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Brush Chronicles No. 10 Omega Pro 10049 Boar

Two questions and comments. First, that's some awesome lather from the Manantiales, Shawn, and I'm tempted to make the vintage Williams sit on the sidelines tomorrow.

Second, the 49 in David's initial pictures are just after 10 days of lather and dry? Those are nome nice split tips Can I expect any boar to behave that way? Will actually using it to apply lather help it break in any faster?
 
Thanks! It was a great shave.

I'm no expert but I'll take a stab at your questions. Eventually I think that any boar will break in and the tips will start to split. I don't think that applying lather with the brush is going to make it break in any faster. I also think that the rate at which the tips split are very dependent on the brush and the type of bristles. It seemed that the break in time varied wildly for the last Semogue group buy brushes.
 
Two questions and comments. First, that's some awesome lather from the Manantiales, Shawn, and I'm tempted to make the vintage Williams sit on the sidelines tomorrow.

Second, the 49 in David's initial pictures are just after 10 days of lather and dry? Those are nome nice split tips Can I expect any boar to behave that way? Will actually using it to apply lather help it break in any faster?


You are certainly excused if you would care to swap soaps for the day, Bob. After all, we are men and not robots :wink2:


My brush is now just over a month old- the photos in my initial post were taken at the end of last week. My comment was that I washed, lathered and dried the brush a few times and then tried it for a first shave after about ten days. It has been used a few times in the ensuing weeks but is still a fairly new brush although the tips have continued to split and soften.
 
+1 on Shawn's delicious Manantiales lather.

FWIW, my Omega started showing split ends within a week's worth of shaves. These are not time consuming or difficult to break in, IMO.
 
I firmly believe the best way to break in a boar is to use it. I have tried some things to accelerate break in and didn't think they made a difference. Some early lathers on a new boar can be pretty bad, so don't judge too early :)
 
I decided that it was time to try a new soap.

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I've had this soap for a while now, but I've been trying to use up some of my other soaps before I start in on new products.

After soaking I loaded the brush. I gave it a slight squeeze to get rid of excess water, I didn't want to have a soapy watery mess on my hands.
Here is the brush loaded. I took the puck out of the container and loaded the brush that way. I needed to choke up on the brush to prevent the bristles from splaying out too much.

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After lathering for about a minute the lather is looking pretty good.

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With a little more water this is what I was rewarded with.

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All in all it was a great shave.

Lather pron!!!
 
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This morning's shave was with C&E Sienna Soap- it is widely available, so a good yardstick IMO.



After 30 seconds loading




A minute of loading





A few drops of water and 30 seconds of lathering




A little more water and we are ready after a minute




I can't quite make it to the All-Italian Shave because I don't have an Italian razor

 
I own two boars: an Omega 10066 and Semogue 1305. In honor of this installment of the brush chronicles, I used the 10066 today. It's a mighty little brush once you get to know it. It certainly took a lot longer to break in then the 1305. The tips split slowly, but improve and reward with age.

After soaking the brush in hot water while showering, I took it full of water (no flicks or shakes) to a puck of Arlington. After a minute of working the puck, I was rewarded with mounds of lather. The was plenty of soap left in the brush after 3+ passes.

I've certainly grown to respect its abilities.

The 10066 is an awesome brush. Had mine for over a year and still love it. I've only bought another boar (Semogue 1460) simply because I wanted a brush on the smaller side. I use the Omega much more often than the Semogue.


Thanks for the information gents, I will put a 10066 in my basket and make it part of my next order.
 
I'm convinced I need an Omega 10049 now. I haven't used a mug to lather for 7-8 years so I'm looking forward to the experience.

Thanks for the information gents!
 
Great pictures and information Gentlemen!
Just a question, the Pro 49 is the same as the Pro 48 with different color handles, right?
 
David,

How much water are you squeezing or shaking out of the brush before you start loading it?


rntdcarvalho,

I don't know the answer, hopefully one of our more knowledgeable members will be along to answer your question.
 
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Previously with QCS shaving cream I have loaded it just like a soap, directly from the tub. Today I used the same technique that Matthew recommended. I smeared about an almond sized amount of cream on the bottom of the bowl and started building lather. I also tried starting with a wetter brush today. After about a minute this is what I ended up with.

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With a little more work and a little more water I was ready to shave.

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I don't think I see any more split ends.

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This brush really is quite large. Here it is with the Semgue 2010 and a Simpson's Tulip 2

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Great pictures and information Gentlemen!
Just a question, the Pro 49 is the same as the Pro 48 with different color handles, right?

The Pro 49 is smaller. Here are the dimensions of both (knot/loft/total height):

Pro 48: 28mm/70mm/133mm
Pro 49: 27mm/65mm/128mm
 
I used this morning the No. 48 and it's a nice face latherer. Do not let the large loft fool you - if you slowly put the right amount of drips onto the brush and continue face lathering, the loft will cause no problems. This one along with the Omega No. 98 are two fine brushes capable of exploring any soap puck to its fullest.

Many thanks to David and Shawn on this.
 
Re splitting hairs on the 49. I've had my 49 since January. After a weeks worth of break-in lathers, I put it in my rotation and have now used it 14 times in the past 6 months. The hairs are splitting nicely but not at a record pace. I find it to be a big comfortable bowl lathering brush. I only wish the handle had a little more heft. As we've seen from a posted photo, it's not the best. But all things considered, if I had to replace it today, I'd get another one.
 
Re splitting hairs on the 49. I've had my 49 since January. After a weeks worth of break-in lathers, I put it in my rotation and have now used it 14 times in the past 6 months. The hairs are splitting nicely but not at a record pace. I find it to be a big comfortable bowl lathering brush. I only wish the handle had a little more heft. As we've seen from a posted photo, it's not the best. But all things considered, if I had to replace it today, I'd get another one.

I couldn't agree more. This brush is a superb lather machine, but the handle feels like a toy. Of course, the price would increase for a better handle material, but a "professional" brush such as this really out to have a better, more durable handle.
 

Antique Hoosier

“Aircooled”
On a related note, I used my newly acquired Omega Professional 100083 Boar brush today with Mama Bear's Ye Olde Barber Shoppe soap and it was nothing short of fantastic. really soft yet with plenty of backbone producing superb lather.
 

Antique Hoosier

“Aircooled”
Here is the Omega Professional 100083 after first use with Mama Bear's Ye Olde Barber Shoppe shaving soap.... from Left to Right, my meager shaving brush "collection"...

Omega Professional 100083
Simpson "Chubby" 3 in Best Badger
Restored Ever-Ready 925 w/ 22mm TGN knot
Vintage Boar Sterilized N.S.Y.
 

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