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Omega 10098 - Best boar brush?

As weapon of choice for FFFMM_2023 edition, this, initialy seen as a good discount offer, boar brush now definitely deserves its own share of B&B space.

Brush itself is on many web-shops advertized as professional-use boar brush, and I have no reason to doubt.
It's large, it's durable, ergonomic, easy to handle and I guess that pro-barbers owe share of credits to tool being used.
However, what did made me to purchase it was surprisingly good offer (at local cosmetics store), probably due to semi-popularity of traditional wet-shaving at my place, causing them to just want to get rid of stock. Without much hype for this brush, it cost like 7$ (vs average 10-15$) so I bought it, as well as Omega S-49 (also good one) and one smaller one for my Pops. All three + shipping ~25$ so I was quite happy with purchasing.
I always used boar-brushes (like I've had a choice) as only available option in local stores and must admit I never used them properly. Never soaked them before use, dipped to much, used too hot water, lose some of them, broke handles on some, but for 2-3$ on local markets, I never cared. I neither soaked my Semogue 2000, but that's another story to tell about, so for Omega 10098 I really wanted to do everything "by the book".

This cool Italian gent basically explains all in this video if I may share it, I feel like he deserve some views, but in two-words:
"leave brush in tap-water for 24+ hrs and afterwards use it for life".


So I did... I have one lemonade-tall glass which fit my Omega just fine. I used regular tap-water, as cold as it went naturally, maybe ~10-15 C, who knows. Filled around half of the knot height to avoid wetting the glue (but I think it won't matter as handle is plastic, wood tend to swell and break).

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I left glass in kitchen kabinet for like 30 hrs, and then squized bulk of water and used some cheap shaving soap to lather it and clean for the first test-lather. Surprisingly, it felt not so floppy as Semogue, but also wasn't so "blonde" either. More like, another type of boar bristles, yellowish, more robust and more broken after first run. Interesting thing is that bristles were split up to 1cm from bristle end, but no more than that. Some loose hairs went off time to time, but so far, I haven't lose more than 10 hairs in total. Bowl lathering was fine, I rinsed the brush and left it hung on my towel-holder upside-down as depicted:

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Simple shoe-lace, kitchen thread or construction thread would work just fine for a loop that would hold brush hanging.

Brush didn't have any unnatural funky smell. It's animal fur afterall, but nowhere near the "reported" smell of "wet dog", "dead pig" etc. Perhaps part of the smell comes from the glue's and plastic's use? Chemical reaction between bristles and glue? Who knows... but it's nothing to cry about. In general, I've used the brush for couple times, mostly bowl-lathered and it was good. I'd say 8/10 on initial usages. Not soft and splashy as Semogue, it genuinely felt familiar, like a "boar brush"... tall, firm backbone, not a lather-hog, not too scratchy but also semi-firm. Like how you'd imagine a boar brush.

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FFFMM_2023 challenge was great opportunity to use it bit more and to see would it broke entirely for a month of a daily shaves. Boy it did! Somewhere ~20 consecutive lathering I felt that bristles are almost 90% broken (besides some black stray hairs) and at the ending 2cm of the knot, it looked like it's made of curly pig-hairs. Volume expanded and I started face-lathering. Felt so great that pure-badger can be labeled as a piece of rubish compared to it. Synthetic brush (RR Silvertip BC) have remained close contender in terms of softness, maybe in slight advantage, but lose the battle in lathering speed and water-management.

Omega really takes soap easily, release it easily, holds lot of water and release it slowly. Also, dries after 10ish hours, even if you shave daily - tomorrow it'll be dry, no worries at all. Perhaps I'm just subjective, and I leave it as possibility that maybe Omega brushes just fit my shave routine and habits, but for a 10$ it's a great brush that breaks nicely, feels rich, generate heavenly lather, comfortable to hold and gives lot more than I've payed for.

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As from my first brush-lathering post (see here) I no longer have my pure-badger (got all goofy and lost too much hairs), but added Omega 10098 and Omega S-49 instead. My brush collection is depicted here:

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Since I've intended to dedicate this post to 10098 only, I'll just put some pros & cons for it, compared to brushes that I can use for reference:

Pros:
  • great break in period (maybe better than Semogue 2000, but comparable in terms of softness)
  • not a lather hog (use far less soap/lather compared to Semogue, and is almost as easy to lather as RR Silvertip)
  • nice water/lather retention (soaks easily - release easily)
  • comfortable handle (perhaps the #1, #2 would be split between RR and S-49, #3 Semogue)
  • lowest price of all brushes I own (without discount) and best price-value ratio
  • accumulated moisture evaporates easily, no issues for daily use (beaten only by synthetics)
  • best after shave feel on skin, I give that to scrubbing and deploying lather deep into roots of hair (unlike synthetic's painting over)
Cons:
  • requires some know how (breaking in, handling, temperature, water ratio...)
  • need some preparation time in the morning (plan your SSS on time) but not much, 30sec - 1 min.
  • overall, as boar-brush it requires more care compared to synthetics, but also rewards invested effort
  • guess there will always be people sensitive to animal hair smell?
  • maybe it would be harsh for face if you're not a fan of scrubbing (although nothing exfoliate skin and deliver lather so good to whiskers as boar-brush)
So, nothing more to add I'd say... great brush for a little money. Give it some time to break-in and don't worry about it. Italian barbers knows why they like Omega's. Definitely my cup of tea. This Omega 10098 have taken me for life... I'm Omega guy now :)
 
From all my boars this is the best
loft looks rich guess it stands with its reputation 🤗
 
I concede that a well broken-in Omega Professional line brush is “a great brush for little money”, but “best boar brush”???

That goes a bit too far and I rather use Semogue or Zenith boar brushes.


B.
Well, that's why there was '?' :) Never been interested in trying Zenith (can be my fault, or just coincidence) while Semogue, which I consider better in krafted details, bristle treatment and selection for knot might be of higher quality, but for me - Omega delivers better yield.
What's your fav Semogue, btw? Perhaps I choose wrong one for my style, although 2000 could be marvelous for head-shavers (oversized, super-soft, floppy loft), I still use it, when I don't feel like a soap-cheapskate
 
I was able to try a few Zeniths during the boar passaround in December, and I really liked them. I even picked a few up for my collection. Truth be told, my preference is still for my Omega 49, probably because the bristles are so well broken in and pillow soft. I hope the Zeniths get as soft as the Omega, but as of today the Omega is the king. I only wish the handle were a little smaller. More than once it has slipped out of my slippery hand when lathering my dome.
 
Well, that's why there was '?' :) Never been interested in trying Zenith (can be my fault, or just coincidence) while Semogue, which I consider better in krafted details, bristle treatment and selection for knot might be of higher quality, but for me - Omega delivers better yield.
What's your fav Semogue, btw? Perhaps I choose wrong one for my style, although 2000 could be marvelous for head-shavers (oversized, super-soft, floppy loft), I still use it, when I don't feel like a soap-cheapskate

For Semogue, I like their SOC and Torga brushes, for Zenith I like their 507 series that has similar proportions to your black Omega 10098 but is somewhat smaller, which suits me better.


The majority of my brushes are badgers, followed by synthetics (Shavemac, Simpsons and Mühle) and I have only about 9 boars (Semogue, DaniDom, Zenith, Omega) but I am aware that many barbers in the Mediterranean swear by boar brushes and once broken in a good badger brush can be a pleasure to use at a fraction of the cost of a premium badger.


B.
 
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Dave himself

Wee Words of Wisdom
Thank you for the very detailed and well written review I really enjoyed it.

I only have one boar brush which is an Omega so I can't say that it's better than any of the others.

What I can say that now its went through its break-in period its an absolute joy to use.
 
Ever boar that I have used past its break in period has been a good brush. That includes Vander Hagen, Yaqi, Razorock, Semogue, and Omega. The tips of the Yaqi were gelled and may not fit everyone’s tastes. The VDH loses bristles and the bristles on the Razorock can be a bit fragile. Nevertheless, they all become soft and eventually make nice lather.

With boars, the effort that you put into their break-in and care is likely to be more important than the brand of the brush. Nevertheless, in my opinion the aesthetics of the Semogues seem to be a little superior and Omega Professionals are probably the most durable brushes.
 
I'm with you. My favorites are the 98 and the 48. I guess I like a lot of brush. The 48 is probably the main favorite because I like the handle shape a bit better than the 98.

With mine- that are both 10 years old now or so- they each got much softer after a long dry down period when I found a couple of other brushes that still had the "new" attached to them and I used them much more. The 48 probably sat for over a year. I never did anything different in their break-in period and they turned out just fine.
 
@couch_potato , thank you for the excellent review. Everyone should have at least one boar in their rotation given the benefits they deliver for a relatively low cost compared to other types of brushes. In my case I use a Razorock Blondie (Zenith 80N) that is excellent with my hardest soaps.
 
This brush is one of my favorite Omega brushes that I own. Once it was broken in the design of the handle give an amazing balance to the knot.
 
loft looks rich guess it stands with its reputation 🤗
If talking Connaught jade omega boar … then I bought the same Brush a week ago … used today first time … performance is fine.

However disappointed with the tooling marks on the handle and Connaught response was basically an admittance of knowing all their omega jades stock is consistent with mine!!

Shouldn’t need to polish your own brush handle !

Yes they said send brush back if not happy …. But it’s poor service when they know the finish is consistently bad on all Omega Jade Boars… They are not of merchantable quality and are seconds at best let alone premium.
 
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If talking Connaught jade omega boar … then I bought the same Brush a week ago … used today first time … performance is fine.

However disappointed with the tooling marks on the handle and Connaught response was basically an admittance of knowing all their omega jades stock is consistent with mine!!

Shouldn’t need to polish your own brush handle !

Yes they said send brush back if not happy …. But it’s poor service when they know the finish is consistently bad on all Omega Jade Boars… They are not of merchantable quality and are seconds at best let alone premium.
That’s unfortunate. I just recently tried my omega boar 10049 and liked it so much I wanted to buy the omega jade. Can you post a couple of pictures of the handle?
 
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