$10 Boar beats $100+ Silvertip

[m139]

So a couple of days ago I ordered an inexpensive $10 WSP Boar brush from Amazon with the intention of using it in the shower to exfoliate but not for shaving at all.

Well, I used it in the shower for the last couple of days and this morning I decided what the heck I'll try it out.

I'm a face lather guy so I expected the brush to be a bit more scritchy than my Muhle with TGN Super Silvertip. Well, I was wrong!

I wet my face, squeezed a little GFT Sandalwood directly on the damp brush and started to face lather. It was surprisingly soft yet controllable. The brush did not splay out too much and gave me much more control than my 22mm silvertip, which is super soft and probably better for bowl lathering.

In any case, I just wanted to post that a $10 brush gave me just as good, if not better, of a face lather this morning than any of my other brushes that cost 10x as much. Now that's value!

 

[demaro]

Boars are a great value . My semogue 2000 is used much more than any of my badger brushes..

 

[StuMcB]

Any pics?

 

[u2u]

Great experience and it is shared by many. Far easier to purchase a boar on so many levels. They way out number silvertips in the field for good reason. Enjoy your brush.

 

[m139]

Thanks gents for the confirmation... I thought I was nuts!

I don't have a picture of my actual brush, but here's the link to the listing. It's the same exact brush and I am now very interested in acquiring one or two more boar brushes, especially since I'm getting into soaps also.

Amazon WSP Boar

 

[Marsman]

Very intresting, thanks for the tip and i will be giving it a try with my own.

 

[Raven312]

I recently discovered the same thing, with that very brush. I now use my boars much more than my 6 various grade badgers. The boars just seem to give that perfect balance. I'm glad I got curious enough to finally try one; I was truly missing out.

 

[m139]

Does this mean that for face lathering, the bristle type is not as crucial as for bowl lathering? I may do a bowl lather experiment tonight with a few different knots and see how it turns out.

I also just ordered a Semogue 830 and an Omega Semogue 1460 to see how they compare to the $10 WSP.

EDIT: Semogue 1460

 

[Eeyore]

I have face lathered for a long time (decades), and always used a boar brush. I never knew about the existence of badger brushes (pre-Internet, and they were not available in the local shops), but I also never felt that the performance of my brushes was inadequate. A good boar, once broken in, provides the exact combination of backbone and softness that I like for face lathering.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

I'm giving much face time to Omega Pro 49 and 48 lately. There is a reason great Italian Barbers prefer them!

 

[Jarick]

I might end up selling my silvertip. It's just too much of a lather hog. We'll see how the B&B does when it comes in.

 

[utahusker]

That brush looks very good, and it even states pre-broken in. By the looks of the stock photo on Amazon, the bristles do look broken in.

For $10 it looks like a steal.

 

[jpakstis]

Does this mean that for face lathering, the bristle type is not as crucial as for bowl lathering? I may do a bowl lather experiment tonight with a few different knots and see how it turns out.

I don't think its that crucial at all. I think the bigger factor than lathering method is what product you're using. I would be marginally less inclined to use a boar on a tub of soft cream (like TOBS or GFT). I have a Semogue 1438 and I think its great all around, but I prefer hard soaps and face-lathering. I've used it on a tub of TOBS and I needed to use a little more caution about not picking up too much product.

For what its worth, I liked my Semogue so much that I sold off my Rooney Heritage Emilion, so I definitely agree with the title of this thread.

 

[m139]

Wow, I'm really surprised at all the confirming feedback I'm getting. I was expecting to get blasted! But I'm glad that life is still simple and the simple things in life still work just as well.

I just paid a lot of money for a Muhle Stylo brush and paid more to retrofit a TGN Grade A Silvertip and now I'm thinking I'm a fool! But at the end of the day, it's still a beautiful brush that I'm sure will always have value and will make a handsome gift for my son someday... but he's only 3 now so I'm sure I will have acquired lots of "gifts" by then.

 

[rxonmymind]

Boars are wonderful although I would take a wee bit of issue with your general sweeping statements. Take my Semogue 600 series or SOC. Neither has the density of one of my badger thus is unable to hold as much water and in turn lathered Mikes soap very poorly. Yes the hairs have split but for some reason on certain soaps boars perform below average. On the other hand I haven't found any of my badgers to have done the same. YMMV. It's all about having the right tool for the job.

 

[mce00771]

I am curious about boar brushes. All I have is a silvertip. I was looking at the VDH set for $9.99. I was mostly looking at it for the bowl and soap. Is the boar brush included in that set any good?

 

[Eeyore]

I am curious about boar brushes. All I have is a silvertip. I was looking at the VDH set for $9.99. I was mostly looking at it for the bowl and soap. Is the boar brush included in that set any good?

It is an American product, so not available here. But I don't hear many good news about it. I think it is a generic "made in China" product with low quality control.
(I tjink they are comparable to the generic boar brushes you can find in some shops here, which I also don't recommend)

I would invest in a good boar brush, e.g. an Omega (10066 for instance) or a Semogue.

 

[m139]

Boars are wonderful although I would take a wee bit of issue with your general sweeping statements. Take my Semogue 600 series or SOC. Neither has the density of one of my badger thus is unable to hold as much water and in turn lathered Mikes soap very poorly. Yes the hairs have split but for some reason on certain soaps boars perform below average. On the other hand I haven't found any of my badgers to have done the same. YMMV. It's all about having the right tool for the job.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not making general sweeping statements at all. I'm merely saying that I'm pleasantly surprised with the performance of a $10 brush vs. the $100 one. That's also why I said that I'll do a bit of a bowl lathering experiment with various brushes to see if I get similar results as face lathering this morning. In either case, I'm happy that I found another good brush that I enjoy.

 

[vickywally]

Boar brushes and horse hair brushes are excellent excellent performers and very underrated (esp in the US).

 

[DirtDiver]

Thanks gents for the confirmation... I thought I was nuts!

I don't have a picture of my actual brush, but here's the link to the listing. It's the same exact brush and I am now very interested in acquiring one or two more boar brushes, especially since I'm getting into soaps also.

Amazon WSP Boar

Welcome to the club. I would suggest the SOC, I pretty much use this brush MOST of the time. All my other ones kinda sit forlornly in the cabinet.

Boars are wonderful although I would take a wee bit of issue with your general sweeping statements. Take my Semogue 600 series or SOC. Neither has the density of one of my badger thus is unable to hold as much water and in turn lathered Mikes soap very poorly. Yes the hairs have split but for some reason on certain soaps boars perform below average. On the other hand I haven't found any of my badgers to have done the same. YMMV. It's all about having the right tool for the job.

I disagree... I find that my SOC and my Omega 10810 both hold plenty enough water to lather any soap I have, including MWF. Besides, I dont find it a horrible inconvenience to have to add a few drops. I actually prefer to start with a drier brush and add as I go though... that's just me. YMWV