OK, so this brush was my first purchase made in search of a boar brush which has quality handle with good heft feel without going overboard in weight and a loft that is neither high nor too stubby. I am Omega bristle fan but find their cheap and tacky looking handles absolute rubbish especially in Economy and Pro series. The only handle I liked and which (to my mind) was better constructed then many other plastic moulded handles, was an Omega 20102 with Ash wood handle.
As first Pit stop I naturally wanted to wean information if Omega uses different types of bristles for premium range v/s economy or Pro range and email directly to Pennellificio Omega S.p.A.
Here are their responses.
Da: _______ <[email protected]>
Inviato: lunedì 3 giugno 2019 13:11
A: Export office - Pennellificio Omega S.p.A. <[email protected]>
Oggetto: New Request from Omega brush Website: Shaving
From: Raj
Subject: Shaving
Company: personal query
Email: _______@____.com
State: India
Website: http://www.
Message:
Dear Mr. Massimo Rondelli,
I wanted to ask you how your omega 011842/ 011829 is different from other Omega brushes in terms of bristle type used. I understand that the handle is custom made for UK but what is special about the bristles used in this model? Are they natural and untreated? Are they same bristle found in knot of 20102? Why they are called premium? Do the 011842/ 011829 bristles come from a special part of pig like shoulder, or ear or near mouth?
I like 011829 very much and I want to experience the same boar hair or knot in another model of omega brush. Please tell me which other omega model use same knot and type of boar bristles.
Sincerely,
They replied next day:
From: Export office - Pennellificio Omega S.p.A. <[email protected]>
Sent: Tue, 4 Jun 2019 14:27:43 GMT+0530
To: "____@_____.com" <_____@______.com>
Subject: R: New Request from Omega brush Website: Shaving
Hello Raj,
The handle is customized for UK but the hair is our standard one so you can definitely try a different hog bristle hair SKU from OMEGA.
20102 is my favorite hog bristle hair brush: it won’t disappoint you
Raoul Giovanetti
Export Department
Pennellificio Omega S.p.A.
Tel. +39 051 530.165 - Fax +39 051 535.561
I did got a fair idea what the gentleman is saying but just to get some more clarity I replied back as under;
Dear Mr.Giovanetti,
Thank you for replying.
If I correctly understand, you are saying that all hog bristles are same in all the different Omega SKUs?
I have tried pro 48 and 49 but I did not like the cheap plastic handles on them and loft was too high. In search of good handle I bought 20102 which I also like very much.
Recently I bought a 011829 because of a nice and heavy resin handle. I want to see Omega make more SKUs in heavy quality handles with untreated hog bristles and shorter loft.
Thanks again.
They replied very promptly:
Hello Raj,
The raw material quality is the same for all of our hog bristle shaving brushes. The only thing which can change is the length, out of the ring. It’s true, we have not resin handles with hog bristle hair in our range but only 21762.
21762 Pennello da barba Omega in pura setola - Omega Brush
Omega 21762 - Pennello da barba in pura setola con manico in resina "Bandiera Italiana"
Regards
Raoul Giovanetti
Export Department
Pennellificio Omega S.p.A.
Tel. +39 051 530.165 - Fax +39 051 535.561
www.omegabrush.com
www.viabarberia.com
This is what it looked like when I saw it first time, it looked kind of short loft and longish handle in comparison but the weight at 85ish gram was just spot on for me. It was comfortable to hold and that medallion looked very stylish for a ‘premium’ Omega.
As an old longtime boar user (it was only a Semogue that had me perplexed with breaking in drama) I just ran this brush through a couple of usual soak, lather and dry cycles. After a good soak the brush doesn’t have the backbone of a car jack and in spite of my email exchange with the maker I am not really buying that this brush has same standard type bristles. As a reference point, a longer lofted 20102 does feel stiffer with same soak time.
But in the end it is all good, this is picture of my first shave lather. It is still breaking in but an absolute delight in term of usability. The knot is fairly dense and seems to be packed with thinner bristles. In comparison my 20102 knot has thicker hair and feels much heavier in a like to like 27mm knot. The ‘sparsely’ bristled knot of 011829 make it easy work of whipping lather. After 5 shaves there was just one prickly black sheep bristle I had to purge and rest of the knot is turning into a gold swan nicely. Knot seems to be sitting a bit deeper than other Omegas and there is hardly any glue bump to feel at the bottom.
There is no crazy road-kill like bloom and backbone can be appreciatively felt by the way knot is sat. Due to enough backbone the lather does not slip down the crown of knot like a ring and stay well on and around the top, ably supported by bristles. I have never seen a boar breaking in this fast and the knot feel wonderful without any prickly hair. I did not use any other method to assist hair split and there are few already splitting. I am in no rush and that is how (in my personal opinion) a boar should be used.
The handle is solid resin and turned on lathe. Jade green is a true Jade and not a green colored handles passed off as jade. I like the handle shape and design over many other shave brush handles I have used before. It looks simple and feels very ergonomic to hold. I have medium sized hands and only a tiny bit whine I have is; if they had shaved down the bottom curve by just 1 more MM, it would be gold. I have a feeling that this brush might be perhaps the only model I will buy as a future back-up but I am going to visit that idea only by the end of this year.
I would certainly recommend this brush, if you not into big lofts, like a better handle than plastic mould, want a classy looking brush and don’t mind spending a little extra. Some people don’t like the kitschy looking medallion but I find it little cute. As an overall package I am glad I pulled the trigger on this one.
As usual, the musings, recommendations, measurements all remains pretty much from the seat of pants and a big YMMV. Thanks for reading.
As first Pit stop I naturally wanted to wean information if Omega uses different types of bristles for premium range v/s economy or Pro range and email directly to Pennellificio Omega S.p.A.
Here are their responses.
Da: _______ <[email protected]>
Inviato: lunedì 3 giugno 2019 13:11
A: Export office - Pennellificio Omega S.p.A. <[email protected]>
Oggetto: New Request from Omega brush Website: Shaving
From: Raj
Subject: Shaving
Company: personal query
Email: _______@____.com
State: India
Website: http://www.
Message:
Dear Mr. Massimo Rondelli,
I wanted to ask you how your omega 011842/ 011829 is different from other Omega brushes in terms of bristle type used. I understand that the handle is custom made for UK but what is special about the bristles used in this model? Are they natural and untreated? Are they same bristle found in knot of 20102? Why they are called premium? Do the 011842/ 011829 bristles come from a special part of pig like shoulder, or ear or near mouth?
I like 011829 very much and I want to experience the same boar hair or knot in another model of omega brush. Please tell me which other omega model use same knot and type of boar bristles.
Sincerely,
They replied next day:
From: Export office - Pennellificio Omega S.p.A. <[email protected]>
Sent: Tue, 4 Jun 2019 14:27:43 GMT+0530
To: "____@_____.com" <_____@______.com>
Subject: R: New Request from Omega brush Website: Shaving
Hello Raj,
The handle is customized for UK but the hair is our standard one so you can definitely try a different hog bristle hair SKU from OMEGA.
20102 is my favorite hog bristle hair brush: it won’t disappoint you
Raoul Giovanetti
Export Department
Pennellificio Omega S.p.A.
Tel. +39 051 530.165 - Fax +39 051 535.561
I did got a fair idea what the gentleman is saying but just to get some more clarity I replied back as under;
Dear Mr.Giovanetti,
Thank you for replying.
If I correctly understand, you are saying that all hog bristles are same in all the different Omega SKUs?
I have tried pro 48 and 49 but I did not like the cheap plastic handles on them and loft was too high. In search of good handle I bought 20102 which I also like very much.
Recently I bought a 011829 because of a nice and heavy resin handle. I want to see Omega make more SKUs in heavy quality handles with untreated hog bristles and shorter loft.
Thanks again.
They replied very promptly:
Hello Raj,
The raw material quality is the same for all of our hog bristle shaving brushes. The only thing which can change is the length, out of the ring. It’s true, we have not resin handles with hog bristle hair in our range but only 21762.
21762 Pennello da barba Omega in pura setola - Omega Brush
Omega 21762 - Pennello da barba in pura setola con manico in resina "Bandiera Italiana"
Regards
Raoul Giovanetti
Export Department
Pennellificio Omega S.p.A.
Tel. +39 051 530.165 - Fax +39 051 535.561
www.omegabrush.com
www.viabarberia.com
This is what it looked like when I saw it first time, it looked kind of short loft and longish handle in comparison but the weight at 85ish gram was just spot on for me. It was comfortable to hold and that medallion looked very stylish for a ‘premium’ Omega.
As an old longtime boar user (it was only a Semogue that had me perplexed with breaking in drama) I just ran this brush through a couple of usual soak, lather and dry cycles. After a good soak the brush doesn’t have the backbone of a car jack and in spite of my email exchange with the maker I am not really buying that this brush has same standard type bristles. As a reference point, a longer lofted 20102 does feel stiffer with same soak time.
But in the end it is all good, this is picture of my first shave lather. It is still breaking in but an absolute delight in term of usability. The knot is fairly dense and seems to be packed with thinner bristles. In comparison my 20102 knot has thicker hair and feels much heavier in a like to like 27mm knot. The ‘sparsely’ bristled knot of 011829 make it easy work of whipping lather. After 5 shaves there was just one prickly black sheep bristle I had to purge and rest of the knot is turning into a gold swan nicely. Knot seems to be sitting a bit deeper than other Omegas and there is hardly any glue bump to feel at the bottom.
There is no crazy road-kill like bloom and backbone can be appreciatively felt by the way knot is sat. Due to enough backbone the lather does not slip down the crown of knot like a ring and stay well on and around the top, ably supported by bristles. I have never seen a boar breaking in this fast and the knot feel wonderful without any prickly hair. I did not use any other method to assist hair split and there are few already splitting. I am in no rush and that is how (in my personal opinion) a boar should be used.
The handle is solid resin and turned on lathe. Jade green is a true Jade and not a green colored handles passed off as jade. I like the handle shape and design over many other shave brush handles I have used before. It looks simple and feels very ergonomic to hold. I have medium sized hands and only a tiny bit whine I have is; if they had shaved down the bottom curve by just 1 more MM, it would be gold. I have a feeling that this brush might be perhaps the only model I will buy as a future back-up but I am going to visit that idea only by the end of this year.
I would certainly recommend this brush, if you not into big lofts, like a better handle than plastic mould, want a classy looking brush and don’t mind spending a little extra. Some people don’t like the kitschy looking medallion but I find it little cute. As an overall package I am glad I pulled the trigger on this one.
As usual, the musings, recommendations, measurements all remains pretty much from the seat of pants and a big YMMV. Thanks for reading.
