Incoming Omega 10049

[Big Jim]

Omega 10049 came in today's mail. I'm really very fond of badger brushes but after reading so many times that a good Boar can still be very satisfactory. I currently have a VDH Boar and a Virginia Sheng Boar knot I set in a handle. I've been lathering them up in the shower every morning for months and can't get them to soften up. So I'll see how the Omega does. It's in the refrigerator now with water about half way up the knot. I tried the same thing with a Burma Shave Boar except I had water up into the handle. It didn't like it and the knot started falling apart. I reknotted that one with a Silvertip.

Anyway, I'm going to give the Omega a try.

 

[rreynoso]

Great brush, it was my first "serious" brush and the only one for about a year (before RAD kicked in) , after a fall the handle cracked and the knot was a shame to waste, so soft after a year of intense use... and got transfered to a Razorock 400 aluminum handle. Now I use it mainly to bowl lather for when I want to gift me with a lot of lather for a slow shave...



Congrats and get to work on it!

Cheers

 

[dmshaver]

Congrats, I'll be anxious to read your thoughts. I've got a Mondial taking its sweet time getting delivered. I'll live through your posts for a while!

 

[ajkel64]

Nice brush, congratulations.

 

[steveclarkus]

Omega 10049 came in today's mail. I'm really very fond of badger brushes but after reading so many times that a good Boar can still be very satisfactory. I currently have a VDH Boar and a Virginia Sheng Boar knot I set in a handle. I've been lathering them up in the shower every morning for months and can't get them to soften up. So I'll see how the Omega does. It's in the refrigerator now with water about half way up the knot. I tried the same thing with a Burma Shave Boar except I had water up into the handle. It didn't like it and the knot started falling apart. I reknotted that one with a Silvertip.

Anyway, I'm going to give the Omega a try.

View attachment 1092828

Great brush. I’ve been using one for about 11 years.

 

[Atlantic59]

You can't go wrong with the Omega 49 pro boar. I think it took mine about 15-20 shaves before it really started getting good and broken-in.

 

[BigJ]

Enjoy the new brush!!

 

[Invicta]

A very popular brush so await your feedback. I am surprised how many people wish to accelerate the tips splitting; why not just let it settle in naturally for the first ~30 shaves.

 

[MntnMan62]

It's a great brush. I have one and it is in my regular rotation of 9 brushes. I have a total of 17 but 8 of them sit in a bin for lack of use. The handle is a bit light for my tastes and sort of cheap in fit and finish, but it's still a good quality brush that performs well.

 

[Big Jim]

Shaved with it this morning. Test lathered it in the shower with bath soap where some boar funk became evident so I also shampooed with my regular shampoo it and then washed or shampooed it again with lavender body wash.

It is a somewhat large brush, perhaps some would say a little above medium. The opening of the handle measures a touch over 27 mm so I'm guessing it is a 26 mm knot. The loft is more than I expected (but I'm delighted with) at 64 mm.

For soap I used a homemade brew of Brambleberry's melt & pour blended with some artisan plumeria (Hawaiian flower that most Hawaiian Lays are made from) hand soap in a large mug. I use that same melt & pour base with several homemade soaps.

The loft is considerably more than the VDH boar already in use and is welcomed. It softens the stiff backbone demonstrated in the VDH brush. It didn't soften it enough to hinder lathering and it made lather quickly and easily. It is still slightly scratchy and pokey.

Tomorrow I'll lather with Mitchell's Wool Fat and see how easily it makes lather with a harder soap.

There is still a little boar funk in it although it is still mostly covered up by the lavender.

No shedding so far (the VDH sheds a few hairs every time it is used).

It may take a while to break it in as I have somewhere about 50 brushes that I use regularly but I'm gong to stick with it for a few days and then start lathering it the shower every morning to try to get it to soften up. Overall I'm impressed so far.

 

[Atlantic59]

The break-in will go better if you can let the brush dry out completely between uses. That is when the bristles split. An every-other-day rotation usually works pretty well.

 

[chinmusic82]

It’s a big big brush. Too big for me but it whips up an incredible lather. Enjoy in good health.

 

[Ace the Masta]

I got this as my first brush about a month ago, & I love the darn thing.
Feels significantly softer now then when i 1st got it, its puffed up quite a bit.
It's lost around 20 hairs so far not sure if that's normal or from me abusing it.

Heres a couple pictures of my pro 49

 

[Big Jim]

I shaved with it again this morning. Since it is a boar, I soaked the tips of the brush while I showered. It was much softer than yesterday. The backbone was much less or even nonexistent. It acted much like the sloppy side of Silvertip. Mitchell's Wool Fat was very forgiving so it whipped up great and painted on nicely.

I'm going to leave it alone for a few days and then try it again. It certainly is very different from my other boars.

 

[Big Jim]

Shaved with it again this morning. Soaked the tips only and only for about five minutes. The floppiness noted two days ago was not present. Had the backbone experienced on the first shave. It still feels somewhat scritchy and scrubby compared with my badger brushes, but not particularly scratchy or pokey. I'm anxious for it to "break in" but I know I have a lot more shaves before it gets there.

Overall today it provided a good shave. Lathered well with my homemade "Hampton Intrigue" (Brambleberry Melt & Pour blended with "Invigorating Shower & Bath Gel" from Hampton Inn).

I'm starting to see why some people defend their boar brushes.

 

[JoeG]

My go to brush but mine is white. My first brush and nothing works better. Over 5 years old and I kind of wish it wears out so I could buy another one.

 

[Timeclo]

I haven't been disappointed with any of my Omega boars. Excellent quality. I will say, Semogue does take a lot longer to break in but even this is YMMV.

 

[Cannon Cocker]

Ace the Masta,
I have a Semogue 1305 that started loosing hair. I looked at the handle opening right where the hair comes out, and it had a white build up (soap) all around it. I gave it a good cleaning with borax and the white build up went away and the hair stopped falling out.

Looking at your brush I think I see that same white build up I had.

 

[Big Jim]

Shaved with the Omega yesterday. Getting a little softer but still seems to have a way to go. Also noticed that the VDH drug store brush doesn't seem to improve but the Virginia Sheng is improving with the daily shower latherings. It just might become the small go to boar just like the Omega is becoming my large go to boar.

That doesn't diminish my appreciation for high end badgers though.

 

[never-stop-learning]

Nice brush! Congratulations!