Favorite Defunking Process?

[Snargle]

Any of us who have ever obtained a new shaving brush knotted with animal hair (badger, boar, horse, skunk, etc.) is well aware of the distinctive animalistic funk that emanates from the bristles, usually for the first few uses, until it finally fades into a well-deserved oblivion. There are various ways to eliminate or reduce the stench and even those who advocate the "grin and bear it" philosophy. I'd like to start a conversation and compilation of the various methods you have used to rid your brushes of their badger burrow or barnyard odor.

I'll start it off with my procedure.

1. Wash the brush thoroughly with warm water and dishwashing liquid, working the soap deep into the bristles.
2. Rinse completely and shake out excess water.
3. Repeat the wash and rinse.
4. Allow brush to dry overnight
5. Build a lather with Tabac soap in a bowl. Make sure the brush is completely filled with a thick lather.
6. Without rinsing or removing the lather, let the brush and the lather dry overnight.
7. The next day, thoroughly rinse the lather from the brush with warm water and shake out excess water.
8. Allow the brush to dry overnight. (I dry my brushes standing upright. If you like using a brush stand, go for it!)
9. At this point, a large percentage of the stink should be removed, or at least covered up by the scent of the Tabac soap, and should be ready for your regular shaving routine.

So tell us how you do it...what's your procedure for getting rid of the stink of a new brush?

 

[u2u]

Get in there and just use it. 4 to 6 shaves and any funk will be gone. A recent badger I bought new had near zero funk, gone in first use! Can't take it, just pick a soap or cream with a strong scent. Vostok or Al's Chill Whip. A fan of keeping break in simple.

 

[ChiefBroom]

I used to follow the method described in the ShaveWiki sticky "How to Break in a Shaving Brush". Somewhere along the line I got to be a little concerned that soaking a fully immersed knot in soapy water for several hours might not be the best thing for some brushes. What I do now depends on the brush and how bad it smells.

Generally, I follow the OP's steps 1-2, but I'll let the brush knot soak in soapy water for 5-10 minutes after hand-washing and before rinsing it. Then I'll let it soak in a 1:5 vinegar/water solution for a couple of minutes and rinse thoroughly again. After that, I follow with the OP's step5-7, except that if the brush isn't very funky, I might not let it sit overnight but rather rinse it out after a few hours (e.g., before I go to bed). In the latter case, I'll usually use the brush to shave the next morning. I've never had a brush reek too bad after following this routine, although with some brushes a bit of smell can linger for several days, gradually tapering off. I'll just use the brush normally until the smell is gone.

 

[KodiakAttack]

Oxy clean. Works like a charm.

 

[modmlot]

A good wash with Palmolive with Oxy dishsoap.
Then a heavy lather with ToBS Sandalwood cream, let sit upright for 1/2 hour.
Rinse, dry, ready to go!

CHEERS!

--T

 

[deruitem]

I just use it with a strong scented soap or cream.

 

[njpaddy]

Early on I would do a couple of bowl lathers with AOS Sandalwood or another strong scented cream, then let it soak in the lather for an hour or two. Now it's a couple of quick palm lathers to rinse out the loose hairs, then just use. I don't worry about funk. For periodic cleans I'll lather the brush up on my face soap (a Neutrogena Face Bar) before a shave, work it in, rinse and use. Maybe once or twice a year, when I'm bored, I'll clean all the brushes with Dawn then a vinegar rinse.

 

[Mike H]

Tabac is my go to de-funkifier.

 

[zygalski]

Get in there and just use it. 4 to 6 shaves and any funk will be gone. A recent badger I bought new had near zero funk, gone in first use! Can't take it, just pick a soap or cream with a strong scent. Vostok or Al's Chill Whip. A fan of keeping break in simple.

100% this.
Something like TOBS Jermyn St will easily mask most of the natural brush scent & after a few shaves the job's done.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

Ibid

Tabac is my go to de-funkifier.

 

[rise]

There are different approaches to dispense with or lessen the stench and even the individuals who advocate the "smirk and bear it" reasoning. I'd jump at the chance to begin a discussion and aggregation of the different systems you have used to free your brushes of their badger tunnel or stable area smell.

 

[Snargle]

There are different approaches to dispense with or lessen the stench and even the individuals who advocate the "smirk and bear it" reasoning. I'd jump at the chance to begin a discussion and aggregation of the different systems you have used to free your brushes of their badger tunnel or stable area smell.

Hi, rise. First off, let me welcome you both to Badger & Blade and to the Shaving Brush forum! As far as discussing your favorite destinkifying methods, jump right in...that's what we're talking about here!

 

[bruseth]

I bought the Van der Hagen Luxury set, which included a badger brush. It was the worst smelling brush I've ever had! I did everything to it, but it wouldn't lose the obnoxious smell. I finally went to Target, in the pet section, and bought 'Wahl Odor Neutralizer.' It took a couple of treatments, but it finally got rid of the stink. Now I keep a bottle on hand, just in case. I figure if it got rid of the VDH brush smell, it can handle anything. BTW, the Wahl spray works great on couches and such that our sometimes stinky dog smells up.

 

[OkieStubble]

1. Glass or cup

2. 2 Teaspoons hydrogen peroxide

3. 1 Pinch baking soda

4. several drops liquid soap

5. 1/2 cup warm water.

Mix ingredients. Solution will fizz as chemical reaction is occurring. Use immediately, do not store or wait. Put brush in solution, agitating brush. Let sit 5 minutes.
Agitate brush again. Let set 5 more minutes. Rinse.

Optional: After rinsing, you can use any common cream rinse or, mix 1 part water with 1 part apple cider vinegar. Massage cream rinse into knot and let knot soak in 1/2 cup clean water for 5 minutes, then rinse. Or let knot soak in apple cider vinegar solution 5 minutes, then rinse. either way, brush knot will be soft and odor gone.

 

[u2u]

I bought the Van der Hagen Luxury set, which included a badger brush. It was the worst smelling brush I've ever had! I did everything to it, but it wouldn't lose the obnoxious smell. I finally went to Target, in the pet section, and bought 'Wahl Odor Neutralizer.' It took a couple of treatments, but it finally got rid of the stink. Now I keep a bottle on hand, just in case. I figure if it got rid of the VDH brush smell, it can handle anything. BTW, the Wahl spray works great on couches and such that our sometimes stinky dog smells up.

Are the defunking issue and methods related to the brand purchased? Would it help to list brand with method required?

 

[eth]

Are the defunking issue and methods related to the brand purchased? Would it help to list brand with method required?

No brush from a specific brand require a specific method for de-funking. Manufacturers of brushes have different treatments for them, so some brushes are more stinky, and take more effort to de-funk.

I just use water. I take the cup I soak my brush in for my shave, fill it with warm water, and leave the brush in the water for about fifteen minutes. Empty the cup, squeeze the brush, refill cup and another ten minutes. Repeat once more for ten minutes, so the new brush has had three "baths". If I feel like it, I make a lather with cream from a random tube within reach. If lathered, clean brush and set to dry (upright, I got off the brush stand thing a while ago). I repeat this process of three baths until the soaking water is no longer discolored by the brush (usually at 7-9 baths). At that point I start using it for shaving. The stench isn't gone, but it's tolerable at this point, and the rest of the defunking takes care of itself. More importantly, it doesn't color my lather ugly light brown, and my lather doesn't stink. How fast the final defunking process goes depends on how much I like the new brush.

It's much less of a hassle in my opinion, and the risk of damaging my brush either with glowing green soap or soaking it too long is more or less nonexistent.

 

[California Cajun]

OxyClean is the most effective defunking agent for brushes I have used. It got the stench out of a horsehair brush that nothing else would.

I have found that old drugstore brushes from yesteryear with the original bristles have a musty odor and nothing can get rid of that, but you don't want to use the original bristles anyway. I drill the knot out and glue in a new knot with Devcon epoxy.

 

[beginish]

I basically just use it out of the box anymore.

is it just me, or do the brushes lately seem to be pretty stink-free? The worst I've had in 3 years was the Vie-long beehive in natural horse. Still, the Vie-Long Zurrito Blanco I got a year later was positively tame.

 

[ChiefBroom]

I basically just use it out of the box anymore.

is it just me, or do the brushes lately seem to be pretty stink-free? The worst I've had in 3 years was the Vie-long beehive in natural horse. Still, the Vie-Long Zurrito Blanco I got a year later was positively tame.

The only new brushes I've acquired this year were M&F prototypes in connection with the group buy. They had a little funk initially, but I just washed and then lathered them once before first use. No standing overnight.

The worst brushes I've had stink-wise by far were boar brushes.

 

[dpmtherrien]

Whenever I've had a new brush I've given it a couple of shampoos with tea tree oil shampoo, followed by a good rinse in tea tree oil conditioner. That's all I've ever done, it does the job, and works fine for me. That's all I do, and then let it air dry for a couple of days.