You could get a smelly one, but the good ones are great!
This is my first shaving brush, which I selected because of all the great reviews on Amazon.  I just started using it today, and I have to say I don't know if I can continue using it.  The smell of this thing is right out of a barnyard, and a filthy one at that.  The first time I washed it, the water was actually brown coming out of the brush.  I washed and rinsed it about 4 times more before I used it and the smell remained.  It's been drying all day and the smell still persists when it's dry.  My partner has 2 shaving brushes from The Art of Shaving and neither one of them smells like an animal or its excrement the way this one does...  I want to evaluate this for its functional merits, but I simply can't get past the smell!<br /><br />UPDATE 4/13/2016<br />As many other reviewers have noted, this company has impeccable customer service.  As soon as I posted my review above, I was contacted and had a new brush at my door a couple of days later.  The new one wasn't as smelly as the first, and I again followed the directions on how to prep it.  I use it every shave now.  There's still a slight smell, which I can't tell is from the glue or the hair, but it's tolerable.  I still have the original, smelly one, which I haven't spent much time working on, but I might see if I can get it to a point where it's smell is manageable as well.  I can't give these guys 5 stars, even though the product is great and they have great customer service, because I can't help but believe a better QA process or cleaning process when producing these would reduce or even eliminate the need for prepping instructions and replacements.
Rating: 4 stars