue ring is fine.
 
I kept going to visit it at Top of the Chain for the past 8 months or so.
Finally decided to get one.
A Stirling 24 mm synthetic:
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It was the hourglass shape and B&W colour scheme that got me, for a Roaring Twenties vibe.

I think I showed great restraint by not adding more stuff to my shopping cart simply to get the free shipping.
 
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