VDH Boar Brush

[Arctic]

I just bought my first brush minutes ago. I have a nice straight razor, and some Provence Sante Green Tea soap on the way, but have still been working on my last ever can of awful foam. Im planning on getting one of the bone handled Hans Baiers from Rasurpur pretty soon but have been thinking about getting something cheap in the mean time. Anyway I went up to my local Walgreens drugstore this morning for some pretzels and decided to take a look at the shaving section and see what kind of nonsense they were stocking, and was rather shocked to see that on the bottom shelf in the corner they had brushes and pucks of shaving soap. Only one kind of each, no williams even, but I was surprised. A perfect opportunity to get some stuff without paying shipping I figured. So I bought the VDH natural boar brush for $8.79 and the VDH deluxe puck for $2.50. I got home and opened them up and my first concern was the smell I'd heard about the omega boar brushes having. I'm not sure the extent of the boar-stench problem but am happy to report that this brush smells not the slightest bit foul. very neutral. The smell of the soap cracks me up, but thats another thread... There was a little glue (better be glue!) stuck to the bristles near the handle but I was able to get it to flake off after a couple minutes with a paper clip. The brush feels solid. I like the dark green plastic handle. The bristles feel surprisingly soft on the skin, then again I havent used it on my face yet and can only compare it to painting brushes, But Im happy.

 

[alejandro]

Cool. Keep in mind the funky smells usually come from the brushes after you wet them the first time. My guess is the manufacturers put something on them to mask the scent.

Alex.

 

[Wil Dorenbos]

I just bought my first brush minutes ago. I have a nice straight razor, and some Provence Sante Green Tea soap on the way, but have still been working on my last ever can of awful foam. Im planning on getting one of the bone handled Hans Baiers from Rasurpur pretty soon but have been thinking about getting something cheap in the mean time. Anyway I went up to my local Walgreens drugstore this morning for some pretzels and decided to take a look at the shaving section and see what kind of nonsense they were stocking, and was rather shocked to see that on the bottom shelf in the corner they had brushes and pucks of shaving soap. Only one kind of each, no williams even, but I was surprised. A perfect opportunity to get some stuff without paying shipping I figured. So I bought a the VDH natural boar brush for $8.79 and the VDH deluxe puck for $2.50. I got home and opened them up and my first concern was the smell I'd heard about the omega boar brushes having. I'm not sure the extent of the boar-stench problem but am happy to report that this brush smells not the slightest bit foul. very neutral. The smell of the soap cracks me up, but thats another thread... There was a little glue (better be glue!) stuck to the bristles near the handle but I was able to get it to flake off after a couple minutes with a paper clip. The brush feels solid. I like the dark green plastic handle. The bristles feel surprisingly soft on the skin, then again I havent used it on my face yet and can only compare it to painting brushes, But Im happy.

Great, stick with a boar...

 

[82R100]

Welcome aboard from another Michigander. We're actually quite well represented here.

That's a very nice soap to work with, and much cheaper at Walmart, if you end up wanting to replenish it.

-Chris

 

[Antique Hoosier]

Congrats you've fallen down the rabbit hole..... Next stop Wonderland.

 

[Doric]

Just wait untill you use it the first time. It will stink to high heaven!

 

[akuri]

part of the joys of breaking in a new brush is the stench

 

[Joker]

the VDH brush I got in the kit did not stink.

 

[jsrdrnr]

Congrats!!! The VDH brushes are decent brushes!!! Enjoy it.

 

[nmerth]

Welcome aboard from another Michigander. We're actually quite well represented here.

That's a very nice soap to work with, and much cheaper at Walmart, if you end up wanting to replenish it.

-Chris

Yeah walmart has a VDH Deluxe kit with the brush the soap AND a bowl (perfect for putting the soap in but to small for lathering) for only 8 bucks.

 

[justice4all]

the VDH brush I got in the kit did not stink.

Mine didn't stink either. Ditto on Walmart selling them cheaper. I bought my first set from wally world for $7 and some change.

 

[VR6ofpain]

Walgreens drugstore this morning for some pretzels and decided to take a look at the shaving section and see what kind of nonsense they were stocking, and was rather shocked to see that on the bottom shelf in the corner they had brushes and pucks of shaving soap. Only one kind of each, no williams even, but I was surprised. A perfect opportunity to get some stuff without paying shipping I figured. So I bought a the VDH natural boar brush for $8.79 and the VDH deluxe puck for $2.50. I got home and opened them up and my first concern was the smell I'd heard about the omega boar brushes having. I'm not sure the extent of the boar-stench problem but am happy to report that this brush smells not the slightest bit foul. very neutral. The smell of the soap cracks me up, but thats another thread... There was a little glue (better be glue!) stuck to the bristles near the handle but I was able to get it to flake off after a couple minutes with a paper clip. The brush feels solid. I like the dark green plastic handle. The bristles feel surprisingly soft on the skin, then again I havent used it on my face yet and can only compare it to painting brushes, But Im happy.

Several things here, yes Walgreen's actually has some rather unique shaving and personal care (deo sticks, AS, cologne, etc) items most other stores like Target/Walmart do not have. Rite Aid and CVS are also good.

Regarding the boar scent, yes it seems VDH brushes are not too bad. My Semogue was a little stronger, but still not horrid. I wonder if Omega's are really bad, or people just can be more sensitive than others.

Regarding the soap puck scent, are you smelling Geoffery Beene Grey Flannel? That is the fragrance they use to scent their soaps.

Enjoy the boar, I find they work wonders. Yes I own badger brushes as well, but I find myself using my boars more often than the badgers.

 

[WhosYerBob]

I picked up a VDH Deluxe boar brush to include in a PIF package I'm putting together and was stunned by the quality of it. It's *much* better than the Omega 40033 that I have by a wide margin - both in size and in feel.

 

[BruceK]

I got the starter kit from Walmart for a little over $7 and I had absolutely no problem with the brush smelling. I just started recently so I don't' have anything to compare it to but I think the brush works and feels great. It did shed a bit but that seems to have tapered off to almost nothing. And I haven't had any real problems getting a good lather out of the VDH deluxe soap, just a little playing with the amount of water needed.

I like it when cheap works well. I'm not looking to spend a fortune. I started down this road because of the price of Mach 3 cartridges. Of course, I'm liking the journey for a lot of other reasons.

 

[dog]

Regarding the boar scent, yes it seems VDH brushes are not too bad. My Semogue was a little stronger, but still not horrid. I wonder if Omega's are really bad, or people just can be more sensitive than others.

I don't think this is the case (the varying levels of sensitivity); I have both an Omega and a VDH. When new, the VDH was only very mildly stinky. The Omega stunk like crazy!

 

[Arctic]

So I used the VDH boar brush last night. It did indeed have a noticable smell once I got it wet. Not a "Something died" smell, but more like wet dog, but greasier smelling. I shampood it, did a couple practice lathers with some Conks Lime, then just sprayed it with Scrubbing Bubbles. The smell almost went away. Smells more like soap now than wet dog. Got horrible results lathering, but I'm sure its my inexperience showing. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[tater_salad]

I just picked up a VDH kit and my brush isn't too stinky.. it almost has a smell like everyone at the factory smokes, but it's not too noticeable.