Is there a difference between performance/feel of hairs between banded and non banded boar brushes or is it purely about looks?
Boar brushes- banded v. non-banded?
- Thread starter BladeDE40
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Could be wrong but I think all Boar brushes are dyed banded to appear as badgers.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure there's no difference save asthetics.
The banding doesn't matter, it's just dye. However, according to Semogue, there are a few different grades of boar hair. Premium, extra, special, super, best. Not sure the differences, though.
Surprise!! You are wrong!!
Boar brushes come in either a bleached blond like color, or can be dyed to look like badger hair. Take a look at the differences at this website:
http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/ombolaseinno.html
As for bleached vs. dyed, there is no performance difference. It's just purely a matter of aesthetics.
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Nothing much to add (it's just for decoration, that's it and that's all), other than
1. Sometimes, they are said to be "sketched"
2. The Semogue '09 LE interestingly was the first I saw to mimic the "two-band" look with this treatment. Can't believe others haven't followed. It looks great.
1. Sometimes, they are said to be "sketched"
2. The Semogue '09 LE interestingly was the first I saw to mimic the "two-band" look with this treatment. Can't believe others haven't followed. It looks great.
I used boar brushes for many years and, in my opinion, there isn't much difference between them as long as you stay with a recognized manufacturer.
Of the banded boars I've seen, the banding is only on the outside of the knot.
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Thats what I meant, the bands are dyed.
I knew what you meant to say (that boar hair doesn't naturally have that pattern, so if you see it, it was certainly dyed). However, it sort-of read like you were saying all boar brushes are dyed, when there are quite a few that aren't. That's why John explained what he did.
On all the ones I've seen (vintage and modern), the banding is a dye applied to all the individual hairs and isn't on the outside of the knot at all. As I draw the hairs apart in the center, the same pattern is there.
I like the banding in a way because it creates a nice color contrast backdrop to view the hair tips - and telltales of their softness. But on balance it bothers me - I like the honest yellow or bleached boar better. Cosmetics, really.
- Bill
There's no difference in performance because it is dyed, it is just for appearance's sake. But there are differences in the types of hair used in certain brushes in the same manufacturer's and different manufacturers. That's a great thing though since you can try all sorts of boars if you're inclined to and have differences in 'em all! 
From reading other posts outside of this thread, others have stated that the banded boar tends to smell less out of the box compared to the none banded boar, and that banded boar will sometimes, though not always, be softer out of the box needing less break in period. The performance, however, is basically the same in the long run.
Hmmm, interesting. My VDH is banded only on the outside, the inside bristles are not. Painted on?
Pretty much. As far as aesthetics are concerned, you may prefer banded but in actual performance, there really isn't a difference.
Quite possibly due to some pre-treatment that takes place on the bristle. I did notice a variance in my dyed vs undyed Semogues, as well as my Omegas (but the Omega was an RV custom, so I wasn't sure if that was true for all higher-end Omegas).
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