Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Excellent attorney. Very well trained, experienced, smart, and a good guy.
Best boar brushes under $30
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Excellent attorney. Very well trained, experienced, smart, and a good guy.
i understood, i guess i poorly explained that even if dry bristles was bad, i’d rather use soaked ... so win/win
Jaguar. This is what most Turkish barbers use in the UK. I’ve got one and it’s great....even greater after a few months use. Softened up really well after a couple of weeks and will last a lifetime.
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I bought a couple on your recommendation. One 24/50 and one of unknown size, but it appears to be a barber-size big brush. I have no idea when they will arrive, but I love trying new boar brushes. Thanks for the recommendation!
The point I’m making is that boar brushes do not NEED to be soaked. They pick up water very quickly. Are they fully soaked after a few seconds? No, but that’s not my point. Are they wet enough to shave with without breaking? Absolutely! Do they feel better after a 1 or 5 minute soak? That’s personal preference.
I don’t soak boars, because I prefer the increased backbone and the way they feel vs the same brush soaked which is floppier. That’s personal preference.
Am I damaging my boars by not soaking? I’ve got at least three boars with over 300 shaves each on them (IB 2012 LE, Semogue 620 and BC Cerda) and I’ve never seen a lost bristle after the first few shaves.
Do you NEED to soak a boar because the bristles will break? NO!
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- #66
This is interesting. I'm already finding that my SOC is getting a little too floppy, so I'm going to experiment with different soak techniques to see how that affects my shave.
Tonight I'll try soaking the tips while I shower and then running the whole brush under the water for a few seconds. If I can customize the feel of each brush that will be a game changer.
Tonight I'll try soaking the tips while I shower and then running the whole brush under the water for a few seconds. If I can customize the feel of each brush that will be a game changer.
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Semogues are the most "badgery" boars around. And the higher grade bristles, become very soft. If you want a Semogue that will maintain much of the backbone over time, go with "extra" bristles or with "best" with 50mm loft (like the 1470). From the higher lofted Semogues, the 1800 is the one that will keep better its backbone, thanks to the fact that is a mix of Premium with Extra bristles. The extra don't let the knot to bloom too much.
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Here is a post by the owner of "Vintage Scent":
Here's a list of the different grades Semogue currently uses to make their wonderful boar brushes:
Now, let me explain the main differences between them.
First, the meaning of "percentage tops". This measures the amount in percentage of bristles that have the full length. The bigger the percentage, the more homogeneous and compact the knot feels because most of the tips are at the same level.
The Premium grade appears in the iconic 1305. Following the success of the 1305, some asked me if it was possible to have the same knot, but in a acrylic handle, so the 830 was born. This grade usually has a dyed band, but it appears undyed in the 2000 mixed with other grade hair.
The Best is also a hair that gets great remarks. It appears on the 1460, 1470, and 1250 brushes. It's undyed. Owners of these brushes speak highly of these knots, having great amount of lather easily, usually in bowl, but it's just as efficient directly used in the face.
The Extra grade is scratchier than other grades, but over the time will soften a bit. It appears in the 1520, 1438 and 620 brushes. It's also used in the 1800 mixed with Premium 90. This boar grade provides good backbone and having an extra scratchiness is often chosen by the face lathering fans. This is usually dyed.
The Super grade is used in the 2000 knot mixed with the Premium.
The Special grade appeared first in the 2009 LE. Later, some more of this boar grade was stocked and eventually turned to a new regular production brush: the Semogue Owners Club. It's an undyed bristle with a very high quality. Equally soft as the Premium and good backbone provides good lathering ability in both bowl and face lathering.
It's hard to decide what's the very best grade. Both the Premium and Special grades have many fans.
Any questions, let me know. I'll try my best to answer them.
Enjoy!
Here's a list of the different grades Semogue currently uses to make their wonderful boar brushes:
- Premium 90% tops
- Best 90% tops
- Extra 75% tops
- Super 70% tops
- Special Grade 90% tops
Now, let me explain the main differences between them.
First, the meaning of "percentage tops". This measures the amount in percentage of bristles that have the full length. The bigger the percentage, the more homogeneous and compact the knot feels because most of the tips are at the same level.
The Premium grade appears in the iconic 1305. Following the success of the 1305, some asked me if it was possible to have the same knot, but in a acrylic handle, so the 830 was born. This grade usually has a dyed band, but it appears undyed in the 2000 mixed with other grade hair.
The Best is also a hair that gets great remarks. It appears on the 1460, 1470, and 1250 brushes. It's undyed. Owners of these brushes speak highly of these knots, having great amount of lather easily, usually in bowl, but it's just as efficient directly used in the face.
The Extra grade is scratchier than other grades, but over the time will soften a bit. It appears in the 1520, 1438 and 620 brushes. It's also used in the 1800 mixed with Premium 90. This boar grade provides good backbone and having an extra scratchiness is often chosen by the face lathering fans. This is usually dyed.
The Super grade is used in the 2000 knot mixed with the Premium.
The Special grade appeared first in the 2009 LE. Later, some more of this boar grade was stocked and eventually turned to a new regular production brush: the Semogue Owners Club. It's an undyed bristle with a very high quality. Equally soft as the Premium and good backbone provides good lathering ability in both bowl and face lathering.
It's hard to decide what's the very best grade. Both the Premium and Special grades have many fans.
Any questions, let me know. I'll try my best to answer them.
Enjoy!
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- #69
That's great info. Thank you!
Semogue anything pretty much is great 620 830 the big one 2000.
Reasonable and well made
Reasonable and well made
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- #71
I just bought a Semogue 1470 and an Omega 10066.
I can't believe I've bought five brushes this month. When am I ever going to break in all these brushes?
I can't believe I've bought five brushes this month. When am I ever going to break in all these brushes?
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100 shaves from now you'll be done with most of the breaking in.
Excellent choices. Don't worry, the "initial" break in, where the tips split, doesn't take more than 5 shaves. There is a longer break in, where the knot softens further, but it's part of the boar's charm, don't worry about it.
The Omega 10666 has my favourite Omega size for face lathering and a very ergonomic handle, despite being simple. And the Semogue 1470 has very good quality hair (best), but being short lofted, it maintains stronger backbone than most other Semogues.
You will enjoy both!
I would agree with this. I used to soak my Connaught Omega while in the shower but found it became too floppy.
If I just wet the bristles a few minutes before I shave, I find it less floppy.
I don’t like flop.
Boars are the majority in my collection but not the most used. I have found that each of them needs their own time of soaking to get an excellent feeling to me. It is this time schedule that means work to me and I am lazy. This is the reason that I use synthetic brushes a lot and I like boar brushes.
The best setup for me, would have been using 2 boar brushes of the same model and batch release in rotation.
My tips. A Proraso boar brush and a Mondial one. I have some other cheap boar brushes, but Mondial with the right soak time has a wonderful scrub and moderate backbone.
The best setup for me, would have been using 2 boar brushes of the same model and batch release in rotation.
My tips. A Proraso boar brush and a Mondial one. I have some other cheap boar brushes, but Mondial with the right soak time has a wonderful scrub and moderate backbone.
The new Proraso brush is excellent. It's not as stiff as its predecessor, soft tips out of the box and it doesn't stink like a wet dog.
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- #77
The Omega 10066 came in and I shaved with it today. I really liked the knot. My 9nky complaint is the handle. That shape doesnt really work for me and I think it might be because it's hollow. If it had more weight to it the handle might have a better feel in the hand.
Regardless, that knot size and feel are excellent.
Regardless, that knot size and feel are excellent.
I was under the impression that its the heat from soaking hot water that damages the glue in the handle. I was also under the impression that not soaking a boar leads to bristle loss and shedding because the shaft of the bristle is brittle when dry and flexing it while dry will cause it to eventually break off.
Same impression. Glad to hear that it wasn't just me thinking this. However I enjoy the "old" version. I gave my new one, almost new to a friend.
