Best boar brushes under $30

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Kidding aside. Does the white Mondial have a hollow plastic handle?

I picked mine up and messed around with it. Then I picked up several others and did the same. My conclusion is not helpful. I can't really tell with any of my brushes. If there's a surefire method which doesn't involve destroying the brush I don't know it.

I don't have any of the really cheap plastic handled Omegas or Zeniths. I'd think I could tell with the 48 and the Proraso Pro but I can't.

Sorry.

To me the Mondial ivory handle is much nicer than I expected it to be. I don't think it's quite as nice as the Connaught Omega Premium which I believe is turned acrylic resin, but it's nice enough for me to like it.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

OP was clear he did not want dyed bristles.

too bad, it's an amazing brush.

 

[JCULL]

Paragon Boar Brush quite possibly could be my favourite brush.

 

[McNutt]

Yes, the fake badger stripe is a deal breaker for now. That stripe is one of the reasons I looked down at boar brushes. It's like manufacturers weren't co fident enough in the performance that they had to disguise it as badger.

I know it's not really the case now, but that stripe still bothers me. Be proud of being boar!

 

[Boar Fighter]

Yes, the fake badger stripe is a deal breaker for now. That stripe is one of the reasons I looked down at boar brushes. It's like manufacturers weren't co fident enough in the performance that they had to disguise it as badger.

I know it's not really the case now, but that stripe still bothers me. Be proud of being boar!

The band isn't simply decorative. It's a visual hint, that the knot uses softer bristles. For instance, in Semogue 1800, 1305 and 830 are banded. These all use the "premium" bristle, which is softer. The 830 is the most "badgery" boar i 've seen.

In Omega, again, the banded is supposed to be a bit softer than the corresponding unbanded variety, although Omega's batches vary in quality over time. I have the same banded Omega model with 2 different variety bristles. One softer than the other. The softer one (which is also older), is the same quality as my Omega "premium" brush, which also is banded. They both have a very clear-white bristle. While the newer "cheaper" banded, has a more "dirty" white-yellowish bristle.

The banded varieties, also have less stench (at least in Omega, because in Semogue they always stink very little) and the bristles split faster.

Not everyone is thorough to make an internet search about bristle quality, so the band was a simple way to indicate "softer brush" to the aspiring buyer.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Yes, the fake badger stripe is a deal breaker for now. That stripe is one of the reasons I looked down at boar brushes. It's like manufacturers weren't co fident enough in the performance that they had to disguise it as badger.

I know it's not really the case now, but that stripe still bothers me. Be proud of being boar!

My feelings exactly.

I have a boar brush (bought early on) with a stripe. It performs well enough but I'm going to give it away. I have someone in mind (my lawyer friend who is broke).

Thanks for reminding me of this brush.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[rudyt]

Not soaking is hard on the bristles.

Please stop propagating this myth. Not soaking and just wetting the brush under running water for 10 seconds does zero harm to the bristles. They're very porous and absorb water in seconds.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Please stop propagating this myth. Not soaking and just wetting the brush under running water for 10 seconds does zero harm to the bristles. They're very porous and absorb water in seconds.

I've never tested it myself, but anyone could easily test this. Run a brush under water for ten seconds. Weigh. Soak it for 5 minutes. Weigh. Compare.

 

[Boar Fighter]

I've never tested it myself, but anyone could easily test this. Run a brush under water for ten seconds. Weigh. Soak it for 5 minutes. Weigh. Compare.

I had found googling someone who had done this.

Not soaking boar brush

To me, if the graph is accurate, it shows that the brush arrives to a state of equilibrium at about 2 minutes. I usually soak for 5 and IMHO, if you do soak, it's better for the bristles, because the boar bristle, is like a semi-rigid tube. You want this tube to be as flexible as it can get, if you don't want it to get fractures or break completely.

 

[naughtilus]

Please stop propagating this myth. Not soaking and just wetting the brush under running water for 10 seconds does zero harm to the bristles. They're very porous and absorb water in seconds.

I presume you've not read tests by fellow shavers (weighing with precision scales) on multiple forums. From memory, given up to a minute, natural hair brushes do absorb more water. Boars may even go longer, but it really depends on the knot density, type of hair etc. Badgers seem to be good to go under half a minute. Small badger brush should be fine with 10s under the tap.

 

[global_dev]

I dont know if its bad for the bristles, but i’ve had the opportunity to play with a bunch of boar knots lately and they absolutely feel to me that a longer soak increases the pleasure of the feel of the knot on my skin.

 

[Lord Fatboy]

I like the Omega Mixed Midget, which is both boar and badger mix and is virtually indestructible (I gave one to my Dad three years ago, he treats it like hell and it's still going stronger than ever), the Omega 98 has the cool 'barber' handle, and you cannot beat the shiny gigantic Omega 48, the European barber brush.

They are all less than 10 bux I should think. Get all three

 

[Boar Fighter]

I dont know if its bad for the bristles, but i’ve had the opportunity to play with a bunch of boar knots lately and they absolutely feel to me that a longer soak increases the pleasure of the feel of the knot on my skin.

These are some very interesting microscope pictures of boar bristles:

A little closer look at Shaving Brush Fibers/Hair (SEM Comparison)

When i first saw them, they looked like bamboo sticks to me, they way they split. So the more they soak, the more flexible they get, the softer they get and this can only bring benefit. In Italy everyone soaks his boar and boar is the traditional shaving brush for as long as they have been used to shave. So there must be a good reason.

 

[McNutt]

I believe the point of contention is that not soaking your boar brush does harm to the brush when you shave, not that it makes it less comfortable for that particular shave. I have no idea if that is correct or not.

 

[Boar Fighter]

I believe the point of contention is that not soaking your boar brush does harm to the brush when you shave, not that it makes it less comfortable for that particular shave. I have no idea if that is correct or not.

Unless some expert in boar bristles, comes to present a scientific lecture, i think at this point one can believe what he wants. In the pictures i posted above, what i see is something rigid that has split in that way, because the walls of the bristle have broken. Why don't badgers split like that too? Because they are hair, not bristles. I have also seen broken or permanently deformed boar bristles. As a matter of fact, i have a bad habbit, of running my finger over the brushe's lofts and i always have bristles coming out when the brush is dry or almost dry and my believe is, this happens because although i don't flex much the loft, the bristle is dry enough to have lost flexibility to the point of just snapping. I have a Semogue which must have lost 50 bristles by now and at least 20 were from me running my finger over the dry or half-dry loft.

Combined with the chart that indicates that the boar achieves full hydration at 2 minutes mark, just to be on the safe side, would you want something dry or something wetter? I go with wetter...

It's an educated guess if you will. But when i have something rigid, that can break when dry and gains flexibility when wet, i gather than if it achieves 100% hydration, is better for the flexibility compared to to 50% hydration.

Just my 2 cents, logically thinking on the basis of what i attached earlier. Someone else's opinion may vary.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

My feelings exactly.

I have a boar brush (bought early on) with a stripe. It performs well enough but I'm going to give it away. I have someone in mind (my lawyer friend who is broke).

Thanks for reminding me of this brush.

Happy shaves,

Jim

A broke lawyer? Is he a bad attorney, or just too honest?

 

[Steve_in_CT]

I had found googling someone who had done this.

Not soaking boar brush

To me, if the graph is accurate, it shows that the brush arrives to a state of equilibrium at about 2 minutes. I usually soak for 5 and IMHO, if you do soak, it's better for the bristles, because the boar bristle, is like a semi-rigid tube. You want this tube to be as flexible as it can get, if you don't want it to get fractures or break completely.

What are the brushes? I'm guessing at Omega 10066 and SOC boar but can't decipher the others. And if I'm reading that graph correctly the Omega 10066 and SOC are fully hydrated at 30 seconds at which point the SCL2 (whatever that is) is only 40% hydrated indicating a very significant difference among boar brushes. Also, I don't understand how it achieves 100% hydration and then loses hydration while still soaking.

 

[naughtilus]

More time is needed for water to whick up the knot base where bristles usually break due to torsion forces introduced by swirling the brush in circles. Running tap water can't properly hydrate the knot down to the base, hence soaking being recommended.

Denser knots would obviously take longer time.

 

[TBoner]

Yes, the fake badger stripe is a deal breaker for now. That stripe is one of the reasons I looked down at boar brushes. It's like manufacturers weren't co fident enough in the performance that they had to disguise it as badger.

I know it's not really the case now, but that stripe still bothers me. Be proud of being boar!

I used to feel the same way, and I still like the look of blond boar bristles, but the truth is that most badger is dyed to make it look like the kind of badger that's in demand, so at this point, badger producers are dying their bristles to compete with themselves on appearance, knowing performance alone won't sell their brushes.

 

[Boar Fighter]

What are the brushes? I'm guessing at Omega 10066 and SOC boar but can't decipher the others. And if I'm reading that graph correctly the Omega 10066 and SOC are fully hydrated at 30 seconds at which point the SCL2 (whatever that is) is only 40% hydrated indicating a very significant difference among boar brushes. Also, I don't understand how it achieves 100% hydration and then loses hydration while still soaking.

Please click the link provided. The chart is not mine, i took it from that link.