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Omega 10029 Boar Brush - Cold water break in

I've seen the healthy debate between the "just use it" and the "break it in" segments of the community when it comes to boar brushes. I got a new Omega 10029 brush and wanted to try the 3 day cold water process to see what it accomplished. Instead of a video, I just did photos.

New out of the box.

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The water bath

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1 days results

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Day 2

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Day 3 (Last photo squeezes knot to compare it to new brush)

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Placed in refrigerator for 24 hours, removed and rubbed on a towel for 10-15minutes until tips are dry. Repeat for 3 days. Change water every day.

The brush didn't have a lot of odor to start with, but I still put a few drops of Dr Bronners soap in for the first few hours on day 1. Unless you bury your nose in the brush you can't smell it.

The process did generate split ends in good amounts and the brush does feel softer than when new. They're hard to see in the photos but you can see the ends with a magnifying glass. The spread of the brush didn't change a lot from day 1 to day 3, but the number of split ends appears to have increased.

Next step is to bowl lather with it a few times, and ultimately use it for face lathering.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
Congrats on your new #10029 “Baby Pro”. brush. It is my favorite boar brush and the only boar I have kept from many different boar brushes over the years.

It is well worth it’s bargain price. I have had mine for many years now and it still looks and performs like new.

I never understood the trouble and effort some will go thru for this particular brush. I get why there is some breaking in for other brands and types of boar brushes which are very stiff or stinky.

But my Omega baby pro broke in right from the get go by just simply using it. The tips split within just a couple of uses and the stink, very light and quickly faded from lathering with shave soap.

I’m not a big knot guy. The baby pro is the perfect size for me. Light, compact and easily controlled and maneuvering around the face is easy. Holds lather well without hogging it.

I’ve owned Semogue, Vie Long and other brands of boar, but I just get along with the quality tips of Omega’s boar knot’s.

I usually use a favorite synthetic brush 90% of the time. But when I get the itch for a good old fashioned Italian barber shave for some Proraso and a boar brush, I reach for my Omega #10029 Baby Pro. :)
 
@Marcus52 Do report back on your experience with the brush once you use it for the first few times after your break-in process.
Looks like the tips are well on their way to splitting.

Regarding the motivation for the process itself (or other processes that promise a quicker break-in) -
I'm an impatient person, and if I can get the brush more quickly to a place where it will be after a few (or a few dozen) uses, I'm going to take that option.
Why go through the experience of using a boar brush in a suboptimal state for longer than you must?

I can understand (but not identify with) the counter-argument of methodically breaking it in with use after use, experiencing it at every stage of its suboptimal life and then deriving satisfaction from having worked to arrive at that state.

That said, I too absolutely love my broken-in Omega brushes and I'll put them up against (and even describe them as superior to) my silvertip badgers, which I find I haven't reached for in years. I have become an exclusive boar brush user over the last few years. Maybe a synthetic once in a while when I'm really in a hurry.
 
@Marcus52 Do report back on your experience with the brush once you use it for the first few times after your break-in process.
Looks like the tips are well on their way to splitting.

Regarding the motivation for the process itself (or other processes that promise a quicker break-in) -
I'm an impatient person, and if I can get the brush more quickly to a place where it will be after a few (or a few dozen) uses, I'm going to take that option.
Why go through the experience of using a boar brush in a suboptimal state for longer than you must?

I can understand (but not identify with) the counter-argument of methodically breaking it in with use after use, experiencing it at every stage of its suboptimal life and then deriving satisfaction from having worked to arrive at that state.

That said, I too absolutely love my broken-in Omega brushes and I'll put them up against (and even describe them as superior to) my silvertip badgers, which I find I haven't reached for in years. I have become an exclusive boar brush user over the last few years. Maybe a synthetic once in a while when I'm really in a hurry.
Early results - I've used the brush twice so far. Bowl lathered both times, soaking the brush in hot water while showering. Once with Proraso green soap and once with Palmolive cream. Liking it so far. Great lathering with both. I was pretty generous with the soap/cream to get started. Not feeling any scratch from the bristles, with a lot of backbone, more than my usual synthetic brushes.

No piggy odor is detectable. I think the Proraso menthol may have chased it off. When cleaning the brush, a lot split ends are visible. I suspect even more will develop now with further use. Lost a few bristles, which is typical. Some of the bristles lost had split ends.

On another note, the brush is a good size for me.

Since this is my first boar brush, I can't really compare the cold water break in to the "just use it" break in. But at this point I can't see any reason I wouldn't do the cold water break in again.

Hope this helps.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I've seen the healthy debate between the "just use it" and the "break it in" segments of the community when it comes to boar brushes. I got a new Omega 10029 brush and wanted to try the 3 day cold water process to see what it accomplished. Instead of a video, I just did photos.

New out of the box.

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The water bath

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1 days results

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Day 2

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Day 3 (Last photo squeezes knot to compare it to new brush)

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Placed in refrigerator for 24 hours, removed and rubbed on a towel for 10-15minutes until tips are dry. Repeat for 3 days. Change water every day.

The brush didn't have a lot of odor to start with, but I still put a few drops of Dr Bronners soap in for the first few hours on day 1. Unless you bury your nose in the brush you can't smell it.

The process did generate split ends in good amounts and the brush does feel softer than when new. They're hard to see in the photos but you can see the ends with a magnifying glass. The spread of the brush didn't change a lot from day 1 to day 3, but the number of split ends appears to have increased.

Next step is to bowl lather with it a few times, and ultimately use it for face lathering.
Your brush looks mostly broke in, 70-80%>or better.
That is a similar process I use and it helps getting the bristle split ends to start faster and the bottom line is you enjoy the brush quicker IMO. Nothing wrong with daily use to break in a boar brush but I have a large brush rotation and I would never enjoy the brush fully because my other brushes like synthetic and badger brushes are ready from day one and the boar is slowly getting to that level of optimum performance.
I enjoy a good broke in boar bristle brush, they can be reasonably cheap and that is what the previous generations used for many decades and they where enjoyed by millions of traditional wet shavers world wide.
Some folks like the daily feel of the brush slowly breaking in is what I understand and so that is OK to those who enjoy the scrub with semi soft tips to reach brush optimum.
A added idea recently from one of B&B members used is dog shampoo for a brush that has the funk animal smell(I have not used it yet) if it bothers a person who would like not to experience that, not all boar brushes have funk smell from my experiences but some will.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Your brush looks mostly broke in, 70-80%>or better.
That is a similar process I use and it helps getting the bristle split ends to start faster and the bottom line is you enjoy the brush quicker IMO. Nothing wrong with daily use to break in a boar brush but I have a large brush rotation and I would never enjoy the brush fully because my other brushes like synthetic and badger brushes are ready from day one and the boar is slowly getting to that level of optimum performance.
I enjoy a good broke in boar bristle brush, they can be reasonably cheap and that is what the previous generations used for many decades and they where enjoyed by millions of traditional wet shavers world wide.
Some folks like the daily feel of the brush slowly breaking in is what I understand and so that is OK to those who enjoy the scrub with semi soft tips to reach brush optimum.
A added idea recently from one of B&B members used is dog shampoo for a brush that has the funk animal smell(I have not used it yet) if it bothers a person who would like not to experience that, not all boar brushes have funk smell from my experiences but some will.
Here is my last and final boar break by using the 3 day cold water with a good towel drying every 12 hrs.( I have 5 boar brushes now for my brush rotation)
The brush is a Yaqi "Robin" 24mm bristle boar brush in picture below.(click on picture to enlarge)

Yaqi #1 Robin 24mm boar bristle brush collage.jpg
Brush collage Jan 18 2022.jpg

Have some great shaves!
 
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