OUMO & ALI

[JanVanDerVoort]

While browsing, I found this OUMO brush handle on AliExpress. I just think it is the most beautiful brush handle ever, colour, shape, even the golden Chinese character, it just works for me. Three issues:
Has anyone ever used OUMO products? Are they reliable? Good quality?
Has anyone ever ordered from AliExpress? How was the experience? Any tips?
I will have to order a knot separately. OUMO knot or other brand (boar/horse or synthetic, no badger thank you...) Has anyone any experience in setting a brush? What glue to use? Any other tips?
Thanks!

 

[dmshaver]

I've ordered from AliExpress before. Depending on where you are in the world, it may take a while to deliver. I live in the middle of the United States & my order, as I recall, took around 5 weeks to get to me. I've not any experience with Oumo, so I'll let others address your questions about them.

 

[SydneyShaver]

No experience with aliexpress but have plenty with yaqi and recently bought an OUMO lotus tip brush with the shoei handle. It's fantastic. Really all there is to say about it. I've never been dissatisfied with anything I've ever bought from Yaqi/Oumo Knots/brushes etc.

 

[Balthier]

Ordered several times everything has arrived from the reputable companies if something doesn't arrive it's basically like the bay you will get your money back by filing a dispute.

Use silicone at first instead of epoxy to make sure you have the right loft that you want permanently. With silicone it's easy enough to put water in the brush and pop it out. Personally I just always use silicone if a knot ever pops (which they haven't) I'd gladly reapply silicone.

Second tip which might not apply to you is look at the handles depth, is it deep enough for you and your knot. What is the height of your knot, what loft do you want? Good things to know when purchasing a handle. If it's not deep enough you might be drilling or stuck with that depth. If it's too deep you can buy some plastic washers at home depot or your local hardware store to raise the loft.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

While browsing, I found this OUMO brush handle on AliExpress. I just think it is the most beautiful brush handle ever, colour, shape, even the golden Chinese character, it just works for me. Three issues:
Has anyone ever used OUMO products? Are they reliable? Good quality?
Has anyone ever ordered from AliExpress? How was the experience? Any tips?
I will have to order a knot separately. OUMO knot or other brand (boar/horse or synthetic, no badger thank you...) Has anyone any experience in setting a brush? What glue to use? Any other tips?
Thanks!

View attachment 1455652

I’ve ordered a few Oumos via AliExpress and no problems at all. I love the brushes I have, and I actually have the exact one you showed on the way right now, with the new Tyrant T-2 knot.

Note that you do not have to set the knot yourself. After you order just send them a message back asking them to set the knot for you and they will do it. Carry always responds very fast to messages, so you will have peace of mind.

 

[JanVanDerVoort]

Yaqi and Oumo are the same company? (I have a Yaqi Atlantis that I'm quite happy with, It's still a little messier than using a boar brush. Boar brushes seem to hold on to the soap a little better...).

 

[JanVanDerVoort]

Note that you do not have to set the knot yourself. After you order just send them a message back asking them to set the knot for you and they will do it. Carry always responds very fast to messages, so you will have peace of mind.

Thanks for the tip! I might just do that before I mess up a pretty expensive handle. I didn't know ebonite was that expensive.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Thanks for the tip! I might just do that before I mess up a pretty expensive handle. I didn't know ebonite was that expensive.

As luck would have it, my Oumo brushes arrived today. Yes, let them install and set the knots - don’t do it yourself.

 

[JPO]

While browsing, I found this OUMO brush handle on AliExpress. I just think it is the most beautiful brush handle ever, colour, shape, even the golden Chinese character, it just works for me. Three issues:
Has anyone ever used OUMO products? Are they reliable? Good quality?
Has anyone ever ordered from AliExpress? How was the experience? Any tips?
I will have to order a knot separately. OUMO knot or other brand (boar/horse or synthetic, no badger thank you...) Has anyone any experience in setting a brush? What glue to use? Any other tips?
Thanks!

View attachment 1455652

I am really satisfied with mine.

 

[Phoenixkh]

As luck would have it, my Oumo brushes arrived today. Yes, let them install and set the knots - don’t do it yourself.

View attachment 1457411

The one on the right has a particularly beautiful handle, at least, to these color blind eyes. Very appealing.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

The one on the right has a particularly beautiful handle, at least, to these color blind eyes. Very appealing.

Yeah, it’s beautiful. That top part is solid titanium with some sort of treatment that gives the rainbow-like finish. Makes it a solid, heavier brush, but quite nice. They also sell full titanium handles but I think that would be too heavy for me - a brush handle is a lot of material compared to a razor.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Yeah, it’s beautiful. That top part is solid titanium with some sort of treatment that gives the rainbow-like finish. Makes it a solid, heavier brush, but quite nice. They also sell full titanium handles but I think that would be too heavy for me - a brush handle is a lot of material compared to a razor.

Very distinctive, I think.... the combination really works.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Yaqi and Oumo are the same company? (I have a Yaqi Atlantis that I'm quite happy with, It's still a little messier than using a boar brush. Boar brushes seem to hold on to the soap a little better...).

No, Oumo and Yaqi are different companies. Both are in China and both sell via AliExpress.

 

[JanVanDerVoort]

As luck would have it, my Oumo brushes arrived today. Yes, let them install and set the knots - don’t do it yourself.

View attachment 1457411

What a beauties! What are the sizes of the green handle? I couldn't find dimensions on AliExpress.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

What a beauties! What are the sizes of the green handle? I couldn't find dimensions on AliExpress.

With brushes the size often depends on what knot size you want it to fit. I chose mine to fit a 26mm knot (the other option is for a larger 28mm knot). For a larger knot the whole handle might be larger, or it might be the same and just drilled wider. I don’t know.

Mine (with 26mm Tyrant knot) is 60mm tall (handle), 40mm wide (widest part of handle), and the knot has 50mm loft (from top of handle to top of knot).

 

[JanVanDerVoort]

As luck would have it, my Oumo brushes arrived today. Yes, let them install and set the knots - don’t do it yourself.

View attachment 1457411

I have a problem with the Exceed. The ebonite handle gives off a stench that seems getting worse. A few weeks ago I used it for a shave with Tabac, a soap I hadn't used for a while. Although it still lathered as expected, I believed it had gone off because of the strange smell it gave. Today I used it for a shave with Razorock Santa Maria del Fiore and gave up halfway during picking up soap. The soap's scent –which I like a lot– was strongly affected by the smell of the handle...
I noticed the glossy coating is fading. Is this the problem? Not sure, but I 'decommissioned' the brush... I wish I could change my review on the brush!
Do you have a similar problem with yours???

 

[Mr. Shavington]

I have a problem with the Exceed. The ebonite handle gives off a stench that seems getting worse. A few weeks ago I used it for a shave with Tabac, a soap I hadn't used for a while. Although it still lathered as expected, I believed it had gone off because of the strange smell it gave. Today I used it for a shave with Razorock Santa Maria del Fiore and gave up halfway during picking up soap. The soap's scent –which I like a lot– was strongly affected by the smell of the handle...
I noticed the glossy coating is fading. Is this the problem? Not sure, but I 'decommissioned' the brush... I wish I could change my review on the brush!
Do you have a similar problem with yours???

Not so far. I have a few ebonite Oumo handles and they are all ok to date. But I will look out for this.

I have a lot of experience of ebonite from pipe smoking and I’ve never had an issue with smell, but the material will certainly discolour and become rough over time if the ebonite oxidizes - and there is nothing you can really do to totally stop that. That said, I haven’t seen any comments about ebonite degrading on shaving brushes, so I guess the coatings manufacturers apply generally work well.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Not so far. I have a few ebonite Oumo handles and they are all ok to date. But I will look out for this.

I have a lot of experience of ebonite from pipe smoking and I’ve never had an issue with smell, but the material will certainly discolour and become rough over time if the ebonite oxidizes - and there is nothing you can really do to totally stop that. That said, I haven’t seen any comments about ebonite degrading on shaving brushes, so I guess the coatings manufacturers apply generally work well.

This is my experience as well with pipe stems and pens made from ebonite. They do not keep their gloss at all, especially items that get handled a lot, like pipes, pens, and yes, a shaving brush. I think not only oxidation, but also moisture, soaps residues and sweat from the hands (pen etc!!) are very "helpful" here.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

This is my experience as well with pipe stems and pens made from ebonite. They do not keep their gloss at all, especially items that get handled a lot, like pipes, pens, and yes, a shaving brush. I think not only oxidation, but also moisture, soaps residues and sweat from the hands (pen etc!!) are very "helpful" here.

I think, though, that there is a difference between bare, polished ebonite (as used for pipe stems) and items that have an additional protective coating applied (like I assume shaving brushes will have, given their use in a moist environment). But I’m sure those coatings will wear off eventually and then the ebonite will inevitably degrade - losing the shine, then turning green, then feeling rough - it should just be much slower than a pipe stem, or possibly never if the brush is used carefully and the coating is sufficiently permanent.

Once the ebonite is no longer protected then the rate of ebonite oxidation increases with exposure to moisture and light - especially fluorescent lighting - but it will happen at some rate regardless. You can slow the oxidation with wax or oil coatings, and you can partially improve it with polishing, but there is no complete way to stop it.

Acrylic plastic as an alternative will keep it’s shine much longer, and it will not oxidize, but it can accumulate micro-scratches (and can even shatter if you attempt to clean it with alcohol - so don’t). I always prefer acrylic for pipe stems and other items - I think it is just a more suitable plastic than ebonite in the long term, even though ebonite can look beautiful, feel warmer, and hold a deeper polish at the beginning.

 

[jaro 101969]

I have a problem with the Exceed. The ebonite handle gives off a stench that seems getting worse. A few weeks ago I used it for a shave with Tabac, a soap I hadn't used for a while. Although it still lathered as expected, I believed it had gone off because of the strange smell it gave. Today I used it for a shave with Razorock Santa Maria del Fiore and gave up halfway during picking up soap. The soap's scent –which I like a lot– was strongly affected by the smell of the handle...
I noticed the glossy coating is fading. Is this the problem? Not sure, but I 'decommissioned' the brush... I wish I could change my review on the brush!
Do you have a similar problem with yours???

Not so far. I have a few ebonite Oumo handles and they are all ok to date. But I will look out for this.

I have a lot of experience of ebonite from pipe smoking and I’ve never had an issue with smell, but the material will certainly discolour and become rough over time if the ebonite oxidizes - and there is nothing you can really do to totally stop that. That said, I haven’t seen any comments about ebonite degrading on shaving brushes, so I guess the coatings manufacturers apply generally work well.

This is my experience as well with pipe stems and pens made from ebonite. They do not keep their gloss at all, especially items that get handled a lot, like pipes, pens, and yes, a shaving brush. I think not only oxidation, but also moisture, soaps residues and sweat from the hands (pen etc!!) are very "helpful" here.

I think, though, that there is a difference between bare, polished ebonite (as used for pipe stems) and items that have an additional protective coating applied (like I assume shaving brushes will have, given their use in a moist environment). But I’m sure those coatings will wear off eventually and then the ebonite will inevitably degrade - losing the shine, then turning green, then feeling rough - it should just be much slower than a pipe stem, or possibly never if the brush is used carefully and the coating is sufficiently permanent.

Once the ebonite is no longer protected then the rate of ebonite oxidation increases with exposure to moisture and light - especially fluorescent lighting - but it will happen at some rate regardless. You can slow the oxidation with wax or oil coatings, and you can partially improve it with polishing, but there is no complete way to stop it.

Acrylic plastic as an alternative will keep it’s shine much longer, and it will not oxidize, but it can accumulate micro-scratches (and can even shatter if you attempt to clean it with alcohol - so don’t). I always prefer acrylic for pipe stems and other items - I think it is just a more suitable plastic than ebonite in the long term, even though ebonite can look beautiful, feel warmer, and hold a deeper polish at the beginning.

I couldn't find much about the odor on a brush , BUT , I did find quite a lot on pens and the odor. With a quick Google I read from manufactures stating that the odor on pens was caused by off gassing of the sulphur used in the making of ebonite.. They stated that the off gassing can last for upwards of a year or so but will usually subside.... I just thought I would mention that... I know you are talking about a brush but you may want to look into the smell and ebonite pens because of the same material being used....