Current Semogue Boar Grades

[DigJazz]

I've read several threads about the different boar grades used in Semogue brushes. I find these posts to be very informative, however most of them are 2-4 years old.

I've never seen any official documentation about Semogue boar hair (either on their website or vendors' websites) that specify which brushes contain which grade of boar hair. All the info I have on that has come from forums.

Did they used to grade the brushes differently? I just haven't seen any discussion on this recently at all, and there's nothing on WCS or any site like it that says "this brush has this hair grade" for Semogue boars. Just thought I'd get the skinny before I shell out for another Semogue. Thanks!

 

[JimL911]

Vintage scent lists the grade. http://vintagescent.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=5

 

[branford]

Leon, the proprietor of Vintage Scent, a B&B member and primary Semogue dealer, wrote the following helpful explanation of Semgoue brushes and provided the included chart.

Hi gents,

Here's a list of the different grades Semogue currently uses to make their wonderful boar brushes:

1. Premium 90% tops
2. Best 90% tops
3. Extra 75% tops
4. Super 70% tops
5. Special Grade 90% tops

Now, let me explain the main differences between them.

First, the meaning of "percentage tops". This measures the amount in percentage of bristles that have the full length. The bigger the percentage, the more homogeneous and compact the knot feels because most of the tips are at the same level.

The Premium grade appears in the iconic 1305. Following the success of the 1305, some asked me if it was possible to have the same knot, but in a acrylic handle, so the 830 was born. This grade usually has a dyed band, but it appears undyed in the 2000 mixed with other grade hair.

The Best is also a hair that gets great remarks. It appears on the 1460, 1470, and 1250 brushes. It's undyed. Owners of these brushes speak highly of these knots, having great amount of lather easily, usually in bowl, but it's just as efficient directly used in the face.

The Extra grade is scratchier than other grades, but over the time will soften a bit. It appears in the 1520, 1438 and 620 brushes. It's also used in the 1800 mixed with Premium 90. This boar grade provides good backbone and having an extra scratchiness is often chosen by the face lathering fans. This is usually dyed.

The Super grade is used in the 2000 knot mixed with the Premium.

The Special grade appeared first in the 2009 LE. Later, some more of this boar grade was stocked and eventually turned to a new regular production brush: the Semogue Owners Club. It's an undyed bristle with a very high quality. Equally soft as the Premium and good backbone provides good lathering ability in both bowl and face lathering.

It's hard to decide what's the very best grade. Both the Premium and Special grades have many fans.

Any questions, let me know. I'll try my best to answer them.

Enjoy!

 

[Acmemfg]

Leon’s explanation is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

 

[BigJ]

Leon, the proprietor of Vintage Scent, a B&B member and primary Semogue dealer, wrote the following helpful explanation of Semgoue brushes and provided the included chart.

GREAT EXPLANATION!!