Synthetic vs. Boar vs. Badger?

[Tonysco]

I have all 3 types.

My favourite brush is a pure badger by Simpsons.

Omega make great boar brushes in a larger size, i think the few i have are called the 48 series. Great if you have a few days of growth and want to really scrub the lather in there.

I have an omega synthetic and its decent, especially with hard soaps, i keep it in my wash kit for travelling. I have a synthetic Body Shop shaving brush (first ever brush) and its stood up extremely well and produces a great lather on the face.

 

[Boar Fighter]

Speak of the devil, my Vie Long 12705 horse brush, after the last shave, did tangle... Fortunately i took a very long comb with wide spaces from the wife's equipment and resolved the tangle, after breaking 5-8 hairs. It seems normal again now. But, what a shame. It only takes one time where you forget about it and push more while swirling and it tangles. I imagine the 50-50 is even worse in tangling, because the hair is softer.

It's a damn shame, because they perform so well. I had found myself even contemplating an Epsilon horse hair brush, because i loved the handles and 2 colours, but i was stopped by the very large knot and also the very short hair, which much give it too much backbone. Now having also to deal with tangling... It is probably why Epsilon have very short hair (less than 2:1 ratio). To avoid easy tangling. But, as a matter of fact, i googled and found out, that horse hair tangling is ordinary problem in live horses too. And when the tangle is very bad, the owners simply... cut the tail hair. This doesn't sound a good solution for a brush i am afraid.

 

[Clay S]

I like the backbone of my Omega Pro 10098 and how it feels on my face. It is my favorite brush. Next in line would be a toss-up between my Omega S-Brush, and my Vie Long Horse. Their backbone is what I like about them. SO I would have to say that backbone is probably most important to me.

 

[mrdoug]

Recently got an Omega synthetic boar brush. Really liking it. I just saw a post on mixed brushes... Boar and badger. That made me think, "does anyone make a mixed synthetic... Like synthetic boar and synthetic badger? "

I'd imagine, just as the boar badger adds the best of both worlds, a synth of this type would do the same? Maybe not... Or maybe someone already makes one?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[SilentTuba]

I prefer boar brushes. I like the extra backbone for digging into a soap, and face lathering. Once they are fully broken in, the tips are very soft, as soft as a badger brush (seriously, my Semogue 2000 may actually be softer than my silver tip badger). I have yet to try a synth, but with 5 brushes now, I'm not looking to add any more.

 

[CJB3]

For me, badger > boar > synthetic. For now at least, I have a strong preference for natural fiber. I like Simpson badger brushes and Omega boar brushes. I’ve never tried horse.

 

[Jim99]

I have 11 brushes; 5 are boar and 6 are synthetic. They’re all in the rotation, but I prefer boar most any day. I get a consistently good lather out of the boar. My semogue boats are my favorite.

 

[Ukrainian]

boars 4 life.

After I switched from synthetic to boars, I've never looked back.

Right now, I've acquired 5 omega boars. Love them all.

Which Omega boars are these five?
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I agree, I only use synthetic Omega S when traveling. Rest of the time omega pro 48

 

[oscar11]

I enjoy them all but my favorite would be the big Omega knot shortened up a bit.

 

[albsat]

I have a synthetic Yaqi brush (rainbow model) that everytime I use it, makes me wonder do I need the other brushes?! Strange thought for a user in this forum, I guess...

It is soft, nice backbone and it has a wonderful splay. It is not that dense as I would like to be though.

 

[Steve_in_CT]

Like many, if not most of us here, I have used badger, boar and synthetic brushes (but not horsehair). For the better part of 40 years I only used badger brushes and only owned one at a time. Now I have a few of each, and I have to say that I use my Yaqi synthetics more than my silvertip or boar brushes. My rainbrow brown and moka mew brown brushes are just the ones I reach for most often. Of course, that could change over time, but they just don't have any weaknesses in my opinion. I've heard folks talk about lack of heat retention, but I can't say that I notice that. I have been bowl lathering of late, and when I need to add water I dip the tips into the sink full of hot water, so I am always dealing with a warm brush.

 

[Ultimatezap]

Zenith. Try them. Seriously. An XL 28 mm knot Manchurian was 1/3 the price of the same Simpson (Chubby 2 Manchurian) and is fantastic. Now don't get me wrong, my Chubby 2 is spectacular. But at 1/3 of the price...
I just sold a Chubby 3 Super Badger. Great brush, but a little too much of a good thing. Great, truly, but make sure that you have an excess amount of creams that you want to use up. She's a hog.

 

[bluewing]

Hi,

I've tried badger, boar, horse, and synthetics and I keep examples of all of them yet. And I have to say that if push came to shove, I would choose my Yaqi Tuxedo as my one and done brush.

Until I got the Yaqi, my Vie-Long horse hairs ruled my shave cabinet.

 

[Uncas]

I will never admit to the total number of brushes I have, lets just say a few of each type. I usually stick with one type for a week or two then switch to one of the others. Any examples that I didn't get along with left here long ago. I enjoy all three types, and tend to use them each the way they work best for me. I like to face lather and I like to bowl lather and sometimes I combine the two, so I don't have any brushes I don't like. I won't be pigeonholed into only one way of shaving, lifes too short, and shavings too much fun.

 

[BigJ]

I will never admit to the total number of brushes I have, lets just say a few of each type. I usually stick with one type for a week or two then switch to one of the others. Any examples that I didn't get along with left here long ago. I enjoy all three types, and tend to use them each the way they work best for me. I like to face lather and I like to bowl lather and sometimes I combine the two, so I don't have any brushes I don't like. I won't be pigeonholed into only one way of shaving, lifes too short, and shavings too much fun.

+1! Good man!!

Life is short!! If you don’t like a brush then PIF or sell it.

 

[shave/brush]

I like synthetics the most. I don't find they have any short comings. In fact they are the best to make lather with. When I use a shave stick with a boar or badger brush, I never get really great lather for the second pass. Never mine a 3rd pass.
Synthetics work the best by far. I use a boar sometimes to bowl-lather just to mix things up a bit but synthetics are king.

 

[RayClem]

I use badger, boar, synthetic, and horse hair brushes. If have found that some soaps seem to work better with some types of brushes than others. Thus, I pick the soap for the shave and then pick the brush that I think will work best with that soap. However, I have found that horse hair and synthetic brushes will lather nearly any soap or cream.

 

[JB1963]

I have all 3, but simply do not enjoy synthetic brushes, prefer natural. I love my custom Silvertips with the softest tips you can get of extra select badger (only thin tips), Semogue Boars when broken in are beautiful to lather with also.

 

[1Vader]

Badgers give that certain air of old world luxury. I have a few that are special to me.

Boars are alright, specially well broken-in ones, relatively inexpensive and there's also that lovely Semogue splay that looks so great in SOTD's.

With that said, to me, synthetics are hard to beat. Inexpensive, soft, no soaking needed. Checks all the boxes.

 

[MyOldKentuckyHome]

I have VERY limited experience.

I started with a LatherWhip badger. I was PIFed a Trader Joe's synthetic. My wife gave me an Omega boar on Valentines Day.

BY FAR I enjoyed the boar. To me, it just "feels right". I like the backbone. And it's not even broken in yet.