Observation on Badger Brush Funk

Raissermesser · Feb 13, 2016

I splurged and got a Pure Badger brush. It actually felt more scratchy than boar, likely due to trimmed ends to shape the brush. Didn't smell an odor until I soaked it. Having read about the funk in new badger brushes, I just went ahead and used it.

What caught my attention was the type of odor. I was expecting the smell of a wet dog or goat, but what I got was one of singed hair. After use and rinse, I took a whiff to see if it has less. Definately a singed hair smell. Maybe from the manufacturing process?

DCRIII · Feb 13, 2016

I've had badgers with strong funk, but non of them smelled like singed hair. As you've pointed out, it's most likely due the way it was made.

J-MN · Feb 13, 2016

Just curious, what kind of brush is it?

I only have one badger brush (Kent BK4) and it had minimal smell when I first started using it. My two boar brushed had a much more noticeable smell when new, but still not too bad.

nelamvr6 · Feb 13, 2016

No reputable or knowledgeable brush maker would trim the tips of a knot to shape it.

Can you please tell us the brand of this brush?

Raissermesser · Feb 13, 2016

Van der Hagen. It was there and it was cheap. It's my understanding that pure badger, the lowest grade, has trimmed badger fur.

nelamvr6 · Feb 13, 2016

Raissermesser said:
Van der Hagen. It was there and it was cheap. It's my understanding that pure badger, the lowest grade, has trimmed badger fur.

I haven't tried one of their brushes. If your information is correct, I would not recommend them. Trimming the tips of badger bristles to save money is an incredibly bad idea.

The old adage about getting what you pay for is usually true.

IMHO, a badger brush with scratchy bristles is worthless, at least for shaving.

If you had taken your money and formed it into a small pile and then set it on fire, you would have at least gotten light and heat out of it for a little while.

Now, instead, you have a badger brush with scratchy bristles that smell singed.

If I were you I would discard it and get a decent brush. Boar hair brushes can be had for less than $20 if you can't afford a decent badger brush, and synthetic brushes are dirt cheap also.

Raissermesser · Feb 13, 2016

nelamvr6 said:
I haven't tried one of their brushes. If your information is correct, I would not recommend them. Trimming the tips of badger bristles to save money is an incredibly bad idea.

This really gets down to the question of whether pure badger brushes are shaped by trimming. According to Wiki and The Shaving Den, they are. If that's the case, then pure badger is going to suffer the same issue regardless of manufacturer.

For the heck of it, I just took my three brushes and compared them by smushing them against my face as though I was making a lather there.

First up was my well broken in Ever Ready boar. I bought this out of new old stock soon after I started shaving decades ago. The bristles are stiff, but, as expected, the tips are soft.

Next is my Van der Hagen boar, which came with a mug I wanted, and which I use since my Ever Ready is getting old in the tooth and starte shedding a little. This brush is well broken in, too, but isn't quite as soft as the Ever Ready, and also isn't as stiff.

Last is my new Van der Hagen pure badger. The bristles are noticeably less stiff, and it feels like there's just a few that are scratchy. It smushes on down easier than the boar.

nelamvr6 · Feb 13, 2016

Raissermesser said:
This really gets down to the question of whether pure badger brushes are shaped by trimming. According to Wiki and The Shaving Den, they are. If that's the case, then pure badger is going to suffer the same issue regardless of manufacturer.

For the heck of it, I just took my three brushes and compared them by smushing them against my face as though I was making a lather there.

First up was my well broken in Ever Ready boar. I bought this out of new old stock soon after I started shaving decades ago. The bristles are stiff, but, as expected, the tips are soft.

Next is my Van der Hagen boar, which came with a mug I wanted, and which I use since my Ever Ready is getting old in the tooth and starte shedding a little. This brush is well broken in, too, but isn't quite as soft as the Ever Ready, and also isn't as stiff.

Last is my new Van der Hagen pure badger. The bristles are noticeably less stiff, and it feels like there's just a few that are scratchy. It smushes on down easier than the boar.

Well, if you're happy with it, I guess all's well.

I hope that the singed smell dissipates quickly for you.

ChiefBroom · Feb 14, 2016

I'd expect hair that has been exposed to enough heat to cause it to smell singed would also show visible evidence of damage very distinct from the appearance of trimmed hair. Human hair seems highly prone to absorbing and retaining the smell of smoke. Your story makes me wonder whether the knot might simply have been exposed to smoke, possibly from burning hair in the vicinity, rather than damaged by heat itself.

My understanding is that steam is sometimes used to disinfect badger hair. That could cause damage, but I don't think it would produce the smell you described.

global_dev · Feb 14, 2016

i dont know that all pure badgers are shaped by cuting, especially the versions created by shavemac and plisson. idk

ChiefBroom · Feb 14, 2016

global_dev said:
i dont know that all pure badgers are shaped by cuting, especially the versions created by shavemac and plisson. idk

Yes, and (just my opinion) I think sweeping categorical statements on either side of this issue are debatable. I just looked at a handful of high-end, 2-band brushes (between 2-10 years old) from three different makers, and under magnification I could pick out some ends that looked to me like they were cut in each of them. Maybe some hairs grow with that appearance naturally, but I doubt it. In any case, it's not entirely an either/or question. What matters most, I think, is not whether but how much, which can range from just a few trimmed hairs to a lot.

global_dev · Feb 14, 2016

[MENTION=49139]ChiefBroom[/MENTION]

you think those particular trimmed hairs were the exception to a knot that was almost finished and the trim "finished" it?

ChiefBroom · Feb 14, 2016

global_dev said:
@ChiefBroom

you think those particular trimmed hairs were the exception to a knot that was almost finished and the trim "finished" it?

I really don't know, and I wouldn't feel comfortable speculating about what someone else might have done. What I can say is all five of the brushes I selected are among my favorites. I could be wrong about all of them containing some trimmed hairs. But under a loupe it sure looks like it. Higher magnification would be more revealing, but I don't have anything like that immediately at hand, and depth of field gets to be an issue. It just makes sense to me, though, that a few "outliers" would be dressed. My main point was that, at least in my opinion, observation of a trimmed hair doesn't mean a knot is inferior. It's relative.

Raissermesser · Feb 16, 2016

Update:

The funk is almost gone. The residual smell this morning was a faint whiff of wet fur. The brush is practically scratch-free. Maybe loose hairs that shed? Only noticed some scratchiness doing a face lather, and it was much less than before. Do badger brushes have a break-in period? They're so much softer than boar I didn't think they would.

BigJ · Feb 17, 2016

Glad things are working out!

paintflinger · Feb 17, 2016

Could be the glue or epoxy that they used to attach the knot off gassing slightly.

emwolf · Feb 17, 2016

I've had plenty of natural hair brushes with funk, but never the singed smell. My badgers are by far the softest on the face. I've got 3 badgers that I have used in heavy rotation, one synthetic and one horse. My boar bristles are laying fallow these days.

ChiefBroom · Feb 17, 2016

paintflinger said:
Could be the glue or epoxy that they used to attach the knot off gassing slightly.

That's an interesting thought.

MpMinNY · Feb 17, 2016

I got a Parker best badger for Xmas. I soaked it in detergent, then used it the next day and it STUNK. I used it 4 more times (now up to 5 uses + a detergent bath), and it still wreaks.
This is my 5th badger brush, but the first time I've shied away from using one because of the persistent odor. I can only imagine from where on the animal they got this hair... and what the heck did this thing smell like when it was alive! Yikes.

BTW... it's a beautiful brush. Long loft, nice backbone, dense knot... I had a dog like this. The more I bathed him, the worse he smelled.

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Observation on Badger Brush Funk

Raissermesser

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ChiefBroom

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global_dev

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