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Bad smell boar brush

The only two shaving brushes are both boars. I have read it takes awhile to get rid if the bad smell, but my two never had a bad smell in the first place. I assume it is because they are both bleached. Semogue Owners Club and Gallahad. So what boars do smell?
 
The only two shaving brushes are both boars. I have read it takes awhile to get rid if the bad smell, but my two never had a bad smell in the first place. I assume it is because they are both bleached. Semogue Owners Club and Gallahad. So what boars do smell?
Probably most of them do when they are new (my less expensive Omegas and a Zenith, for instance). It's kind of a barnyard smell which is usually fairly noticeable up close but goes away after a few soaking & lathering cycles.

I think the bleaching process actually involves boiling the bristles in water for a few minutes. That disinfects them, takes away most of the smell and helps them begin splitting at the ends. Bristles that are called "unbleached" are just boiled for a shorter time.
 
Probably most of them do when they are new (my less expensive Omegas and a Zenith, for instance). It's kind of a barnyard smell which is usually fairly noticeable up close but goes away after a few soaking & lathering cycles.

I think the bleaching process actually involves boiling the bristles in water for a few minutes. That disinfects them, takes away most of the smell and helps them begin splitting at the ends. Bristles that are called "unbleached" are just boiled for a shorter time.
Thank you for the information.
 
I have used a lot of boar (Omega only) in the past pre B&B time and to a smaller extent (Semogue. Zenith, Omega) also now. The only one that I had to bin was an unbleached Zenith that didn’t gave up the funk no matter what I tried,
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
None of my Semogue SOC brushes smell, but I have a B&B Omega that stank to high heaven for quite a while.
 
In my opinion, the genuinely stinky ones will ALWAYS have a minor stink to them, no matter what you do to clean them. I have an Omega 11126 that stunk the worst of any boar I’ve owned and has been lathered a hundred times, and it still stinks a little!

With that said, I will lather a new brush with a very fragrant product like Arko, TOBS sandalwood, or Tabac and leave it with lather in the knot for an hour or so, rinse it out well, and leave it to dry. That will kill most of the funk.

Just use it from then on and it will be fine, mostly anyway over some time. ☺️
 
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Of my 5 boars, only one of my boars had a funky smell. I cured it by using it with Arko for a few days and then it was gone, and then it had the glorious scent of Arko
 
The boar funk is a sign of quality.

IMO, the less processed the bristles have been (ie bleached) the more likely they are to have to backbone and not be lather eaters, which is my experience anyway. My boar brushes which have had highly processed/bleached bristles have been floppy lather eaters, the ones that had the boar funk were largely fine, the unbleached Zenith had the strongest boar odour but it was the most efficient boar brush for lather flow through and not eating lather by quite some margin.

If the boar odour is a bother, then an unbleached knot may be less preferable than a bleached one.
 
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