What's new

Breaking in a NEW Boar brush a little quicker!

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Thought I would do the proper method of breaking in a new 2nd boar brush. My first boar brush attempt of breaking in (4 years ago approx) I read a few articles and tried to remove the funk smell out of the brush because I have a keen sense of smell and did not like it. I used all the wrong methods to remove the smell of natural hair and I was a bit ruthless trying it and I was going to throw it out but before tossing it I would put it through a gauntlet of torture.( I laugh :a22: what I recall )
These are some of the drastic things I did , took the brush after a few brushings of lather and then rinsed and left by the window sill for about 24 hrs and then re-lathered and this time left the lather on the brush by the window sill in the open air and then next morning rinsed it off and tried to use it but the funk scent was still there.
New drastic untried tactic's going to MrClean lemon fresh industrial cleaner in a bowl and with brush over the sink immersed it and lathered in the solution and rinsed off the solution about 6-8 times(4 years ago trying to recall) with not much luck, so more drastic measures were needed before tossing my $12 dollar wooden handle boar brush.
Then I boiled some water and immersed the wooden handled brush in the water holding it down with a long cooking utensil for about 1 minute and then scooping it out cooling it under cold water and doing a smell test, still not happy with results, did this about another 2 or three times with not much better results.
Last hope and this was clincher I took the brush and placed it in the glass jar and then with MrClean solution with water just up to the top of the boar whiskers and let the micro wave rip, I let the microwave work until it started boiling and removed brush and man was the handle hot not realizing the rubber glued knot heated up also kind of split the wood a little, seemed like better results. Tried this about 3 more times and was sort of happier with the results. I was also thinking if this brush survives this torture it will be used and not tossed as a reminder.
After drying that brush for a day and then started using it I realized it was well built and the hairs starting splitting nicely and the brush is still used to this day because it works well. (if you read this far I hope you had a laugh or smile at least.):lol:
NEW SIMPLER Better method, recently bought a another new boar brush and there was not much funk smell and used a kinder more better advice method from some Youtube advice from a old Italian barber (Mantic 59 interviewed).
Just took some Hair shampoo in my shaving bowl and cleaned the brush with lathering with shampoo and rinsing with water 5 times and then towel dry for 3-5 minutes and it removed any loose hairs. Then filled clear glass cup with cold water up 3/4 of the way up the whiskers of brush and placed in refrigerator for 18 hrs and removed and re-lathered with shampoo in the lathering bowl another 4 times and then towel dried 3-5 minutes once more and the towel will remove broken hairs or loose ones. Back into the fridge for another 18 hrs and then this time after removing from fridge I bowl lathered with hair conditioner 2 times and rinsed and then towel dried for about 3-5 minutes by swirling and going back and forth.
Looking at the results seemed really, really good IMO and did not spend a lot of time with the brush, a good broken in boar brush will give a nice different lathering to the face and I still enjoy a boar brush. So now I have 2 broken in boar brushes that will last a very long time!
Not sure how a wooden handle brush would work using this method of breaking in the Brush.(don't immerse handle in the water for 18> hrs!)
A nicely broken in boar brush will have those split hairs that give the softness and the main hair will give the back bone for hard soaps or croaps.
I'm sure there are also different method's of breaking in a boar brush.

New boar brush..........................2 day broke in boar brush.......... there are nicely split hairs with double, triple & quad splits.
Yaqi Boar brush, first yaqi boar $9.00.jpg
Yaqi boar brush broke in after 2 days after brush in fridge.jpg
Yaqi boar brush broken in after 2 days in fridge top view 2.2.jpg

Have some great shaves! Stay & think safe in these times!
 
Plain ol' Omega 49 boar brush is what I started with 4 months ago, and it is great for performance and cost. I followed the Sharpologist/Italian barber refrigeration method too.
 
I just soak the loft in tepid water for a few hours, lather a couple times, shake out the water then rub the tips of the bristles back and forth on a flat towel. Repeat as needed.

Say, has anybody tried using a wet stone to split the ends off a boar?
 
I just soak the loft in tepid water for a few hours, lather a couple times, shake out the water then rub the tips of the bristles back and forth on a flat towel. Repeat as needed.

Say, has anybody tried using a wet stone to split the ends off a boar?
The best thing I have found to cause the splits is to get the bristles thoroughly saturated and then dry them out completely. You can rub the brush on a towel which helps it to dry faster and fluffs it up a bit. It's sort of like what happens to long hair when you wash it with soap and don't use any conditioner -- you get the frizzys.
:laugh:
 
Glad you figured out what works for you Ron. I’ve never had a boar or badger that smelled. I probably don’t have as acute of sense of smell as many people must.
What I like to do with newly acquired boar and badger brushes is (using shave soap) build up a thick lather on the brush (I do it in my palm), and then place it in a sunny window until the next day. The soap will have completely dried hard. Rinse and perform whatever other techniques you like.
 
The best thing I have found to cause the splits is to get the bristles thoroughly saturated and then dry them out completely. You can rub the brush on a towel which helps it to dry faster and fluffs it up a bit. It's sort of like what happens to long hair when you wash it with soap and don't use any conditioner -- you get the frizzys.
:laugh:
Ja
The best thing I have found to cause the splits is to get the bristles thoroughly saturated and then dry them out completely. You can rub the brush on a towel which helps it to dry faster and fluffs it up a bit. It's sort of like what happens to long hair when you wash it with soap and don't use any conditioner -- you get the frizzys.
:laugh:
How long do you soak them go fully saturate? I imagine anything more than a few hours would just be redundant. This is purely speculation on my part.

I have blow drier mount to the wall for the purpose of drying brushes.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Amen.

We really need to get this word out, to try to stop this misunderstanding.

(Sent from mobile)
Putting brush in the refrigerator will not hurt anything, just a different method on getting the brush totally hydrated and to start the splitting hair end process. Leaving brush in water outside of refrigerator seems to work also from your experiences & others.
 
How long do you soak them go fully saturate? I imagine anything more than a few hours would just be redundant. This is purely speculation on my part...
I'm not sure what the minimum time would be, so usually I'll leave them overnight and take them out in the morning. I'll do a palm lather with some inexpensive soap, rinse, dry on a towel and leave it to dry for a day. A few cycles like that and the brush is ready to begin shaving with. I like to give any boar brush a full day to dry, so will alternate with another brush. It will gradually improve as you use it.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Ja

How long do you soak them go fully saturate? I imagine anything more than a few hours would just be redundant. This is purely speculation on my part.

I have blow drier mount to the wall for the purpose of drying brushes.
With wooden handles it makes more sense not to over saturate the brush for 24 hrs to prevent possible expanding the handle and cracking. How long to soak a wooden handle boar brush to full hydration maybe 10-12 hrs ?! The brush I used was a plastic handled one.
 
My method has been to soak a boar brush in water for an hour and then palm-lather with a shaving soap or cream. I would then follow this with a thorough rinse and towel dry. I then take advantage of our usually warm temperatures, clear skies, and gentle breezes by placing the brush outside to fully dry during the day. I would repeat this process for up to a week or as long as I felt necessary to achieve the desired results.

I like the "New Simpler" method proposed by @Ron R and look forward to trying it with my next new boar. Because I can be a bit impatient, I will probably shorten the soaking time from 18 hours to 60 minutes since I don't know if the additional time in the water will make a difference. But I will stick with the other steps in the procedure. Hey, I'll have an excuse to pick up another brush and try again by soaking the full 18 hours if it doesn't work :)
 
I have only used a boar brush. Just 1 until a couple weeks ago. I do not remember the first one being super scratchy or what have you. But it could be because I did not know what to feel. IDK. The new one felt stiff and scratchy for sure. Was sort of disappointed. Now, after just using it everyday, it is becoming softer, fluffier, and is quite nice to the face. Feels good. Just the right an=mount of stiff to me at this point in my journey.

May try a "break in method" some day, but for now.... if it ain't broke, don't fix it lol. Just using them seems to work for me.
 
I have found that TOBS Sandalwood has taken the smell out of all my brushes that have odor. I just do a normal load and then palm or bowl lather. Couple times of that, odor is gone. I do not even use the soap on my face. I only keep it for my brushes. Now break in is different I just keep using them till they break in.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
My first boar brush I broke in just regular shaving and it took a little while (month or two) and if I can speed it up a little it's not a problem for me, I do not like the scretchy feel at first and this brush is not totally broke in yet but closer to 85% I'm thinking. The brush is performing nicely and very happy with results.
I think more people would enjoy a good boar brush if it feels good IMO from the get go. The nice thing about shaving every one is opinionated and are usually decent about it. :a22:
 
My new RazorRock boar arrived late yesterday. I am soaking it overnight in Dawn as it has a bit of boar funk.
I will start breaking it in tomorrow.
pictures to follow.
 
Top Bottom