[Tink]

Hi there. used my C&E brush yesterday to lather up some mama bears orange orange soap (lovely!) and was really put off by the stench of the brush.

is it usual for badger brushes, when wet, to smell like an entire wet badger? is there anything i can do to stop it? how long does it last?

Would be fine, but the smell interfered with my enjoymend of the orange!

Tink (letting the damned smelly thing dry near a window)

[Chady]

I have no idea what a badger smells like. But all my badger brushes(4), barring one(so 3 of them ), have smelled of ''something'' the first one or two times I used them. Then after that it faded away.

How long have you had it?

[Tink]

since last weekend, but yesterday was the first time i've used it.

its a kind of wet dog smell

[Chady]

Then my guess is that it will pass away within the next few times used.

[crazycliff200843]

It should smell as the hair comes from an animal. When I first got mine, I worked some shampoo into it, rinsed, and repeated and it quit smelling after that. If you don't go through the trouble to get rid of the smell, it will eventually go away as the soap or cream you use will also wash it out.

[gssixgun]

Aint it sweet?????

Shampoo followed by conditioner helps, but a quick dip in the sink with a little 20 Mule Team Borax from the laundry room really helped mine......

[nun2sharp]

I think somebody in another thread described the smell as "weasal butt", mild soap or borax will clean it.

[Lt.Arclight]

The Badger used for mine must have been a juvenile at heart-because Johnson's Baby Shampoo took the stink out of my brush.

[jwoods]

like your hair it could use a shampoo and a complete drying it shouldnt smell after that unless you use badger scented shampoo
as the others have said borax cleans them well also i think one brand of brush recommends using that

[kaptain_zero]

Not to worry... it will fade soon enough, usually a weeks worth of shaves will do it, slightly longer if you baby the brush. You have not lived until you've had to..... uhmmmm.... season a brand new Omega boars hair brush. For some reason, the last one I purchased had the distinct odor as if the hair had surrounded the "exhaust vent" of said boar. Needless to say, it was a stomach turning scent and it was long lived too... I stuck with it and eventually it went away. I could have used some dog shampoo I suppose, but brushes are sterilized so they are safe, though not de-scented. In comparison to that boars brush, a rank Badger brush is durn near fresh air!

Most of us wetshavers who succumb to brush acquisition disorder actually develop an appreciation for that "wet dog scent".

Regards

Kaptain " I love the smell of a wet badger in the morning" Zero

[icedog]

Hey! Stop sniffing those brushes! What are you crazy? For your own safety and that of those around you, please use the brush only as intended.

[nun2sharp]

@ icedog, hey man i'm over 18 and can siff the stuff if I want, mine smells like colleens bay rum. If I could find a way to mainline....

[AusTexShaver]

That smell is your assurance you got the genuine article! And as others have said it does go away but BE WARNED that smell is VERY addictive and if you don't pre-wash your brush or it doesn't go away in 3-4 shaves you WILL find yourself needing that smell which leads to buying several more new brushes in rapid succession while trying to wean yourself!

[Chady]

Ultimately, in the end, you could end up with a live badger in your bathroom. But once you've gone that far there's no going back.
-Also they get kinda irritable when you spray them with water and stick your face down to sniff...

[JOEPECSI]

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN STRAIGHT BLADE MINDS WANDER

[crazycliff200843]

In the situation that you were going to acquire a real badger to make your own brushes, what would you use to cut the hair? I ask because after the hair grows back (for the next round of brushes), wouldn't the end of the hair be more course/flat and not as flexible/soft if clippers or scissors were used ? (assuming you aren't going to kill the badger when you're done so you don't have to go thru the trouble of raising one yourself again to make sure its hair is of the finest quality)

[OLD_SCHOOL]

If this thread starts to talk about how badger hair is obtained and/or what is done to the badger, this thread will be closed.

Please keep it on topic.

[icedog]

Badgers?
special edition - Weebl's Stuff

[English]

So were do you think badger hair comes from?

First thing, it should have been sterilized. If the brush does not say sterilized, I for one would not put it on my skin.

Second, the smell. If it smells wash in soap until the smell goes away. Incidentally, I have bought many brushes and I have never purchased one that had a smell to it. How much did you pay for the brush? It may indicate something.

Finally, you should never clip/cut the end of the brush with scissors or anything else. It will destroy the soft feeling that you paid for. If you cut it it will feel rough and uncomfortable.

Mind you, once the smell has gone, just think how much money you saved yourself. Cheapskate.