Thread: Do all new brushes stink?

I've alsl had good luck lathering up a new brush a lot to get rid of the smell. First brush I bought took about a month's worth of straight shaves to get rid of the smell.
Now when I get a brush I get it wet and smell it. If it stinks I lather it up 2-3 times a day for a few days to help with the smell.

The new brush stench varies. The worst for me was a boar brush that would literally turn your stomach. The stench quickly dissipated with repeated washing and usage.

Sometimes brushes from the same maker and hair type either stink or have no smell. Odd.

I've used Oxi Clean for badly stinking brushes when I want to clean as throughly as possible, but unless the stink is really bad, I just wash with shampoo and use.

Larry Andro at Whipped Dog sends a packet of Oxi Clean with the knots he sells to reduce odor. I've never had an English brush smell bad, but the Chinese ones now coming on the market do have a strong animal smell. One seller of Franks Shaving brushes (Chinese) claims that 95% of all Badger hair on the market today comes from northern China. If this is so, there must be some pretty nervous Badgers around there, no wonder their hair falls out in clumps when made into brushes. Perhaps the English are civilized enough to deoderize their brushes before placing them on the market <g>.

+1 on Oxiclean. That stuff really helped my first badger brush which smelled like the badger was still attached.

I think they recommend a 2-3 minute soak in the Oxi...I think I doubled the recommended time and took care of 90% of the odor.

I only have two brushes (the second one came from Gemstar and it had a very faint animal smell that was quickly rectified with use).

So, no, not all brushes stink...but some do (badly) and its really not a big deal, it just takes a bit of cleaning to take care of.

I'm another who has yet to find a stinky new brush. I was always curious, because I've read many threads over the years where someone complains about "new brush smell", yet I've never smelled a new brush that I would describe as objectionable. It must be a hit or miss thing

Unit and jworlein above are right on. The smell goes away after a few (several) uses. Upfront washing with Oxy or dish detergent with Oxy in its name is a very good start.

Pretty much all my brushes have been stinky to various degrees. All my brushes are restorations. I have bought new badger knots either from Golden Nib or directly from China via eBay. They have all smelled for 3-4 uses. Repeatedly washing them in shampoo and/or a dish detergent in particular with Oxy in its name is a very efficient way to remove the smell. I have been through about 20 different knots of different sizes, mostly silvertip or best badger. They all look nice and clean upon arrival, but when exposed to hot water and some lather there is a definite hairy animal smell.

The horse brush that I just won (hahahaha, I won, I won, I won) in the December giveaway still has a noticeable smell after about 7 uses. The first 3-4 days very strong, but now it has faded quite a bit. BTW, that brush must be the best value for money out there. It lathers like a champ for a mere $2.45. Spectacularly good for that Mitchell's Wool Fat my wife gave me for Christmas. Quite stiff, but I always use boiling hot water from the teapot for soaking while I shower so it is good and ready when I get to the shave part of the morning ritual.

My two badger brushes didn't stink
at all. My first a cheap Burma Shave
boar definitely had a smell but it wasn't
stomach turning or anything. The smell
disappeared after a few shaves...quit
a few shaves later actually.

Terry