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Finally tried a Boar brush!

I got a boar brush PIFed to me (I know I should be able to afford one but my AD was bad and SWMBO has me on a tight monetary leash. Lt114 was extremely giving and PIFed me a nice boar brush to try.

Boy am I grateful. I like my VDH pure badger but it's a tad floppy and although the bristles pick up a decent amount of soap, it can be pretty tough to pick up enough soap with it.
I tried a soft badger brush, was an old member's brush but still nice and also broken in, and while face lathering I'm sure would be great, it was not so easy to switch from the pure badger and bowl lather because the bristles were tough to pick up enough soap (this is technique, but still it wasn't easy).

With the Boar brush it was not floppy at all despite being softer than I expected (but it was also broken in) and it lathered very easily! I'm almost questioning my badger purchase for my first brush because not only is this brush amazing for bowl lathering it is extremely easy to use and I think all newbies should at least try both.

Thanks so much lt114 and B&B!
 
OMEGA Boar ... great little boar brushes at reasonable prices. Made in Italy!

(My first boar was a VDH and I'm still using it in my rotation.)
 
My boar is a VDH (Men-U) and I still think it is my best overall brush. I like the size, stiff backbone, and it is well broken in and soft on the tips. Does anyone know who actually makes that brush? Is Men-U actually a manufacturer or is it a rebranded Omega or something else (the handle says "Pure Bristle Made in Italy").
 
I really appreciate the comments on your boar brush. Giving your opinion on a PIF encourages others to continue to pay forward. It is frustrating to send something out and never hear from the person again. As to the boar brush, I think that many stay away under the false assumption that because they cost less, they aren't as good as badgers. I have several of each and like all of them. I think there are pluses and minuses with a noob starting out with a boar. I have found a twenty dollar boar to perform as well as badgers costing five times as much. I reach for my Semogue 610 more often than any brush I own. I do face lather soaps, and this little boar is the ideal tool for the job. The one downside to boars is the break-in time. They can take weeks to months to fully break in. This may discourage someone new to wet shaving, and is a big reason to recommend a cheap badger to a newbie.

Mike
 
I'm glad you like it David. The Pro 48 is a great brush, especially if you are just starting to use boar brushes. It really excels at bowl lathering.
 
Boar brushes (the good ones, not all of them, I guess) are like an Easter egg of wet shaving. Discovering them is so much fun! Most people (me included) start under the assumption that badger brushes are best shaving brushes and that's what I need to start with. Well, to some extent this is true as a brand-new boar brush will not perform as well as it will when fully broken in, which can take up to a month of daily use. A badger brush will perform right out of the box and lather like crazy (again, I am talking good ones here). I have an Omega 10275 boar brush that costs under $12 and is an awesome face latherer (that's mostly what I do) and after the break-in is one of the most pleasant brushes to use in my arsenal. I love my badgers, but there is something about a boar that I like that badgers just don't have. I have a Wee Scot (best badger), which is one of my absolute favorite badger brushes and I am never getting rid of it, an Ever-Ready restore with 22mm X 49mm TGN finest badger knot, which is almost like a larger Wee Scot. It is simply amazing to use. I also have a Royal Shave 24mm best badger brush (too big for me), which feels amazingly soft on the face and an Ever-Ready restore with Whipped Dog black pure badger knot (scritchy, but also a beloved brush). I pretty much never use the Royal Shave (too big), use black pure badger occasionally (when I feel the need for scritch) and mostly rotate between Wee Scot, Ever-Ready with TGN finest and Omega boar. I liked the Omega boar so much I have ordered two Semogues (1305 and 1470) to see how the top shelf badgers are. I can't wait to get them and think I may be letting go of my badgers (not the Wee Scot. Never! May get a second one for backup.). Boar brushes work a little differently and the hair absorbs water whereas badger hair repels water. It's important to soak a boar brush for a few minutes before shaving otherwise it will absorb the moisture from the lather and dry it out. Badger brush does not need to be soaked for a long time, just to get it loaded with water (it holds water by trapping it between hairs). Boar brushes take a long time to dry. Some say you should use a boar brush every other day to let it dry out fully between uses (helps break-in). Knowing these differences is important when choosing a brush. However, a broken in boar brush will feel softer in use than ANY pure badger brush and most best badgers. It will have good backbone and flow-through. These qualities combine to create a feel that is unique to boar brushes. I find myself being totally hooked on my only boar brush (so far) and sometimes use it several days in a row. That's pretty good for a $12 brush vs. $40 and up of my badgers.

Enjoy your new discovery. For the price of one top shelf badger brush you can try 3 or 4 top shelf boars. They do not disappoint, but they do need to be broken in. I find that even just lathering them every day breaks them in, so no need to shave with them before they are lathering machines they are capable of. Use your broken in one for shaving and lather the others until broken in.
 
I was definitely misinformed by people when I first started. Boar was the "cheap" not as good option according to my friends who basically just had a brush. I wish I knew better in the beginning, I feel like people way over hyped badger brushes and really made boar brushes seem useless besides for being cheaper. That's what you get from listening to the clerk at Art Of Shaving I think was the issue lol.

I feel like a review is the least I can do, I've been wanting to try the Boar brush but I just spent too much too quickly, I'm really glad I got the chance, even as a "cheap" brush I wouldn't know. It definitely stacks up against the VDH pure badger and I never thought that was possible while I was purchasing my brush, I specifically picked badger because I was told a boar brush would be basically horrible...
 
Wait until you try the Semogue 830; best brush overall for the price; nothing can compare; softest bristles and great backbone!
 
I note here that no one is comparing a boar brush with the badger white tip brush. I have two white tips and an Omega boar. The white tip is far better, IMO, than the boar. Maybe my boar is not "broken in" but I can't imagine that big of a transformation that it betters the white tip.

The one thing I've noted with the boar is the bad smell it has. I'm sure that will go away, and I will be very happy when it does. Niether of my badgers had any bad smell.

My 2¢.
 
I note here that no one is comparing a boar brush with the badger white tip brush. I have two white tips and an Omega boar. The white tip is far better, IMO, than the boar. Maybe my boar is not "broken in" but I can't imagine that big of a transformation that it betters the white tip.

The one thing I've noted with the boar is the bad smell it has. I'm sure that will go away, and I will be very happy when it does. Niether of my badgers had any bad smell.

My 2¢.

If the smell is from the hairs, then shampoo will take care of it. If its from the epoxy, then just using it over time will help. My boar brush stank when I got it but quickly started to smell like shaving products within a week. And lathering up your palm with any kind of soap will break it in faster. Lather, rinse, repeat, then dry for 48 hours. Cheap bath soap will work for this.

You may be surprised by the performance.
 
I was under the assumtion that badger was the only way to go , but after getting and using my Semogue 2000 , it is getting broken in and getting equal , if not more use than my badgers..
 
Boar brushes (the good ones, not all of them, I guess) are like an Easter egg of wet shaving. Discovering them is so much fun! Most people (me included) start under the assumption that badger brushes are best shaving brushes and that's what I need to start with. Well, to some extent this is true as a brand-new boar brush will not perform as well as it will when fully broken in, which can take up to a month of daily use. A badger brush will perform right out of the box and lather like crazy (again, I am talking good ones here). I have an Omega 10275 boar brush that costs under $12 and is an awesome face latherer (that's mostly what I do) and after the break-in is one of the most pleasant brushes to use in my arsenal. I love my badgers, but there is something about a boar that I like that badgers just don't have. I have a Wee Scot (best badger), which is one of my absolute favorite badger brushes and I am never getting rid of it, an Ever-Ready restore with 22mm X 49mm TGN finest badger knot, which is almost like a larger Wee Scot. It is simply amazing to use. I also have a Royal Shave 24mm best badger brush (too big for me), which feels amazingly soft on the face and an Ever-Ready restore with Whipped Dog black pure badger knot (scritchy, but also a beloved brush). I pretty much never use the Royal Shave (too big), use black pure badger occasionally (when I feel the need for scritch) and mostly rotate between Wee Scot, Ever-Ready with TGN finest and Omega boar. I liked the Omega boar so much I have ordered two Semogues (1305 and 1470) to see how the top shelf badgers are. I can't wait to get them and think I may be letting go of my badgers (not the Wee Scot. Never! May get a second one for backup.). Boar brushes work a little differently and the hair absorbs water whereas badger hair repels water. It's important to soak a boar brush for a few minutes before shaving otherwise it will absorb the moisture from the lather and dry it out. Badger brush does not need to be soaked for a long time, just to get it loaded with water (it holds water by trapping it between hairs). Boar brushes take a long time to dry. Some say you should use a boar brush every other day to let it dry out fully between uses (helps break-in). Knowing these differences is important when choosing a brush. However, a broken in boar brush will feel softer in use than ANY pure badger brush and most best badgers. It will have good backbone and flow-through. These qualities combine to create a feel that is unique to boar brushes. I find myself being totally hooked on my only boar brush (so far) and sometimes use it several days in a row. That's pretty good for a $12 brush vs. $40 and up of my badgers.

Enjoy your new discovery. For the price of one top shelf badger brush you can try 3 or 4 top shelf boars. They do not disappoint, but they do need to be broken in. I find that even just lathering them every day breaks them in, so no need to shave with them before they are lathering machines they are capable of. Use your broken in one for shaving and lather the others until broken in.

You're right about the discovery factor. I was in the same boat as you - I assume badgers were the best and boars were cheap pieces of crap. Luckily I found out that that's not the case. Some boars are junk, just like some badgers are junk too. But a majority of boars especially from makers like Omega and Semogue are really great and though different they are really nice.
 
Semogue owners club is on a whole new level

I agree. Probably one of their most expensive options but if you're patient (due to shipping time) you can pick up a SOC boar on Vintage Scent for <$30. Don't let the price on site scare you off - for the US they take off the VAT tax automatically so I had one shipped to me for I think $28. That included the price for shipping. That's pretty cheap for the top of the line model.
 
I note here that no one is comparing a boar brush with the badger white tip brush. I have two white tips and an Omega boar. The white tip is far better, IMO, than the boar. Maybe my boar is not "broken in" but I can't imagine that big of a transformation that it betters the white tip.

The one thing I've noted with the boar is the bad smell it has. I'm sure that will go away, and I will be very happy when it does. Niether of my badgers had any bad smell.

My 2¢.

Believe me, a good quality boar brush WILL become a different brush after it breaks in. Badgers do not undergo such a dramatic transformation, but boars do. If the boar brush you have is not made of "clipped" bristles then the ends of the bristle swill split after some number of uses. You will see the tips splitting and the top view of the brush will change to a fuzzy chaotic kind of pattern. The further the brush breaks in the more tips will split. Once most of the tips are split you may never touch a badger brush again. Again, it depends on what boar brush you have. I have a very inexpensive Omega 10275 (about $12) and it took a few weeks of daily lathering to break in. Once it did it became one of my favorites. Boars have a different feel to them, but one thing for sure is that a well broken in boar brush is at least as soft as a silver tip badger. Some Semogues are even better than that. I have a TGN finest (black hair with white tips) and it is a fantastically good brush, but my $12 boar equals it in softness and has more backbone and just a different feel to it that is really good. As far as smell, yes boars do smell bad at first. Again, a matter of break in. The thing with boar hair is that it absorbs water, badger hair repels water. So to get rid of boar funk you need to flush the brush for a few minutes under water, then soak it and lather it. You can leave some pleasant smelling soap on there for a few hours, then rinse and let the brush dry completely. Boars do dry slower (because they absorb a lot of water into the hair). Once your boar brush is broken in you will most likely love it. You didn't mention what brush is it. If you are comparing a VDH boar to a Simpson two band badger, it kind of doesn't make sense. Pretty much any Semogue or Omega boar will be great. Some cheap boar brushes are made from clipped bristles and those never split since the part that splits has been clipped off. Those are not in the scope of this discussion.
 
If the smell is from the hairs, then shampoo will take care of it. If its from the epoxy, then just using it over time will help. My boar brush stank when I got it but quickly started to smell like shaving products within a week. And lathering up your palm with any kind of soap will break it in faster. Lather, rinse, repeat, then dry for 48 hours. Cheap bath soap will work for this.

You may be surprised by the performance.
I'm keeping an open mind. I bought the Omega boar to apply water to my face, especially the neck area; because it was inexpensive; and because I was curious. Obviously many like the boar, so it deserves to be taken seriously as a lathering tool.
 
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