Did you use Cold OR Room Temperature Water to Break In your Boar or Badger Brush ??

[shoe8ooty]

I was just curious as to seeing video on breaking in a boar by soaking the brush in cold water in the refrigerator for a few days. how does the cold water break in the hair any different then if you left it in room temperature water. I would think that the warm or room temp water would let the brush absorb the water in to the hair to split the hairs better & break in better then cold would, especially if the brush was left in the room temp water for a day or 2,,,,, like they say to leave in the fridge for that length of time.

SO has any one tried to break in their boar or badger brush with ROOM TEMP WATER and left it on the counter instead of in the fridge for a few days before ????

 

[rudyt]

how does the cold water break in the hair any different then if you left it in room temperature water.

That's how internet shaving forums work. One guy posts that it worked, and suddenly it becomes gospel.

Good on you for independent thinking. It's the long soaking that does the trick, not the temperature of the soak. When an Italian barber gets a new boar, he doesn't put it in the fridge because he'd get ridiculed by his buddies ;-) He just leaves it soaking in a cup on his counter overnight.

Personally, I just use use them after one defunking lather since I enjoy the journey. For science, I did soak a boar overnight then hit it with a hair dryer to shock the softened bristles into splitting. Definitely speeds things up.

 

[nemo]

I let the process occur naturally and never do long soaks on a brush thinking it may degrade the bristles or glue in the knot. I get my brushes dry on their own as quickly as possible.

Boars I just use with patience and badgers don't need a break in in my opinion. What's the hurry?

 

[rudyt]

Boars I just use with patience and badgers don't need a break in in my opinion. What's the hurry?

I'm with you, but much of today's generation is all about immediate gratification. How can a two year old smartphone be too slow

 

[azwetshaver]

I've used a boar until broken in and placed them in cold water. Both ways work.

Here is Mr Franco Bompieri's (Antica Barbieria Colla) thoughts on having and boar brushes. Cut to 1:09 for his break in process.

 

[Clay S]

Both my Omegas and Zenith had split ends after defunking and first use, and a huge number after the first week of use. I just use to break in.

 

[DougK]

Back when I started, I had no idea that breaking in a brush was a thing, so I broke in my boar brush by lathering with it. Took a couple of weeks, but it worked.

 

[shoe8ooty]

Thank you for all the replies back,,, They were all very helpful and I do agree with you,,, about why is it such a big hurry to brake in a new brush, and why not just let time take it natural course with the break in periods. Just as it take time on the learning curve of shaving and getting use to a certain razors & blades and which soaps, croaps & creams work best for you, also working and on and getting your technique down does not happen over night. So why rush it with the brush break in time when it will eventually happen with the progression of time and it will be more of an appreciated experience when looking back as to how far you've come on your shaving journey !!!

 

[santamariasteve]

IME after a shave or three a new badger brush is "broken in."

 

[Rusty Blade]

With new brushes I will do a few palm lathers with a fragrant soap. I rinse well and let it dry well. I will do this 2 or 3 times. Room temperature water, or whatever is coming out of the taps. Then I will put the brush into my regular rotation. Eventually the funky scent dissipates. I find horse brushes take the longest time to lose the funky scent.

 

[Billy T.]

I used that method for my Omega boar. Can't remember if it actually had any difference. But I remember enjoying it from day 1.

 

[Graydog]

I don't use it for a week but I lather it every Shave and just let it sit out and clean it up at the end of the day

 

[johnwick]

The reason cold water in the fridge is best is simply because leaving it in tap water out of the fridge for a few days could allow things to grow on it.

Take a glass of tap water and let it sit for three days. Then take a sip. Doesn’t taste very good does it?

Take that same glass of water and have it sit in the fridge for 3 days and it’ll still taste pretty much like when it came out of the tap.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

I shampoo, rinse, lather up, let it sit for a few hours, rinse, lather up, let it sit for a few hours, rinse, let dry.

And then...I use it.

No fridge, no soaking in water, no voodoo.

 

[BigJ]

I let the process occur naturally and never do long soaks on a brush thinking it may degrade the bristles or glue in the knot. I get my brushes dry on their own as quickly as possible.

Boars I just use with patience and badgers don't need a break in in my opinion. What's the hurry?

+1! I just use my brushes.

 

[mumB_L_E]

Paging @mawashi

 

[musicman1951]

First, I don't purchase boars that need to be defunkified - mostly use Semogue SOC's.

I tried the three day dunk in the fridge with the last one and can't say it made much difference. I wouldn't bother again.

Badger brushes do not require a break-in.

 

[dfoulk]

What I have noticed that seemed to help in breaking in brushes more quickly is to lather them to get them all soaped up then stand them on their handle with the soap on the brush and let it sit overnight. Usually on a plate or in a bowl to catch any falling lather. The next day the lather will be dried on the hair. Just rinse the soap off of it and use the brush as you normally would. This seems to help soften the hair a bit and you can repeat this as often as you'd like without worry of damaging the brush. A bunch of extra test lathers will also help as they seem to break in more quickly with more use.

With boar it generally takes about a month or more of uses to break in a knot. You'll see the hairs split at the ends and that's when it'll get a lot softer. You can have a look with a magnify glass or jeweler's loupe to monitor the progress. With boar brushes I've heard of people running the tips on a piece of sandpaper to speed this process, but I certainly wouldn't recommend that as that could potentially damage the knot. Good things come to those who wait.

I've never heard anything about hot or cold water or about putting a brush in the fridge to break it in.

To get the funky smell out (if it's present) a lather with some dish soap then a soak in a glass of water with a teaspoon of OxyClean seems to help get rid of the wet dog scent. It'll go away with repeated uses as well. What you're doing here is removing the animal's oils from the hair. Once the oils are gone it will no longer have the smell when you use it. The hair is usually treated to remove these oils but some brushes are better than others when it comes to this. With badger, the cheaper ones may be more likely to have a scent as the expensive ones come with the expectation of the scent being gone or exceptionally faint.

 

[dmshaver]

With a new badger I'll lather it & set it on it's handle for several hours, rinse it & use it. I haven't used boar so I have no experience with them.

 

[Badgerstate36]

Id agree that the reason to use cold water and soaking it in the fridge is to prevent the growth of mold or bacteria in your new brush.
Leaving it soaking for a week in room temperature water is just asking for bacteria to grow.