Omega Model 11574 Black and Orange Handle Boar Shaving Brush, 24mm

Good brush. Actually softer on first use than my omega 10098 and much much softer. Beautiful brush. I am not sure after some time if the handle will separate or not. Or if the handle will break. But will see. If it does I'll just buy another one. It's cheap so why not?

Purchased the 11574 a couple onths ago and I couldn't be happier. I use it mostly for face lathering. The bristles are very soft but with plenty of backbone. I have used it to bowl later also and it seems to work fine. The long bristles allow this brush to be a multi-functional brush. Very little break in and I didn't get a funky smell that most people talk about with boar brushes. Oh, and did I mention the price?

I bought this brush a few months ago as part of a novice DE shaving set. It's cheap, and apparently very popular. Well, within a month or so, a crack formed in the black plastic base. I can't remember ever dropping it, or any other impacts that would've caused it to crack.I figured maybe it was just a consequence of soaking the brush in hot water while I showered before shaving. Anyhow, today when I was shaving, the brush came apart in my hands. The orange housing which holds the bristles separated from the black part. I stuck them back together, and tomorrow we'll see if it's still usable at all, but I suspect it's kaput. Maybe I just got a defective one, but on this brush, I suspect you'll get what you pay for — not much. I have nothing but good things to say about Maggard products and customer service (the razor and their shaving soap are both excellent!), and I'll be buying a new brush from them, but it won't be this model.

Picked this brush up since I didn't have a boar brush and had heard good things about Omega. Started off with what I guess was the normal animal smell, gave it a rinse and light shampooing which knocked it down a bit, and after my first shave with it using red Proraso the smell was gone. I've been using it every other day for about 2 weeks and have no complaints. The stiffness is nice, even after soaking it prior to shaving and almost gives what I would call an exfoliating effect? Great brush for the price.