Boar brush ( or Boar rush) break-in: enough is enough

[OtterLunacy]

I think a lot of the naysayers here are forgetting that "breaking in" a boar brush is really "controlled damage" to the hairs. You're trying to get hair to split and fray in a predictable fashion, not use alchemic rituals to transmute one kind of hair into another. Why, exactly, must a good brush be earned after already paying for it? Now, I agree that a certain level of care should be used, and one should consider the possible side-effects of the chosen treatment. I personally would not freeze the brush, leave it completely submerged, or take sandpaper to the tips. I have tried the hot water and while there are some concerns with that it saved my 49 Pro from becoming trash.

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with wanting it to mature over time, I'm just saying that it's not unreasonable for some of us to want the performance we payed for.

 

[NesOne]

Boars soak up a lot of water slowly while a badger will take up all the water it can after running it under the tap for 10 seconds. I can't see it hurting a badger to soak it but there really is no need.

Thanks!

 

[drwevil]

The BIG Scrubby 28mm Zenith Boar Brush arrived it is HUGE.

It with its little brother Zenith 28mm Manchurian

It defunking as it smells like a wet pig. So it’s loaded with Mama Bear’s Bounty. It whipped up an awesome lather so fast.

It is soft and not too scritchy. Great value at $55 AU



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Badgerstate36]

I agree. Ive heard some pretty interesting methods of breaking in a boar brush. I say just use it.

 

[Cino]

That's a gem. Let us know how it feels after some more shaves!

 

[BigJ]

Team,
Just use it....
Badger: wet it and forget it
Boar: soak it, use it, and wait for the day when it becomes as soft as badger and you have the ah-ha moment.
Thanks.

+1! KISS works for me too!

 

[vsp]

I think a lot of the naysayers here are forgetting that "breaking in" a boar brush is really "controlled damage" to the hairs. You're trying to get hair to split and fray in a predictable fashion, not use alchemic rituals to transmute one kind of hair into another. Why, exactly, must a good brush be earned after already paying for it? Now, I agree that a certain level of care should be used, and one should consider the possible side-effects of the chosen treatment. I personally would not freeze the brush, leave it completely submerged, or take sandpaper to the tips. I have tried the hot water and while there are some concerns with that it saved my 49 Pro from becoming trash.

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with wanting it to mature over time, I'm just saying that it's not
unreasonable for some of us to want the performance we payed for.

Replying to a long-dormant thread now, but given that the currently accepted fast break-in method is just to leave the boar brush submerged in cold water overnight (even in the fridge if you want) and then dry it by vigorous rubbing on a clean dry towel, this viewpoint makes even more sense.

What if I don't want to wait and enjoy the process of breaking in the boar brush on my face, but want to jump straight to the part where it's broken in and enjoy what experiences a broken-in brush has to provide?

You may not be impatient, but what if I am (I am not addressing @OtterLunacy here, just asking a rhetorical question)? And if there is a path to satisfying or gratifying my impatience that's as gentle on the brush as actually using it for weeks, then why not take that path?

Well expressed post by @OtterLunacy

For reference, here's the video that first popularized the "fast" break-in method

 

[BJJ Shaver]

I’m hoping for a boar brush for Christmas. I’ll definitely do the water in the fridge thing for a few days. Hey, if it’s good enough for Franco Bompieri, it’s good enough for me.

 

[Rosseforp]

For a long time I have lusted after the elusive Koh-I-Noor Italian boar, which is really hard to find nowadays. At one time they were quite popular Italian barber size brushes. Recently a B&B member gifted me with one of these brushes- an unholy grail of sorts for me- and I look forward to breaking it in at some point in the future. Gotta always have something to look forward to.

Being new to this wonderful world of wet shaving, I had never heard of a Koh-I-Noor boar until I received one from my brother on his last visit to Italy and an Acca Kappa badger that has just started to give me that "oh" feeling after a month of uses.

The Koh-I-Noor absolutely refused to build a lather the first time I used it, just a useless runny mess, and it was pretty funky smelling too. I had to use one of my Omega's instead.
I just gave it a good soaking in a bowl of water and Dawn to get rid of most of the smell and that was all it needed. I was gonna give it to my son for his first boar, but he might have to wait until I can get my brother to send me another one! Really surprised me how nice it is.



Happy shaves

Doug

 

[Rosseforp]

Yes, they are different than badger brushes in that they do need to break in, and they do need a soak prior to lathering (unlike badger brushes)

I just got my first badger brush and didn't know this. It was giving me fits until I treated it like one of my synthetics and just barely wet the tips, then just like magic I got a great lather!

Thanks!

 

[awk_m4]

I have two Zenith brushes on order. Both are unbleached. I'm going to start using one right away. The second will be soaked in cold water for two days. I'm looking forward to comparing both methods.

Paul

 

[Spy Car]

I must politely disagree.

Some boar brushes *can* just get a good cycle of initial soaks and can then be put to use w/o a big "process." That tends to apply to less dense brushes.

The critical part is not the softening of the tips. The stage one of tip softening happens pretty quickly and then the bristles just get better and better..

Rather the issue--with some boars--is the density of the knot. Something like a Zenith 505 (one of which I'm actively breaking in now) have knots that are so dense (despite the fine premium bristles) that good luck opening up that head without doing some serious work. Ain't gonna happen. Not in a reasonable time frame anyway.

I'd never suggest freezing or using chemicals or other crazy methods, but soaks, accelerated wet/dry cycles, towel rubbing, and other ways of working the knot can make a huge difference in transforming a tight/dense knot into a thing of beauty.

Bill

 

[Spy Car]

I have two Zenith brushes on order. Both are unbleached. I'm going to start using one right away. The second will be soaked in cold water for two days. I'm looking forward to comparing both methods.

Paul

Are you taking bets? LOL

Bill

 

[awk_m4]

Are you taking bets? LOL

Bill

Bill I'd be giving my money away! LOL

I'll use this thread to share my experience. I'm really looking forward to this!

Paul

 

[Rosseforp]

I have two Zenith brushes on order. Both are unbleached. I'm going to start using one right away. The second will be soaked in cold water for two days. I'm looking forward to comparing both methods.

Paul

My Zenith unbleached boar started spitting hairs after just one soak in Dawn and a good rinsing. Nice and soft from the outset.

~doug~

 

[awk_m4]

My Zenith unbleached boar started spitting hairs after just one soak in Dawn and a good rinsing. Nice and soft from the outset.
View attachment 1742950
~doug~

Hey Doug
That is good to know!
How long did you soak your brush in Dawn?

Paul

 

[Goblin]

My Zenith unbleached boar started spitting hairs after just one soak in Dawn and a good rinsing. Nice and soft from the outset.

My limited experience of Zeniths agrees - they're soft anyway due to the fineness of the hairs, and will start to split almost immediately. The boar of choice for folks who don't like to wait!

 

[Quaznoid]

The OP is correct. Just use it. It will “break in” all on its own. Doing anything special to it is yet another example of B&Bers needlessly complicating something.

 

[Rosseforp]

Hey Doug
That is good to know!
How long did you soak your brush in Dawn?

Paul

Maybe an hour? Then a couple of good rinses, let it set out overnight and voila! Never had an Omega or Semogue split hairs that fast. It was ready to shave with almost immediately. Kicked my Omega 49 across the street.

~doug~

 

[Spy Car]

Hey Doug
That is good to know!
How long did you soak your brush in Dawn?

Paul

Hey Paul, I would not soak the knots in Dawn myself. Some of the Zeniths have a bit of funk (not bad, depending on how sensitive one is to the smell, which I tend to like depending on how subtle it is) with the unbleached unsurprisingly having some and the bleached having nearly none.

If you feel the need to to wash it with Dawn, I'd rinse it well afterwards and then start the soaking routine in plain water.

Another nice way to de-funk (after the initial soak) is to make a practice lather in a bowl with a favorite soap, and then allow the brush to dry (with the lather still embedded in the knot). That transfers the favored aromas into the knot and also seems to have an efficacious effect on the break-in process.

Just my 2 cents.

Best wishes on the break-in.

Bill