Zenith vs Omega Boar 🐗 Brush

[Dnallehekaj]

I preferred the Zenith handles I saw to any Omega handles, save that premium jade one.

Zenith had a rad copper handle, and I ended up getting that. No regrets, and it's still breaking in. So dense!

 

[Abz88]

I currently have an Omega Pro 49, the Omega Goodfellas Smile Wild Hog, Omega Jade and a Zenith 80B.

I prefer my Zenith to all of the Omegas except the Jade. It has a tighter packed knot of thinner hairs than all of my Omegas so it feels like it has better backbone and isn't as floppy (I paint vs mash so not sure if that affects how I interpret backbone) and it has as soft tips. The Jade makes up for the less dense knot with the larger knot and shorter loft and is also very soft.

My next boar(s) will be Zenith but the good thing with boar brushes is that they are relatively cheap so you can buy multiple and tell yourself "combined they are still cheaper than a top of the line badger"

 

[Abz88]

He has not yet got a serious case of BAD! I expect it will happen soon...

Just wait until he finds out about the boars from Semogue, Mondail, Vulfix and the boar/horse mixes from Vie-long among other options

 

[Kennyg2019]

Just wait until he finds out about the boars from Semogue, Mondail, Vulfix and the boar/horse mixes from Vie-long among other options

I’m not like you gentlemen. I can control myself...

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

It's because of your kindness I discovered the joys of boar. Your reviews & explanations were invaluable as I explored the wonderful world of boar. Thank you for your numerous conversations & your patience as you answered my questions & shared your experiences.

Hey folks, the above is what makes B & B such a great forum! Patience & unselfishness by @Chan Eil Whiskers sharing his knowledge, likes & dislikes, & why that is desirable or not to him. His sharing allowed my knowledge & understanding to grow, & also enabled me to find some truly superb brushes. to Thank you, sir!!!!!!

You are too kind, David.

To be honest, I decided it would be both too expensive, too large a task, and impossible for me to become an expert on or very knowledgable about badgers. However, I believed I could become familiar with and thus knowledgable about boars because for some reason the top boars aren't very expensive especially compared to badgers. I set out to acquire and use the best boars.

From there it was just an easy matter of running my mouth.

For the record, at present I seem to almost always use badgers but that doesn't mean I think badgers are better.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Kennyg2019]

Just ordered this Zenith Manchurian brush from Spain. It was $10 cheaper than in the US. As a bonus, it was in stock!

I opted for the olive wood handle because it was lighter than my blue baby boar...and I like light!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Just ordered this Zenith Manchurian brush from Spain. It was $10 cheaper than in the US. As a bonus, it was in stock!

View attachment 1316229​

I opted for the olive wood handle because it was lighter than my blue baby boar...and I like light!

Mine might be a little bit different.

Yours has a ring. Mine doesn't. Mine was used by two members before it was given to me. Yours is new. You have the tall handle. My handle is short.

It will break in. That's the main thing to know going into the brush. It's a really really good brush in all respects. It gets better. Mine's gone through lots of changes over the years I've owned it, and is better now than when I received it.

Congratulations and happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Kennyg2019]

Thanks, Jim. I will try to take time to break it in. And you're right...there is a ring on mine. Maybe it's a European thing? I went for the longer handle as I only do bowl lathering...and I have a massive bowl!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Thanks, Jim. I will try to take time to break it in. And you're right...there is a ring on mine. Maybe it's a European thing? I went for the longer handle as I only do bowl lathering...and I have a massive bowl!

View attachment 1316264

Many of the Zenith brushes are made in various subtly different ways.

⬅ Like these.​

Which is I think a good thing.

I have another Zenith Manchurian which I purchased brand new. It began with a very impressive
backbone which was amazingly stiff. People warned me to be careful with its scrub, which I was, but it was truly impressive. It might have been a transplant.

I have no idea if all Zenith Manchurians are that strong.

That Manchurian is now very very soft but it still has a strong backbone and really nice scrub. It's a wonderful knot.​

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Crisp Rat]

Congrats on your new Zenith! I love all 5 of my Zenith boars, they have great soft tips & also have the right scrub, density, & backbone, IMHO.

I generally prefer unbleached boars - Omega Premium Jade, Zenith wood-handled & plastic-handled, as well as the Proraso Pro by Omega. But a good bleached boar is also to my liking.

If I had to rate my top 5 boars, it would be:
#1 - Omega Premium Jade (unbleached)
#2 - Zenith wood-handled (unbleached)
#3 - Zenith plastic-handled (unbleached)
#4 - Zenith aluminum handled 506ALL (bleached)
#5 - Proraso Professional by Omega (unbleached)

I find most of the Omegas I've tried are bleached & too floppy for my liking. That's why there are currently only 2 Omega's I'm enjoying. I have several other Zenith bleached boars that are quite nice, as well. They are shorter lofted brushes instead of tall lofts, as that's my preference. The SOC is a very nice brush, IMHO. The SOC almost is not dense enough, & is almost too high of a loft, but the bristles are so soft that I can easily forgive those other two partial shortcomings. At 24mm, it's as small of a knot as I care to use.

You have a pic or a number of that Omega jade? I'm intrigued.

 

[Kennyg2019]

Many of the Zenith brushes are made in various subtly different ways.

View attachment 1316270

⬅ Like these.​

Which is I think a good thing.


View attachment 1316271


I have another Zenith Manchurian which I purchased brand new. It began with a very impressive
backbone which was amazingly stiff. People warned me to be careful with its scrub, which I was, but it was truly impressive. It might have been a transplant.

I have no idea if all Zenith Manchurians are that strong.

That Manchurian is now very very soft but it still has a strong backbone and really nice scrub. It's a wonderful knot.​

View attachment 1316276

Happy shaves,

Jim

Good to know it will soften up. Thanks, Jim!

 

[Cleanface]

One of my first brushes was an Omega banded boar. Still going strong. Later, I bought a Zenith silver tip that was reset in a great handle by Rudy Vey. He told me he’d never seen a Zenith but he was impressed by the quality. So, I just bought one of each. Omega 20120 and Zenith B29.

 

[dmshaver]

You have a pic or a number of that Omega jade? I'm intrigued.

It's only sold by one vendor, Connaught's.
Here it is.

 

[albsat]

My temptation in getting a zenith manchurian is big but the logic of buying 3 or 4 other top boar brushes versus 1 manchurian is keeping me off buying it still. Hope I keep resisting.

 

[Crisp Rat]

It's only sold by one vendor, Connaught's.
Here it is.

Thank you!

 

[Kennyg2019]

My temptation in getting a zenith manchurian is big but the logic of buying 3 or 4 other top boar brushes versus 1 manchurian is keeping me off buying it still. Hope I keep resisting.

I don’t know the price of those boars, but the Zenith Manchurian was $70 (60 EUR) shipped.

 

[Atlantic59]

You have a pic or a number of that Omega jade? I'm intrigued.

Here is another pic showing the brush in hand, courtesy of @dieselfuel79.

 

[Abz88]

You have a pic or a number of that Omega jade? I'm intrigued.

Another picture of it alongside a Semogue Torga (both were new and unused in this pic)

 

[Atlantic59]

Another picture of it alongside a Semogue Torga (both were new and unused in this pic)

View attachment 1316461

I think that is the Torga C3, correct? I have the Torga C5 boar and the knot is almost as tall as the Omega Jade's, though the handle is shorter.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

It's only sold by one vendor, Connaught's.
Here it is.

My Omega Jade is the 011829. It has the medallion unlike the version now sold. From what I've read they're otherwise identical but I don't have the newer version.​

Connaught also sells the Omega Mighty Midget. Here it is with three added O-rings (#13) which adds some grip and a bit of color contrast which I find visually appealing. The Mighty Midget is a very small brush, but it hits way out of its weight class. You need one of these. They're very inexpensive. A fun brush.​

In my opinion, the Proraso Pro completes the trilogy of Omega boars.​

All ⬆ three of these brushes ⬆ take some time to fully break in as do the unbleached Zenith brushes.

Two unbleached Zenith boars. Both are pictured brand new.​

I don't know much about bleaching of boars. A couple of my Zeniths are marketed as unbleached. These Omegas may be unbleached, too, or they may be partially bleached. In any case, some Zeniths, the bleached boars, are very soft right out of the box as are some brushes by various other boar brush makers.

These three Omega brushes - the ProPro, the MM, the Jade - are not in that out of the box soft category, but they're very very good boars once they break in.

I'm not saying any of these brushes can't be used right out of the box, but that they very much improve as they break in.

Generally I don't much like Zenith boar brushes with a nominal loft greater than 57 mm. The white plastic handled brush above is a major exception. It's cheap handle is pretty good, too. Very nice brush it is, especially for the money. It's not floppy according to how I see it.

Happy shaves,

Jim