Another Semogue break-in thread & an interesting observation

[mftoms59]

I received a Semogue 1438 & 1460 a month ago and finally broke them out last Friday afternoon and gave them my normal Vinegar/ Water 20 minute Bath, rinsed them clean and set them in a Mug of Cold clear water afterwards.

This morning, 96(4 days) hours later, I went to shave before work and discovered I had forgotten the Boars, still soaking ~3/4 of the Bristles and the Handles are fine. Since the dye didn't run I decided to face lather with the 1438 using Palmolive.

I shook out the excess water & loaded the Brush ~60-75 seconds, I initially built the lather in my palm and the tips seemed extremely soft & silky though the backbone was noticeable. I took the brush to my face after ~90 seconds of the palm lather and got a good creamy layer of lather with a good cushion & slickness, face lathering an additional ~60-80 seconds.

I completed a two-pass SE shave w/o touch-ups, a smooth shave on a new Gem SS blade, and my face felt moisturized & smooth, one of the creamiest lathers from any Boar's first lather. I was surprised with how much lather was in the 50/21 Brush, easily enough for four passes and a squeeze of the knot was enough for a touch-up, I'm wondering if the 96 hour soak had any additional affect on the Bristle structure.

I'll let the Brush dry tonight and examine the knot & tips tomorrow, I still have the 1460 soaking & will use that for my Wednesday morning shave, same soap & procedure. These aren't my First Semogue Boars, I had three 1250's, 2000, 1800 & a 610 and used the more traditional 20 minute V/W bath followed by a 20 minute clear water soak & dry before my first lather. None of these Brushes held more than two or three passes before getting 8-10 lathers under their belts and most all of them have bigger knots & lofts.

I'll post further results of my accidental experiment, and I'll alternate both Brushes for ~ 10 lathers each, dry or damp.

Update; Curiosity got the best of me and I checked the Bristles on the 1438, I noticed quite a few split ends, on bristle has 3 tips on the split. The knot is almost completely dry, ~16 hours later.

 

[Loric]

This is interesting, by all means continue on with the experiment!

 

[celestino]

Never noticed that. Good luck with the experiment.

 

[mftoms59]

I lathered up the 1460 this morning, after a 120 hour(5 day) soak, Palmolive soap, loaded ~70 seconds, and palm lathered for ~70-80 seconds before my face lather. The lather was very creamy, slick & had cushion after a 90 second facial massage, my two-pass shave was every bit as smooth as yesterday's using the same Razor & blade.

The brush produced an additional two-passes, though the fourth was a bit light, it remained creamy with cushion and a squeeze of the knot surrendered a ~3" diameter of lather. The knot on the 1460 seemed a it denser than the 1438 and I noticed a bit more scratch as well, not excessive or bad, just noticeable.

Since I'm theorizing/experimenting how excessive soaking my affect the lather production & holding capacity of a Boar, quicker build time and more passes, I submerged the 1438 for tomorrow's shave. The 1438 will soak ~24 hours before its second lather, both brushes receive 2-3 shakes to remove excess water, without squeezing the knot.

I've done the shake, no squeeze method with Badgers and Horse Hair and find most times little to no additional water is needed for a good hydrated lather. For me a properly hydrated lather has cushion and good slickness, and will completely rinse away from my the sharp edge of my blade & razor bar guard without any whiskers or lather left behind by swirling my razor in standing water.

 

[ThomasB98908]

Hmmmm - wonder if you stubbled upon a long long long forgotten secret that our forefathers knew but was lost somewhere in time...."when you get a new boar brush, soak it for a couple of days and it will be soft and suptle"

 

[mftoms59]

This morning's lather with the 1438; two shakes to remove excess water & Palmolive soap was loaded ~80 seconds, initially I palm lathered 70 seconds getting a rich & creamy mixture. I massaged my face and the 1438 definitely didn't exhibit the scratch I felt with the 1460 but it exfoliated well, a bit unusual since I thought the 75% Extra Tops would be naturally stiffer.

As a side note not every aspect of this experiment is strictly controlled, I do time the loads, palm & face lather though they may vary by a few seconds either direction and not more than five. My palm & face are wet, not damp but just short of dripping wet and I always initially apply the palmed lather by hand before my facial massage. I mainly wanted to keep this as close to my natural routine as possible, with the exception of the initial Palm Lather which I do to work the knot during the Break-in of a new Boar.

Another two-pass with my EverReady Shovel-Head, very smooth after the shave, now I continued lathering additional passes, three more for a total of five, astounding for a new Boar with only one other lather achieved. I know the load time was a bit longer than most, but I'd normally load a new Boar this long since they will normally under perform during Break-in, a squeeze of the knot did produce enough lather, ~2.5-3" diameter in my palm, for a good touch-up if necessary.

For formality's sake, I did submerge the 1460 for tomorrow's shave, for the obligatory 24 hour soak. The Hairs of the 1460 were checked before soaking, I did find a few split-ends, not as many as the 1438, which surprised me since this had an extra day (5) on the initial soak.

 

[mftoms59]

The 1460 built this morning's lather, Palmolive loaded ~80 seconds, Palm & face lather was completed in 2.5 minutes, I got another creamy & slick lather quickly. after my two-pass shave, I was able to get another two-passes from the brush, and a squeeze of the knot bought forth enough for a touch-up. The tips of the 1460 has a bit more scritch and seems to produce a bit less lather with an equal load time, than the 1438.

The 1438 was submerged for tomorrow's shave, the last this week, and I'll allow both to dry for 48 hours. The 1460 will soak Monday for Tuesday's shave and each brush will have 5 lathers by next Saturday, whereupon I'll allow them to dry for 48 hours and examine the progress of the Splaying on both brushes.

If any Boar users have a Boar that has more than 20 lathers, I'd be interested to know if a 24 hour soak alters its lather building ability or changes the characteristics of of the lather built... anyone as curious as I am?

 

[SOS]

In the past I've soaked my boars the night before use for the half hour or so that it takes me to finish my nightly face wash and tooth brushing. Seems that the brushes performed better in the morning then without the pre soak, This was for a new boar that had a scrubby face feel. I do believe you are on to something.

 

[mftoms59]

My Saturday morning shave was postponed til 5:30PM, the 1438 was ready for its third lathering, had soaked 36 hours. Palmolive soap was loaded for ~35 seconds this time, I Palm & Face lathered as usual, ~2.5-3 minutes total time. I completed a good two-pass shave and received an additional two passes from the brush, though the fourth pass was a tad thin, it retained slickness and was stable. I was unable to squeeze any additional lather from the knot, though four lathers from a new Boar using a 35 second load is still impressive.

One important observation I hadn't mentioned was Bristle Loss, with the exception of Friday's lather with the 1460, it lost 2 bristles, it hasn't happened! My guess is due to the additional time soaking, the water has more time to penetrate the bristles and center of the knot, making it more pliable and resistant to breaking. I checked the knots of both brushes today, and lightly combed them, knot to tips, even at the center of the loft no loose hairs were found.

Monday evening the 1460 will soak for Tuesday's lather, it's third, and the load time will remain @ ~35 seconds with Tabac being used for the month of October (Tabactober), all other aspects of building the lather will remain unchanged.

 

[mftoms59]

Just an update; The 1438 & 1460 each have four lathers now, the load time was reduced to ~35 seconds and I switched to Tabac Soap. I'm getting a consistent 3 passes from both brushes and haven't had any bristle loss from the 1438, the 1460 has shed only two, the tips are splaying nicely. I think the biggest difference with the extra long soaks are less hairs being shed during the break-in period.

I will continue with the soak regimen for two weeks, each brush will have been lathered ten times and an update will be posted.