Omega 10019 - 100% Boar Bristle Shaving Brush

Just got this brush a few days ago...never had a boar brush....wanted to try one because I like a stiffer bristle....this brush now after 4 shaves...terrific for the price...good backbone...Omega does brushes right....and for this price its a winner.

This is my third brush - first was a cheap badger, nice feel but shed a lot of hairs. Second was a synthetic, too big and too soft for my taste. This Omega boar bristle brush hits the sweet spot. Great feel, holds lots of lather, holds its bristles. For the price it’s unbeatable.

Omega makes the best boar brushes, in my opinion. I own several brands, but Omega is just a bit better. Okay...Semogue brushes are about as good....BUT...the Omega Professional 10049 is THE brush, especially after it is broken in. I bought the smaller brush for travel/smaller mugs/to fit a smaller holder space. The 10019 is breaking in VERY well and has great backbone. I see it becoming a regular use brush very soon.

This brush is a nice size; smaller than the other Omegas I have owned (mixed midget excepted), but with the same quality of bristle. It came with only a mild barnyard odor and that was gone after a couple test lathers. It only shed a few hairs during initial use and doesn't shed at all now. The firmness and springiness of the bristle are pure Omega, much springier and more durable feeling than some other popular boar brushes.

My two reservations (which for the asking price are really not of much concern) are that it has a plastic handle that's hollow, seems to be three-pieces glued together and has mold marks all over it (*not* blacked-out clear acrylic like the higher-end Omegas)... and it somehow manages to feel chintzier than the colored plastic handles on other basic Omega brushes. More importantly though, it doesn't hold all that much lather, so a second pass is a bit thin and three passes would definitely require re-loading the brush.

I'd rate it as a decent travel brush for boar fans, or a good boar for those who prefer small brushes, but overall the performance is a bit lackluster and the handle is also disappointing after owning two solid acrylic handled Omegas. Certainly worth $7 though!

I started wet shaving black friday 2016 with the van der hagen kit from walgreens for 10 dollars. It came with a boar hair brush. I could NEVER get it to lather the soap. Tried everything but nothing worked, not even using distilled water!
I ended up getting some omega S brushes, and a razorock big Bruce from italian barber and had no problem at all. In my second order i went to order an extra S10019 synthetic hair brush but accidentally ordered the 10019 boar hair brush. BEST MISTAKE EVER! I wanted to give a quality boar brush a chance and decided to go with an omega but was going to wait to order one. Once the package arrived and i saw i made this mistake i figured "oh well". I tried the 10019 boar hair brush by omega and was pleasantly surprised. It had a LOT of backbone but it was a gentle backbone, and was a little scritchy but not to much. I suspect over time as it breaks in that it will soften but if it doesn't I'll still be overjoyed. If you're looking for a good quality, reasonably priced boar hair brush i recommend this brush. It's very good quality at a reasonable price.

On a side note i did fear the animal funk may be overpowering based on reviews of this brush but the one i ordered had zero smell.

For a newbie i recommend the omega S10019 or S10065. Or if they're serious, a plissoft brush by Razorock. But for a first boar hair brush i recommend this. I still prefer synthetics. but this made me respect boar.