Boar difference?

[Ryan83]

I have read some posts where some people, once they received there boar brushes this has been there go to brush. How is boar hair different? Is is softer on the face? Scratchier? People talk about the Semogue 830 and 620. What do you like about these brushes?
Thanks in advance.

 

[OkieStubble]

I have 10 brushes in badger and boar. And while I really like my badgers when the mood strikes, my boars are my daily drivers. I personally feel that the boar tips offer a different type of softness than the badgers do. Not softer, just different. Along with their excellent backbone, boars provide the perfect amount of softness combined with scrubbiness to me.

I just purchased my first Semogue a few days back. so I'm sure others more informed can advise you better. I do know the 830 has the same knot the 1305 I purchased does. I had heard that it takes awhile for Semogue tips to split and the knot to break in. I hand lathered it with Proraso to clean it the first time out. And after a day of drying, the tips all look split to me already.

I had my first shave with it Tuesday, and it felt soft with plenty of backbone and had no problem producing copius amounts of lather.

 

[wrinkles2]

Boar brushes are a little stiffer than badger; they feel nice and most are economical (cheap)
Personally, I like Boar brushes.

 

[Rivguy]

If there was ever a YMMV, this is it! I face lather and prefer badger brushes because I like the feel and softness of the hair as it caresses my face. I own a number of boars as well and enjoy using them but for me, I just enjoy the badgers more. In my view, there is nothing like a nice silvertip working up lather on my face. But, as I said at the onset, YMMV.

Regards,

Doug

 

[smalltank]

cheap boar brushes have good scritch to em..I like that feeling

 

[Patman27]

I like my boar brush quite a lot, Semogue 1250. It has more backbone than my badger and feels just as soft on the tips. The only downside so far is that I've found I have to work a bit harder to get a lather started. The badger feels a bit more luxurious to my face, but the boar is only about a month old. Different animals really.

 

[Teddyboy]

I just received my new 620 and I can tell you that if it is backbone you're looking for, look somewhere else. It is a sparsely packed knot, IMHO, has too long a loft and does not hold enough good lather for two full passes. For the life of me I cannot understand the incredible write-ups this brush gets. However, I will say, that for the amount of lather it holds, it whips it up nicely, and the brush has a good feel on the skin. But it is characterized by some as the end-all alternative to badger brushes, but this is grossly misrepresented.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Teddy, either you are used to lathering with a rock, or there's something wrong with your 620. I had one and it is to this day the only (edit: modern) brush I found uncomfortable to use. It isn't dense, I agree. But the loft is certainly not too long, and the hair is as coarse as anything Semogue sells.

I did not like it at all. But it has backbone to spare.

 

[Teddyboy]

Teddy, either you are used to lathering with a rock, or there's something wrong with your 620. I had one and it is to this day the only brush I found uncomfortable to use. It isn't dense, I agree. But the loft is certainly not too long, and the hair is as coarse as anything Semogue sells.

I did not like it at all. But it has backbone to spare.

I appreciate your thoughts on the 620. At least we agree...we don't like it. The other boar in my life is the 2011 LE bristle 1 which is a packed 25 mm knot and a 50mm loft. Perhaps it is the rock you suggested, but I was a bit surprised at how flimsy the 620 seemed to me.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Interesting. Was the 2011LE perhaps designed to be a denser 620 the way the 2010LE was designed to be a 620 with higher grade hair?

 

[Teddyboy]

Interesting. Was the 2011LE perhaps designed to be a denser 620 the way the 2010LE was designed to be a 620 with higher grade hair?

I haven't a clue about that. I wish I had a picture b/c the difference between the brushes (620 and 2011 LE) is so great that it is more than a mere difference in degree...it really seems like a different kind of brush.

 

[Monkeyboy]

Agree with Rivguy in that both boar and badger have their fans and you really have to try them for yourself to see which you prefer.

In my experience, boar hair is thicker, stiffer and the boar brushes tend to have longer lofts. Badgers are typically good out of the box while most boars require a long break in period to show their full potential. Guys say that boars are soft feeling after break in all the time, I have yet to experience a boar that I would really call soft. Again, YMMV.

I prefer badgers. I tried several boars and while I got good lather for the most part I don't like the way they feel on the face.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Yeah Semogue's 2010LE was really impressive, so I'm sure the 11 was as well. They don't just slap LE on some brush they already make and tell you it's special. I can see being disappointed with a 620 if it's up against a LE.

 

[jimmyddrose]

Just received my Badger brush today.. Been DE shaving for about 3 months now.. From What I can tell is, since I usually shave every day I find the Badger much more softer on my skin. But when I didn't shave for almost a week I really did like how the Boar really worked the hairs.. So for me I will use the Badger and for days where I leave the shave for a few day or weeks. (Camping) I will use my boar...

Not sure if it makes sense or it's all in my head .... Still Learning and having a Blast

 

[Pkrankow]

Boar start scratchy, and then break in significantly over the first 30 shaves or so. The tips split and become much softer. Of course the starting softness varies from brush to brush, similarly the final softness varies.

Phil

 

[fantasticpants]

Boar start scratchy, and then break in significantly over the first 30 shaves or so. The tips split and become much softer. Of course the starting softness varies from brush to brush, similarly the final softness varies.

Phil

This is the key. When the boar tips split, it becomes a different brush. I find my boar Omega much, much softer than my pure badgers.

 

[Danricgro]

I keep hearing the the 1305 and the 830 have the same knot. I have both and they are totally different brushes. The 830 has a whole lot more backbone than the 1305. My 1305 is a bit on the floppy side. Actually the 830 has replaced my Owners Club as my favorite boar brush. I also have a 620 that I like alot, not quite broken in but getting close.

 

[Vivasanti]

I have both 620 and 830.

620 has a tonne of backbone, where as the 830 has very nice soft tips.

 

[OkieStubble]

I keep hearing the the 1305 and the 830 have the same knot. I have both and they are totally different brushes. The 830 has a whole lot more backbone than the 1305. My 1305 is a bit on the floppy side. Actually the 830 has replaced my Owners Club as my favorite boar brush. I also have a 620 that I like alot, not quite broken in but getting close.

Could the 1305 and 830 be the same knot but set at different heights? Or maybe the two different handles make the same knot perform differently? I agree with you about the 1305. From the very first soak, I thought it seemed somewhat floppy.

 

[OldGreyGuy]

I have 3 boars and they are my go to brushes. I have the Semogue 610, Semogue 820 and Omega 10067. I find I like these with the majority of my soaps, although I prefer a cheap Frank Shaving badger with Tabac