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How do you soak your boar brush?

I just have one brush. I broke it in soaking 3 days in cold water in the fridge. Hairs split ends perfectly and it is so soft yet stimulating to my face at the same time.It has probably only lost 5 hairs total since first use. I soak it in warm water for less than 5 mins before shaving. It looks and lathers pretty much exactly like TinyT's every time. I have had no cracks in the handle and it performs flawlessly every time. I see no reason to ever get another brush until this one is no longer usable...then I will get another just like it and treat it then same way.

I'm planning something similar when I get hold of my new brush. Wash and soak with dish soap, followed by a couple of days of cold water soaking, combined with a ten minute towel rub. We'll see how it goes:001_smile

Wes
 
In water up to the handle or slightly higher while I shower.

View attachment 1027688

In this nice rubber mug.

I shake out a lot of the water (exactly how much depends on the brush and soap).

Happy shaves,

Jim

Do you bowl or face lather? I've mostly been face lathering, while throwing in the occasional bowl lather, but for some reason I'm finding it difficult to settle on this. I get more lather when I use a bowl but (usually) get a better shave when I face lather. Decisions, decisions....

Wes
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Do you bowl or face lather? I've mostly been face lathering, while throwing in the occasional bowl lather, but for some reason I'm finding it difficult to settle on this. I get more lather when I use a bowl but (usually) get a better shave when I face lather. Decisions, decisions....

Wes

Face lathering is immoral but I can't stop myself.480.jpg


100% face lathering for me. Working the brush on my skin is one of the highpoints of the shave. I love it - working the lather, getting it all around each whisker, feeling the bristles and hairs and soap interact - so why do anything else?

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
Boars don't last so don't blow alot of money on one

I just soak my brush to half way up the knot for a few minutes. Capillary action will draw water up into the knot.
 
After Saturday's superb trial lather, I had high expectations from yesterdays shave, but it wasn't the greatest. After soaking the brush as before, it didn't seem to have absorbed as much water as last time. The loading from the tub wasn't quite right - not nice and easy- and the subsequent face lather didn't feel the best either. The shave itself was basically average, although the Astra SP was on it's 11th shave. However, it was the lathering that was the most disappointing aspect for me. I decided to give it another try tonight.

This was my 2nd shave, following the vinegar solution + dish soap deep clean.

DSCF0922.JPG


I was looking forward to using the Gillette 7 O'Clock yellow. The 7 O'Clock green and Astra were both smooth and sharp and many people say the 7 O'Clock yellow is close to a Feather in sharpness.

I started out by soaking the brush for a few minutes, as before

DSCF0924.JPG


I gave it a few swirls and gentle downwards pumps, not too much, before taking it out, letting the water drip and giving it 2 shakes.

DSCF0927.JPG


Very nice! We're back in Saturday's territory.

DSCF0929.JPG


Loading the brush was very easy. No more than 10 or 20 seconds and I have what looks like the beginnings of a fairly decent lather.


Well, it turned out to be more than that. Straight onto the face, right cheek and the soap felt very slick and slippery. Much better than I'm used to. I dipped the brush four times as I went until I had a lather which was plenty wet enough but still had plenty of body. I think I'm beginning to understand what 'cushion' actually means.

This is the brush after face lathering for about 5 minutes.
DSCF0931.JPG


At this stage of the shave, the brush doesn't normally have even a third of that quantity of lather left over.

The shave itself was very nice, but I have to say that the blade didn't feel quite as sharp or smooth as the Astra SP. Of course, this was only my 32nd DE shave, so my technique is still questionable, plus I'm still only doing 2 passes WTG. Still, no irritation at all, just a very, very small bit of redness to the right side of my face, but this area always gets the most brush contact during the lather, so it could be brush related. I'll try and keep it more uniform in future. I'm also doing quite a bit of instinctive buffing, especially on the neck, and I'm applying a bit of pressure on the second pass, too. As my shaves are becoming more consistently comfortable, I'm automatically striving for a bit more closeness. It's probably time to start with an XTG for the second the pass, but I'll see. I was originally going to do that after 20 shaves, but I'm in no hurry. Comfort is my main priority, at least for now, and I would like to finish off trying out the remaining blades from sample pack first.

I've decided on the Semogue 1438 for my next brush, so it'll be interesting to see how that responds to the 48 hour cold water breaking in method.

Wes
 
Boars don't last so don't blow alot of money on one
Funny, I've been shaving since the early 1970s and none of my boars have ever fallen apart after more than a decade of daily use. My father-in-law shaves every day and his boar is about 40 years old.

If a boar doesn't last long, it's either defective, or more likely was abused.
 
Check out this video at 0.38 seconds in
Funny, I've been shaving since the early 1970s and none of my boars have ever fallen apart after more than a decade of daily use. My father-in-law shaves every day and his boar is about 40 years old.

If a boar doesn't last long, it's either defective, or more likely was abused.


0.38 seconds. I think this gentleman would agree.

Wes
 
Yup. My people know boars ;-)

I have to agree, every synthetic I try seems inferior to the worst boar I've ever used, which has not even been bad. A few shaves in and boars are great, my experience anyways. And the cold water soak helps from my experience.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Boars don't last so don't blow alot of money on one

I just soak my brush to half way up the knot for a few minutes. Capillary action will draw water up into the knot.
After Saturday's superb trial lather, I had high expectations from yesterdays shave, but it wasn't the greatest. After soaking the brush as before, it didn't seem to have absorbed as much water as last time. The loading from the tub wasn't quite right - not nice and easy- and the subsequent face lather didn't feel the best either. The shave itself was basically average, although the Astra SP was on it's 11th shave. However, it was the lathering that was the most disappointing aspect for me. I decided to give it another try tonight.

This was my 2nd shave, following the vinegar solution + dish soap deep clean.

View attachment 1027883

I was looking forward to using the Gillette 7 O'Clock yellow. The 7 O'Clock green and Astra were both smooth and sharp and many people say the 7 O'Clock yellow is close to a Feather in sharpness.

I started out by soaking the brush for a few minutes, as before

View attachment 1027884

I gave it a few swirls and gentle downwards pumps, not too much, before taking it out, letting the water drip and giving it 2 shakes.

View attachment 1027886

Very nice! We're back in Saturday's territory.

View attachment 1027888

Loading the brush was very easy. No more than 10 or 20 seconds and I have what looks like the beginnings of a fairly decent lather.


Well, it turned out to be more than that. Straight onto the face, right cheek and the soap felt very slick and slippery. Much better than I'm used to. I dipped the brush four times as I went until I had a lather which was plenty wet enough but still had plenty of body. I think I'm beginning to understand what 'cushion' actually means.

This is the brush after face lathering for about 5 minutes.
View attachment 1027895

At this stage of the shave, the brush doesn't normally have even a third of that quantity of lather left over.

The shave itself was very nice, but I have to say that the blade didn't feel quite as sharp or smooth as the Astra SP. Of course, this was only my 32nd DE shave, so my technique is still questionable, plus I'm still only doing 2 passes WTG. Still, no irritation at all, just a very, very small bit of redness to the right side of my face, but this area always gets the most brush contact during the lather, so it could be brush related. I'll try and keep it more uniform in future. I'm also doing quite a bit of instinctive buffing, especially on the neck, and I'm applying a bit of pressure on the second pass, too. As my shaves are becoming more consistently comfortable, I'm automatically striving for a bit more closeness. It's probably time to start with an XTG for the second the pass, but I'll see. I was originally going to do that after 20 shaves, but I'm in no hurry. Comfort is my main priority, at least for now, and I would like to finish off trying out the remaining blades from sample pack first.

I've decided on the Semogue 1438 for my next brush, so it'll be interesting to see how that responds to the 48 hour cold water breaking in method.

Wes

Nice post, Wes. The photos help tell the story as you know.

Be careful about chasing closeness. It's a dangerous game and is also unnecessary. Let it happen. Your technique will improve.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
I ordered the Semogue 1438 today. I've only heard positive things about this brush, and Semogue's in general, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it compares.

Wes
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Thanks! After 40 odd years I finally understand the meaning of the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words"; and how to use a camera :001_smile



View attachment 1028170

I'm trying really hard to be patient.

Wes

Most all the problems I've had have been from doing too much or trying too hard.
  • Too many passes.
  • Too much pressure.
  • Too hurried.
  • Going too soon to places best left for months down the road.
  • Sometimes too many products.
  • Too much jumping around to different razors.
  • Fortunately, not too little time spent on the preshave routine.
Happy shaves,

Jim
 

...the preshave routine. I've got a couple of Proraso preshave cream samples. I might try it next shave.

Wes
 
Semogue 610 here and I just put the whole brush in the sink with water. This is a brush is soon a decade old and still works great. Not sure if it increases longevity but I think it gets a little softer if it get a minute or two soak.
 
every synthetic I try seems inferior to the worst boar I've ever used
I wholeheartedly agree. I really tried to like synthetics, and jumped on every new tech that came out. RazoRock Plissoft, Omega S-Brush, Muhle STF v2, Pur Tech, and lately, Yaqi Cashmere -- all too springy with unnatural feeling splay.

The only ones I tolerate are the original Plisson and the Omega Black Hi-Brush (not the same as the plain Hi-Brush).

Synthetics have one huge advantage though - they're great for travel because they dry quick and can be put away right after the shave.
 
I tried the cold water trick on a few boars I have that I got off eBay that are relatively unused, and it actually does seem to work. Though one brush failed to have any hairs that split. I think because the hairs have been trimmed (the handle looks a bit like a Semogue with the painted finish, but it has no label or brand markings).

The boars look much better with split hairs, they look like real shaving brushes. Without split hairs, boars just look sad.
 
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I wholeheartedly agree. I really tried to like synthetics, and jumped on every new tech that came out. RazoRock Plissoft, Omega S-Brush, Muhle STF v2, Pur Tech, and lately, Yaqi Cashmere -- all too springy with unnatural feeling splay.

The only ones I tolerate are the original Plisson and the Omega Black Hi-Brush (not the same as the plain Hi-Brush).

Synthetics have one huge advantage though - they're great for travel because they dry quick and can be put away right after the shave.

I like the older or cheaper synthetics better that had less dense knots. I find in time the fibers break in some and they splay better and hold a bit more water. Some of the fibers develope corkscrew bends and that seems to help the brush to lather and splay more naturally.
 
I like the older or cheaper synthetics better that had less dense knots.
I agree with this also. The two that I said I liked the best, the Plisson and the Omega Black Hi-Brush, are less dense than the others. The Cashmere is supposed to be the easiest to splay, yet the high density takes over and the fibers act like a wall.

Dense synthetics are great for people who only use the tips and/or use painting strokes, but for me that likes to mash and do circles, they're horrible.
 
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