Shavemac knot odor

Hello all,
I just received mt second Shavemac Silvertip brush and it has a strong chemical odor, reminds me of moth balls. Soaked and washed it twice in dish washing soap and tried some shampoo as well. It really stinks. The other Shavemac is great, no odor; a great brush.
Anyone have a suggestion about how to clear the air?
I noticed, a post from a couple of years ago, that some people had a similar issue, just wondering if any solution's were found.
Thanks.

I would recommend using your strongest scented soap to do a few successive palm lathers to see it that mitigates the odd odour. 
Best of luck.

I’d try vinegar solution followed by baking soda then hand soap, to attack the scent at its origin. Only thing worst than stink is masked stink.

(04-17-2019, 05:20 AM)lloydrm Wrote: I’d try vinegar solution followed by baking soda then hand soap, to attack the scent at its origin. Only thing worst than stink is masked stink.

I disagree, Stink is a lot worst then masked stink. But I do get your point!

I had only one brush that take so much  to clean it that I completely discard it as I think that there is nothing to do with it! It always stink like a WET dog and worst.

That exception made, I had no problem after a couple of hand wash!

Thanks all for the replies, an.
I think I could work with the wet animal smell; our dogs have trained me well. ;-)
Maybe I am unfamiliar with wet badgers, but this really smells like moth balls.

(04-16-2019, 06:56 PM)celestino Wrote: I would recommend using your strongest scented soap to do a few successive palm lathers to see it that mitigates the odd odour. 
Best of luck.

This ^^^

You might consider soaking the brush overnight in a borax solution followed by another 12 hours (or so) in a shampoo solution.  If that doesn't work, I'd suggest reaching out to Bernd for his suggestions.  

In that regard, we typically soak our knots overnight in a shampoo solution before drying and setting.  Still, we had a batch of knots come through a few years ago that were particularly "stinky;" but a couple long soaks in borax followed by a night swimming in shampoo cleaned things up quite nicely.

We wish you the best.

Borax does indeed work wonders. That and a few palm lathers has gotten rid of even the worst stink on any brush I've had, badger or boar.

(04-19-2019, 05:50 AM)BSWoodturning Wrote: You might consider soaking the brush overnight in a borax solution followed by another 12 hours (or so) in a shampoo solution.  If that doesn't work, I'd suggest reaching out to Bernd for his suggestions.  

Thank you for the suggestion. I am guessing that the glue bump has to be kept above the solution?

In that regard, we typically soak our knots overnight in a shampoo solution before drying and setting.  Still, we had a batch of knots come through a few years ago that were particularly "stinky;" but a couple long soaks in borax followed by a night swimming in shampoo cleaned things up quite nicely.

We wish you the best.

(04-24-2019, 08:48 PM)georgesg Wrote:

(04-19-2019, 05:50 AM)BSWoodturning Wrote: You might consider soaking the brush overnight in a borax solution followed by another 12 hours (or so) in a shampoo solution.  If that doesn't work, I'd suggest reaching out to Bernd for his suggestions.  

Thank you for the suggestion. I am guessing that the glue bump has to be kept above the solution?

In that regard, we typically soak our knots overnight in a shampoo solution before drying and setting.  Still, we had a batch of knots come through a few years ago that were particularly "stinky;" but a couple long soaks in borax followed by a night swimming in shampoo cleaned things up quite nicely.

We wish you the best.

I wouldn’t worry about keeping the glue bump dry. The glue (now typically an epoxy) is intended to get wet anyway. Also, you want to “sanitize” the hair that falls below the glue bump.

Hope things work out for you.


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I've used Oxiclean then a good scented shampoo to clean Brushes to get rid of their "new" smell.

Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions.  I think I'll start with the Borax soak and go from there.

(04-16-2019, 05:50 PM)georgesg Wrote: Hello all,
I just received mt second Shavemac Silvertip brush and it has a strong chemical odor, reminds me of moth balls. Soaked and washed it twice in dish washing soap and tried some shampoo as well. It really stinks. The other Shavemac is great, no odor; a great brush.
Anyone have a suggestion about how to clear the air?
I noticed, a post from a couple of years ago, that some people had a similar issue, just wondering if any solution's were found.
Thanks.

I know exactly what you are talking about. Vie-Long brushes always used to have this odor too. Just use a fragrant cream to lather it a few times and the odor will completely go away.

Thanks one and all for the advice and recommendations.

 
I eventually was successful in getting the odor out by combining the advice of several people.
 
I soaked the brush, for about 6 hrs. in a 10% Borax solution, rinsed well them followed by another long soak in a shampoo solution. There was still a slight odor that persisted so I gave it another wash with a dish washing soap followed by a couple of hand lathers using a shaving soap, and voilà an odorless brush!

It is probably the cleanest brush, of any kind, that I have ever owned  .

The effort seems to have been worth it, the brush survived, and now a great preforming brush!