B&B essential brush

[musicman1951]

I just received this boar and I have a few questions. This is my first boar and I usually use a Kent BK8.

It was considerably more difficult to make lather with the boar - is that because it's quite a bit smaller? Will it get better as it breaks in?

I like the backbone and can see how this would be better for face lathering.

 

[SEnSE]

Did you soak it at all? Boar bristles need to absorb some water. They really do perform very differently from badger. Keep practicing with some test lathers and just get a feel for the brush and how it works.

 

[AABCDS]

Boars do have a longer break-in period than badger brushes.

 

[celestino]

Boars do have a longer break-in period than badger brushes.

+1 Use more product, water, and more time. Good luck.

 

[pcumby]

Reading this thread will definitely help

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/199887

 

[beginish]

+1 to all of the comments above. Boars get progressively better the more you use them. After 3-4 weeks of use, you'll have a brush that reliably generates gobs of lather, has soft tips, etc. it takes a little time, but it's worth the effort.

 

[mdevine]

+1 to all of the comments above. Boars get progressively better the more you use them. After 3-4 weeks of use, you'll have a brush that reliably generates gobs of lather, has soft tips, etc. it takes a little time, but it's worth the effort.

Be patient with your boar brushes, and you'll be rewarded. Unlike badger brushes, which perform well right out of the box, boars need time for the ends to split before they perform optimally.

Mike

 

[Scott0079]

I'm still trying to get over the irony that BADGER and Blade's "Essential" brush is a boar.....That aside +1 to the above.

 

[DrColossus11]

I'm still trying to get over the irony that BADGER and Blade's "Essential" brush is a boar.....That aside +1 to the above.

There are hushed whispers of a revolution... Viva Boar and Blade!

 

[Attila]

there are hushed whispers of a revolution... Viva boar and blade!

lies!!

 

[musicman1951]

I don't have any soaps yet. I followed a break-in plan of soaking in a glass of dawn/water for 4 hours and then lathering and leaving the lather to dry overnight. It seemed to help, but I'll keep lathering until I'm there.

 

[pcumby]

Must resist "we don't need no stinking........

 

[Johnny_Ludlow]

I'm also currently breaking a boar in. My last boar brush had less soft tips and less stiff bristles - at that time I didn't think about the stifness. Current boar is too stiff to my liking. I know breaking it in will make the tips softer and it'll absorb more water. But will breaking it in make the bristles less stiff?

 

[takeshi]

I just received this boar and I have a few questions. This is my first boar and I usually use a Kent BK8.

It was considerably more difficult to make lather with the boar - is that because it's quite a bit smaller? Will it get better as it breaks in?

Probably a little from column A and a little from column B. The brush will improve as it breaks in but if you've never used a boar before then you're going to have to get used to slightly adjusting your technique.

I'm still trying to get over the irony that Badger

and Blade's "Essential" brush is a boar.

They're just names. Regardless of what this site and that brush are called, brush selection is always a YMMV matter. If "Essential" really bothers you then read it as "Special Edition".

I'm also currently breaking a boar in. My last boar brush had less soft tips and less stiff bristles - at that time I didn't think about the stifness. Current boar is too stiff to my liking. I know breaking it in will make the tips softer and it'll absorb more water. But will breaking it in make the bristles less stiff?

Probably not.

 

[rts9364]

Reading this thread will definitely help

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/199887

+1. I'm also breaking in my first boar. I've found it takes a lot more TIME to work the lather than with a badger, and starting with a very wet brush helps. It seems like a giant watery mess as you are mixing until gradually it starts to thicken (using a bowl helped me, too). You really have to get after it. I'm hoping this will get better/faster as it breaks in. I'm using a new Semogue 620. I'm really enjoying the "character" of the boar knot after it's wet and dried a few times.

 

[SliceOfLife]

There are hushed whispers of a revolution... Viva Boar and Blade!

Boar (or primarily boar) manufacturers seem more willing to create custom LEs. Semogue has done a dozen or more custom/LE brushes in recent years and seems not only willing, but actually rather active and helpful in these processes. If this brush is any indication, Omega may have a similar attitude.

I'm not sure what happened with Kent who made some quite excellent B&B LE's a few years back, but from rumor's I've heard, the big "badger" makers just weren't making the production of a B&B LE viable. Hence why B&B went to a custom maker to make the more recent LE's. Nothing against TGN knots (they're great), but it did seem kind of backwards to have a LE produced by a custom producer. I'm glad they found an alternative that means we're getting something which was unavailable otherwise (and not just because of a logo, but the brush itself is special). The price being one that almost everyone can afford is an added bonus from the change to boar as well.

 

[Toothpick]

(again with the sideways pictures..what the crap!)

this is the first brush and only brush i own. VDH boar. i was completely unaware of any breaking in required for boars. i just busted it open and went to town straight away using it. i've been using this for about a year now. i'll be in the market soon for another boar and i'll likely just start using it the same way.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Most people don't mean you can't use the brushes out of box, just that they change, usually for the better, the first few dozen uses, as the ends split and the brush sort of "fills out" with the split tips.

 

[Doc4]

I'm still trying to get over the irony that BADGER and Blade's "Essential" brush is a boar.....That aside +1 to the above.

The original Essential brush was a badger brush. There was an initial run of 50, and then a 'full run' of (IIRC) 150 ... but the hair in the 150 was different from the first 50 ... lacking some of the characteristics of the original, although still very good. That was the end of them.

Boar (or primarily boar) manufacturers seem more willing to create custom LEs. Semogue has done a dozen or more custom/LE brushes in recent years and seems not only willing, but actually rather active and helpful in these processes. If this brush is any indication, Omega may have a similar attitude.

I'm not sure what happened with Kent who made some quite excellent B&B LE's a few years back, but from rumor's I've heard, the big "badger" makers just weren't making the production of a B&B LE viable. Hence why B&B went to a custom maker to make the more recent LE's. Nothing against TGN knots (they're great), but it did seem kind of backwards to have a LE produced by a custom producer. I'm glad they found an alternative that means we're getting something which was unavailable otherwise (and not just because of a logo, but the brush itself is special). The price being one that almost everyone can afford is an added bonus from the change to boar as well.

Well, the Essential isn't intended as a Limited Edition, but more of an ongoing item that will usually be available (Sold out right now, of course. I expect more will be coming.)

One thing to remember with Limited Editions ... they tend to "flood the market" all at one or two go's, and then everyone says "oh, I've already got one, no need to order another". So yes, those brushes from Kent were great, but after two years running, there's not nearly as much interest in a third go-round as most of the demand is satiated. I was not involved in any dealings with Kent, but got no sense that they no longer wanted to work with us or anything negative like that at all.

Manufacturers like big orders. Ask a large scale brush maker for 150 brushes and they are much more interested than if you ask for 15. Repetitive volume production is to their liking. There's going to be a lot more demand for a "special" boar brush at $20 a pop than there is for a "special" badger brush at $200.

 

[Bearsfan]

Fill a mug with warm water and soak the brush for 15 to 20 minutes before loading. (I soak mine while I shower) You have to give boar more time to soak up the water in order to work right.

Aside from that I don't notice much difference in the latering ability once the boar is broken in. I broke in my Semogue 830 in about a week by palm lathering.