Surprising little brush

Well, surprising to me anyway. Stumbled across an Omega 50068 aka Little Bambino at a local discount store. Being always up to try an inexpensive interesting shave item, I naturally bought it. After using it in this mornings shave all I can say was that I was surprised how well it performed for it's size. It face lathered up a storm using a stick of Arko. I can't wait to see what it will be like when fully broken in.

I have a couple of "travel" brushes but this may wind up to be a favourite. I really think anyone looking for a compact travel brush should give it a test especially given it's low price point. Paired with a stick of Palmolive it would make a classic and effective retro working man's travel combo.

Bob

I looked it up. Sure is a tall bristled little brush. Cutr little handle. Finger tip work out. Was it stiff enough with those long boar hairs?

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Originally Posted by Gasman

I looked it up. Sure is a tall bristled little brush. Cutr little handle. Finger tip work out. Was it stiff enough with those long boar hairs?

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Yes it certainly was. Generally, boar brushes have a higher loft to knot size ratio than the much vaunted 2 band badger knots while still retaining excellent backbone/stiffness. Just the nature of the difference between the 2 types of hairs. I'm sure the Little Bambino will tear into a hard puck of soap as well as the full sized Omega 10066 of which I somehow wound up with several.

Bob

Attachment 293882

Well thats a little cutie! For the price it would be rude not to get one. Cheers for the heads up.

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Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

Well thats a little cutie! For the price it would be rude not to get one. Cheers for the heads up.

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Always happy to enable. ;)

Bob

Put in my order. And while i was at it, and sense i dont have any Omega brushes, i ordered 2 others too. A guy cant have enough brushes you know. :)

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Originally Posted by Gasman

Put in my order. And while i was at it, and sense i dont have any Omega brushes, i ordered 2 others too. A guy cant have enough brushes you know. :)

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I have been pleasantly surprised by how soft those Omega boar brushes become after some use. ANd, they generate a fair amount of lather for a brush that is the fraction of the price of a badger.

I was thinking of this thread when I made a little order today at Maggard. They were sold out of the 50068, so I picked up a 10049.

Attachment 293895


I’ll let you know how it goes.

That is one of the ones I ordered too. Great minds think alike! :)
But I got it in Black.

Now, if I can remember the last one. Oh well, It will be a nice surprise. I could look up my order, but where is the fun in that!

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Originally Posted by DZEC

I have been pleasantly surprised by how soft those Omega boar brushes become after some use. ANd, they generate a fair amount of lather for a brush that is the fraction of the price of a badger.

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Yes, for me they seem well broke in after 2-3 weeks of every day use. Love the soft tips and good backbone once the Omegas are broken in. If I load the Little Bambino right I can get 3-4 passes in with a single loading. They certainly will generate enough lather for me when face lathering. I do not see why the same would not be true for bowl lathering either.

Hope those that have ordered one enjoy it as much as I am enjoying mine. Will be using mine daily for the next 2-3 weeks to properly break it in.

Bob

The Omegas seem to have pretty stiff backbone compared to some others. As was said, the tips get softer after a while and they are a nice departure from the badgers at times, esp at the price-point.
Heck, since someone said MDC will make a performer out of most any brush, I face-lathered with my big and tall Omega using Argumes the other day. Needed more water than with a badger, but worked nicely for the entire 3-pass shave.

I have 2 of them and yes, they lose a hair on occasion. No big deal for me.

The hair loss with brushes used to bother me. But now days if it sheds a little its fine. As long as they dont loose 8 or 10 at a whack. If i pick up a few more burshes this year im going to need a display on the wall for them. :)

For those worried that a brush like the Little Bambino would have enough back bone for hard pucks rest assured it has. Been using it with MWF the past couple of days and it will work well on a hard puck. You may have to reload the brush due to it's size for multi pass shaves as I did.

Bob

My order came in. The pro brush is the wrong color. But here is a pic of what I got...
Attachment 294056

Looks like i didnt order the little bambino at all. Dammit. Too many long numbers.
Pro on the left
10066 on the right
40033 in the front.

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Originally Posted by Gasman

My order came in. The pro brush is the wrong color. But here is a pic of what I got...

Looks like i didnt order the little bambino at all. Dammit. Too many long numbers.
Pro on the left
10066 on the right
40033 in the front.

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There is always next time for the Little Bambino. The 10066 brush is the one I go to if I want to use a boar brush. Enjoy them.

Bob

Ordered the 50068 today. Well, i will have a few boars to choose from and a lot of breaking in to do for the next couple or three weeks. Ha. Its all for the fun of shaving and they dont cost much.

Got this one a couple of months ago. It’s well broken in now and is the perfect size for working up a lather in my shaving mug.

Attachment 294071

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Originally Posted by DZEC

Got this one a couple of months ago. It’s well broken in now and is the perfect size for working up a lather in my shaving mug.

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Oddly enough I like that type of handle for face lathering having big mitts.

Bob

How do you guys break in your boar brushes? Just using them to shave? Or do you whip up lathers for sport a couple times before using on the face?

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Originally Posted by earcutter

How do you guys break in your boar brushes? Just using them to shave? Or do you whip up lathers for sport a couple times before using on the face?

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Soak in cold water in the fridge for 3 days. Then hand lather and rinse...then shake out water...then 5 minutes doing circles on a dry towel with the tip. Repeat the lather and circles on towel for a week...then just use it ...a lot.

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Originally Posted by nessmuck

Soak in cold water in the fridge for 3 days. Then hand lather and rinse...then shake out water...then 5 minutes doing circles on a dry towel with the tip. Repeat the lather and circles on towel for a week...then just use it ...a lot.

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Sir, thank you.

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Originally Posted by earcutter

How do you guys break in your boar brushes? Just using them to shave? Or do you whip up lathers for sport a couple times before using on the face?

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I just use mine daily for 2-3 weeks to break it in.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

I just use mine daily for 2-3 weeks to break it in.

Bob

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Don’t they wreak Bob? Nessmuck’s response made sense to me because I always thought you HAD to treat em. I guess not.

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Originally Posted by earcutter

Don’t they wreak Bob? Nessmuck’s response made sense to me because I always thought you HAD to treat em. I guess not.

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All I can say is that I started shaving using a boar brush about 50 years ago and have used them on and off ever since. So far breaking them in by just using them has not wrecked them. OTH by treating them they may well break in a bit faster but I have not tried that. There is always more than one way to skin a cat.

Bob

I will give it a good wash in warm water with a pinch of oxyclean in a tall glass. Whip up the soapy water really well for a few minutes. Rince with warm water and dry as i would any brush after a use. The next day after it has dried i take it in the shower with me and shampoo my hair put some of that lather in my hand and hand lather the brush with the shampoo lather. Rince well with warm water.

Get out of the shower and its ready to go. It will break in more as you use it but this helps to get rid of any bad smells. As if i could smell it. Well, its how i do it and i havent smelled anything bad after doing this.

Or, just use the thing for a while. It will break in and any scent will go away.

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Originally Posted by Gasman

Or, just use the thing for a while. It will break in and any scent will go away.

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Now that you mention it, I can't recall ever having a new Omega boar brush that smelt funky. I have had a couple of badger brushes that smelt funky at first and one that had made the rinse water brown.

Bob

I’m with Bob. I haven’t noticed any smells from the 3 Omega boar brushes I have and I just started shaving with them out of the box. They got softer the more I used them, no question about that and I haven’t experienced much bristle loss.

I got mine in today. It’s on the left. The picture doesn’t do it justice, it’s huge!!

Attachment 294167

Yep, That 49 is a biggie! Here is mine in the right colored handle and the little one this thread is about. A wee bit of difference. Ha.
Attachment 294213

So now I have 4 new Omega brushes to break in. This is going to take some time!

I want the small one lol! Or maybe one in-between!

The 4 i got are all different sizes. Its going to be fun playing with them and finding what size is best.

Almost 2 weeks on daily shaving with the Little Bambino and it is almost broken in. Performance has been just great and it has earned a permanent spot in my travel brush line up.

Been using a Palmolive shave stick the past few days and have gotten just super nice shaves using a straight razor. Love the pleasant scent of the Palmolive shave stick as it reminds me of when I started shaving about 50 years ago using Palmolive shave cream. Palmolive, just as good as ever.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Almost 2 weeks on daily shaving with the Little Bambino and it is almost broken in. Performance has been just great and it has earned a permanent spot in my travel brush line up.

Been using a Palmolive shave stick the past few days and have gotten just super nice shaves using a straight razor. Love the pleasant scent of the Palmolive shave stick as it reminds me of when I started shaving about 50 years ago using Palmolive shave cream. Palmolive, just as good as ever.

Bob

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That’s awesome. Thanks for the update. It’s great when it all works!

I began to brake in my behemoth as recommended - I soaked it in the fridge, lathered it up a few times and worked the tips on a towel. I can totally see why people like these. Especially considering the cost. But at the end of the day, mine is just too big. It sits in the display case.

I ordered two more though! Woot. Smaller of course.

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Originally Posted by earcutter

I ordered two more though! Woot. Smaller of course.

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The Omega 10066 seems to me to be about the right size for an every day boar brush.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

The Omega 10066 seems to me to be about the right size for an every day boar brush.

Bob

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Nice! It just so happened I was shopping at a European store and they had the new Nom's. I got a black and a boar. Both 21 mm I think.

nom | made in germany

It's all fun until you lose your savings lol!! JK

10066 does seen to me the perfect size too. I used the bambino a few days ago. Tiny, but enough backbone to do the job. A bit more work to get the lather i like but do-able. And for the size of the Bambino, it will easy to put in a shave kit. Thanks to Bob for finding and testing this little brush. I need more time with it before it breaks in, but i can see that the Omega Boar hair brushes are a nice quality hair. At the moment, without them being completely broken in they are not holding the lather as well. But i can tell they soon will.

Wanted to add that the Pro 49 brush was NOT impressive. I found the handle to be a nice beefy size that fit great in the hand but, The knot was lacking. It was like they forgot to put in a "lot" of hairs. It should have been made much more dence for that size of knot. I found it a little on the floppy side and this was with only two shaves with it. So its not going to get tighter or stiffer! in the fututre it will make for a nice handle to re-knot but thats about what I think of it. And they give it the name PRO? Its not right IMO!