The smell of a new brush

[anart]

Hi
I have just bough a new muhle sophist brush. It did smell terrible, like wet dog.
I have read that brushes can smell at the start and it has to break in, and the smell
will disapear after a while.

To me it does not sound right, should I buy stuff that smells terrible and the I have to wash it and wash it to get
read of the smell? Or should i just send it back to the seller?

what do you think?

Sorry about my bad english.

/Andreas

 

[Lightcs1776]

Yep, they will smell when new, some worse than others. There are ways of getting the smell out faster. Search around the B&B forums and you will find a lot of tips.

Welcome to B&B, by the way.
Sent via mobile - Chris

 

[matwho]

Make a lather with the brush and leave the lather on the brush all night. Rinse it off in the morning and it should smell a lot better.

 

[Jaidmaster]

It's the nature of the beast! (pun intended)

Some are definitely worse than others. One of the nice things about a new synthetic is the lack of smell...
It will take some time, but it's part of the process. A few good threads on "getting the funk out".

Good luck!

 

[MntnMan62]

What the others have said. Remember. You are buying something that literally comes from an animal. They smell. I have 5 badgers and 3 boars. All smelled when I first got them and not one of them smelled after the third shave. And all I did with each one before the first shave was to soak it in Dawn dishwashing liquid or just lathered it up and rinsed it out once. So, either by the 2nd or 3rd shave, the smell was gone. And I'm left with an awesome brush that I can use for years and years. I wouldn't send it back. Use it and enjoy it. If the smell doesn't seem to go away after 5 or 10 uses, then maybe consider contacting the seller. Otherwise, shave on.

 

[KeenDogg]

Make a lather with the brush and leave the lather on the brush all night. Rinse it off in the morning and it should smell a lot better.

This!

 

[realdog4]

I have had a couple that smelled pretty bad out of the box. They ended up; however, being great brushes.

Personally I like to just use them as I normally would any other brush and give them a shampoo at night.

I don't like the idea of the use of vinegar or any other shortcuts. These methods do work but it doesn't feel right to me.

As always, YMMV.

 

[BSAGuy]

Hello and welcome to Badger and Blade. Great to have you here. Plenty of good advice above.

Your English is totally fine.

 

[realdog4]

Wow. Didn't catch the "Sorry about my bad english" comment. Your english is excellent.

 

[Jer78]

Here is what you do:

Palm lather with a big squirt of dawn dish soap and whip up a lather
Rinse
Repeat 5x, or until you notice the lathers becoming much bigger and foamier

Now build a nice lather with you best smelling soap or cream
Leave it overnight
Repeat

Enjoy your totally de-skunked brush!!

 

[adamchur]

Hi - 3 of my brushes had the "wet dog" smell, but a good wash with baby shampoo and 10 test lathers with a Derby stick later and they just took on the smell of the soap or cream I used to lather with
It is a natural characteristic of Boar, Badger and Horsehair
The only brush that was completely odourless is a Chinese Synthetic Silvertip

Aluminium Handle - Synthetic Silvertip
Black Handle - Dark Badger
Two-Tone Handle - 60% Boar/40% Horsehair Mix
Wood Handle - Chinese Horsehair

 

[Graybeard57]

The smell rapidly disappears. I've never felt the need to soak or wash a brush before using it. If you simply use it to make lather for a shave, the smell will be gone in a few days.

 

[BigJ]

There are many approaches and rituals.

My approach is to use the brush! Any smell will dissipate with a few (sometimes quite a few) uses.

 

[Useless shaver]

The smell rapidly disappears. I've never felt the need to soak or wash a brush before using it. If you simply use it to make lather for a shave, the smell will be gone in a few days.

This!


And I wouldn't call it "wet dog"... I'd say "dead dog"...

 

[dfoulk]

While some are worse than others I have yet to purchase a silvertip badger brush that had absolutely no scent. Even the very costly high end brushes like the Shavemac and Paladin I've purchased had the wet dog scent. With some of the very high quality ($$$$) brushes the scent might be a little less apparent but it is still there. Think of it as being like the new car smell. I'm not particularly fond of the new car smell myself but if I went into a dealership and asked to buy a brand new car without that scent they'd likely look at me like I was crazy since every new car has it. The scent fades in time.

What it comes down to is that the hair is from an animal and the scent you're getting is from the oils in the animal hair. Once you wash it enough times the oils are removed from the brush and the scent disappears. Usually a month of everyday use will do it with the scent fading a little after each use. There are ways to speed the process as others have described above.

If you're looking for a silvertip badger brush with no scent whatsoever your options are to buy a used brush from a member here, as any new silvertip badger brush will have that wet dog scent to some extent.

 

[Razorfaust]

Yep Badger, Boar, Horse, they all stink to some degree nothing a thorough shampooing cant fix.

 

[emwolf]

I just used my Vie-Long horse hair brush this morning. When I first got it a year ago it smelled like the rear end of a horse. And that smell clung to it through several soakings and washings. Now it is an outstanding all-purpose shave brush. Synthetics don't smell, and sometimes you get a badger/boar/horse that doesn't, but they usually do.

 

[anart]

Hi,
Thanks for all advice's, ideas and inputs.
I didn't really expect all input to my first post.

I still think if you pay allot of $$$ for a brush you could expect it to be fresh at least not smell, you use it in your face.
Think if a mink coat ha smelled in the same way or make up brushes .....
I have been washing my smelly brush in winager a couple of more times, then in shampoo, then lather up a couple of bowls of soap.
the i borrowed my girlfriends hairdryer it now it is much better.

best of all I did complain at the dealer and he offered me 50% back...pretty nice deal after all.

 

[MntnMan62]

I still think if you pay allot of $$$ for a brush you could expect it to be fresh at least not smell, you use it in your face.

best of all I did complain at the dealer and he offered me 50% back...pretty nice deal after all.

Maybe you are going to set a new standard for the high end brush market where the sellers will wash the brushes prior to sale so the stick isn't there. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[Bookworm]

I bought a really cheap chinese brush, which smelled like - pig! So I took a shower, and took the brush with me. (I originally typed 'took a shower with the brush', but that sounds wrong). Soaked/rinsed; lathered with VDH, brushed on hand for a minute. Rinsed it, let it sit a few minutes, finished the shower, lathered it up, brushed on hand, rinsed, and let dry. Smells fine now.

Really - it's hair. Natural hair is going to smell, because it shed keratin scales all the time. If it's really offensive, soak it in water for a while, then soap it up - just like you'd wash your own hair. Use shampoo, if you feel the need.