I love my Omega boar. Nice backbone, softened nicely. It shed some when new, but it stopped quickly. It’s a good all around brush and has worked with any soap I have used.
Budget brush recommendations please.
- Thread starter AimlessWanderer
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I like my Semogue brushes. They load soap easily and have good flow through. They like to work wet and keep enough soap for three plus passes. The down side is floppiness. The best ones I own are the 610 and 620. The 610 is a gem. My 620 is on the verge of being too floppy. I think that's because it's banded, and the hair is softened in that process. My banded, larger, 830 is my least favorite. They all are incredibly soft.
Cal' s right you can't go wrong with Omega. It's the best bang for the buck. My favorite Omega brushes are the 10065 and the Mighty Midget (Boar not mixed). I suspect they would last longer than Semogue brushes. I have no proof of that, but Omega builds a solid brush.
My recommendations would be: Semogue 610, Omega 10065, or Mighty Midget, or any Omega knot 24mm or below. The 48mm loft seems nice on the 10051. I like the handle as well. It could just be the perfect Omega boar brush.
Cal' s right you can't go wrong with Omega. It's the best bang for the buck. My favorite Omega brushes are the 10065 and the Mighty Midget (Boar not mixed). I suspect they would last longer than Semogue brushes. I have no proof of that, but Omega builds a solid brush.
My recommendations would be: Semogue 610, Omega 10065, or Mighty Midget, or any Omega knot 24mm or below. The 48mm loft seems nice on the 10051. I like the handle as well. It could just be the perfect Omega boar brush.
I was going to say the WS boar. I assume you mean the one with the black oval-bottomed handle?
They seem to be available just about everywhere (in my region, at least), are dirt cheap, I like the size of the knot, and they don't stink when brand-new. In the (year?) that I've been using it in rotation with 8 others, I've not seen any significant shedding.
My favourite boar though, is an Omega 10086 Travel brush, with an 18 x 42 mm knot. Only $12.50 Canadian (today = £7.19).
I mostly use it with creams, or face-lathering with sticks.
Take this with a grain of salt (as I am mostly a badger guy). Given your preferences, I would go with one of the Semogue options.
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- #25
AimlessWanderer
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I'm sure the one I've been using is a rebranded Omega, and it was a superb brush until recently.
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- #26
AimlessWanderer
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Raven, if the Semogues have a tendency to be floppy, what is it about them that you like. The one I was using was dyed to resemble a two band, but still had good backbone to it. I'm a face latherer too, and am a little unsure whether a brush with less spine will work the lather everywhere it needs to be on my beard. The I have to work the lather in well, as just painting it on doesn't seem to get the soap all round the base of the hairs properly.
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- #27
AimlessWanderer
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I was going to say the WS boar. I assume you mean the one with the black oval-bottomed handle?
They seem to be available just about everywhere (in my region, at least), are dirt cheap, I like the size of the knot, and they don't stink when brand-new. In the (year?) that I've been using it in rotation with 8 others, I've not seen any significant shedding.
My favourite boar though, is an Omega 10086 Travel brush, with an 18 x 42 mm knot. Only $12.50 Canadian (today = £7.19).
I mostly use it with creams, or face-lathering with sticks.
Yes, that's the one, John. Dirt cheap here too, but folks seem to think they feel somewhat inferior. Does yours feel "cheap" too, or does it perform well?
I think an Omega boar might end up being a favourite, unless I go for another synthetic.
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- #28
AimlessWanderer
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What makes you say Semogue over the Omega options? Is that because you're more familiar with them, or have you found some performance benefit with them?
Tried one Omega and two Semogue brushes. My preference was Semogue because of the face feel.
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- #30
AimlessWanderer
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Ok, thanks, BigJ.
They have great splay that Omega doesn't have. This works well with smaller knots. I don't like too much splay where it covers the whole side of my face. My complaint about the 830 is it has almost too much splay. The 610, 620, and 830 also have a smaller loft which works in their favor. They are a much softer boar brush than my Omegas. I think this is due to Semogue grading their hair. For some reason they easily hold a lot of soap and retain it well without hogging. I face lather as well and work the lather then paint. I reach for my Semogues a lot. I find them versatile and they are right up there with my silvertips as far as softness in a boar kind of way.
+1
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- #33
AimlessWanderer
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That helps enormously. Thanks Raven.
That means that if I do go for one of theirs, I'll need to pick the smallest brushes, or go for the Omega again for less splay. While I would appreciate a softer face feel, I'll appreciate the lather being worked in well a lot more.
The last brush was a real lather hog, but I still got ~440 shaves from a puck of Mitchell's. The only time it really struggled was in face lathering from shave sticks, (it cleaned the soap off my face and never gave it back) but the brush Cal gave me takes care of that, so using shave sticks is a doddle now.
I will have a look at the smaller Semogues though, and over the next few days, I'll knock up a shortlist of candidates from the input so far.
Thanks guys
You assume correctly. doddle
It works as well as any of my vintage boars of similar knot shape and size, I guess.
I like my Semogue 620 a bit more because of the handle. I prefer handles with a waist.
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- #38
AimlessWanderer
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Thanks, John.
You're welcome Al.That helps enormously. Thanks Raven.
That means that if I do go for one of theirs, I'll need to pick the smallest brushes, or go for the Omega again for less splay. While I would appreciate a softer face feel, I'll appreciate the lather being worked in well a lot more.
The last brush was a real lather hog, but I still got ~440 shaves from a puck of Mitchell's. The only time it really struggled was in face lathering from shave sticks, (it cleaned the soap off my face and never gave it back) but the brush Cal gave me takes care of that, so using shave sticks is a doddle now.
I will have a look at the smaller Semogues though, and over the next few days, I'll knock up a shortlist of candidates from the input so far.
Thanks guys
Best of luck narrowing it down. Please keep us informed on what you decide.My Omega 10051 (not the green one) landed today. After soaking it and giving it a shampoo I decided to have a shave with it (much to the consternation of my Shavemac Silvertip 2-Band).
Here it is post-shave:
For a first shave it was superb! I'll definitely be using the orange one for a while.
Being mainly a face latherer I love a brush that has good (but pleasant) scrub and zero scritch. This is what the 10051 delivered more or less straight out of the box. I now love Omega brushes even more. Of course making a perfect lather goes without saying.
I wasn't sure about the handle, never having used one that shape before. But it passed the test* with flying colors.
* I didn't even notice it.
Here it is post-shave:
For a first shave it was superb! I'll definitely be using the orange one for a while.
Being mainly a face latherer I love a brush that has good (but pleasant) scrub and zero scritch. This is what the 10051 delivered more or less straight out of the box. I now love Omega brushes even more. Of course making a perfect lather goes without saying.
I wasn't sure about the handle, never having used one that shape before. But it passed the test* with flying colors.
* I didn't even notice it.
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