Help Needed - Semogue Boar or Badger

[Alum of Potash]

I like the Semogue older-generation Hereditas badger knots on the whole. They are a bit scritchier than their Chinese counterparts, but I think that may due to a treatment process for the latter. What's nice is that the Semogue tips curl a little bit after continued use, which is a very good sign to me. Some German brushes will do this as well.

Again, the Hereditas options are old-school, meaning narrow knots and long lofts by the current standard. To make up for this, one can scrunch up on the bristles from the knot with the fingers in loading the knot. It depends on what you're budget is, but I would suggest a Semogue "Hereditas" 2020 fine badger knot brush followed by the Semogue "Hereditas" HD (high-density) silvertip knot of your choice. Personally, I have the 730 HD and love it, as the short handle allows me to scrunch up on things during loading, followed by a release in holding the handle when applying to the face in face-lathering.

 

[Frank Shaves]

FYI, I constantly refer to this most excellent visualization by @RandySp:

first Boar, Semogue 830, 1305 or Omega Pro #48/49?

Expanding shaving brushes, have a nice Maggard BW synthetic and a Cremo horse hair. Relatively happy with both. I am primarily a shaving stick face latherer, but go to the bowl for lathering once or twice a week. Want to get a good quality modestly priced boar for facel lathering as well as...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[dmshaver]

For boars, the SOC & Torga are my favorites from Semogue. I like some Zenith boar brushes better than Semogues boar brushes, so I encourage you to look into the Zenith line, also. I’m in the airport presently, so if you want more info, let me know & I’ll reply once I’m home & not on my phone.

 

[Phoenixkh]

For boars, the SOC & Torga are my favorites from Semogue. I like some Zenith boar brushes better than Semogues boar brushes, so I encourage you to look into the Zenith line, also. I’m in the airport presently, so if you want more info, let me know & I’ll reply once I’m home & not on my phone.

I really love my Zenith Boars... all of them. I even like the Malachite handle boar I bought by mistake. LOL The knot is the same as the B33.
The B33 with the 506 copper handle is my favorite boar.... and I have the M23 Manchurian badger as well... some 506 copper handle. It's quite nice.. very close in feel to my wonderful SV Manchurian brushes that are a lot more expensive. The Zenith really holds its own.

I also have that small black wood handled Wenghe Zenith boar... and lest I forget, the unbleached boar in the 506 black resin handle (the 506N XSE, currently out of stock in the smaller profile handle). I'm still breaking that one in as it was a late edition to my brush buying frenzy. <eg> evil grin.

I used the gentle shave on eBay and the YourShaving . com site for all my Zenith brushes.

 

[Andris83]

I really love my Zenith Boars... all of them. I even like the Malachite handle boar I bought by mistake. LOL The knot is the same as the B33.
The B33 with the 506 copper handle is my favorite boar.... and I have the M23 Manchurian badger as well... some 506 copper handle. It's quite nice.. very close in feel to my wonderful SV Manchurian brushes that are a lot more expensive. The Zenith really holds its own.

I also have that small black wood handled Wenghe Zenith boar... and lest I forget, the unbleached boar in the 506 black resin handle (the 506N XSE, currently out of stock in the smaller profile handle). I'm still breaking that one in as it was a late edition to my brush buying frenzy. <eg> evil grin.

I used the gentle shave on eBay and the YourShaving . com site for all my Zenith brushes.

I was looking to buy some Zenith brushes already, but their knots are huge. It seems their boars are just as big (27-28mm). I'm afraid it would be a soap eater. Do they have any smaller knots, like 24mm?

 

[Phoenixkh]

I was looking to buy some Zenith brushes already, but their knots are huge. It seems their boars are just as big (27-28mm). I'm afraid it would be a soap eater. Do they have any smaller knots, like 24mm?

I honestly don't know. I like the larger diameter brushes.

For instance, I bought my two SOC Misturas with me for our month stay in Bali... they are 24mm. They are wonderful but I do notice they feel significantly smaller than the rest of my mostly 26mm and larger diameter brushes.

Brushes are such a personal choice... the handles, the knots themselves... how they feel on your face. So many factors that vary all over the place. I don't worry about soap use but I don't use any ultra expensive soaps. Or at least, I don't think about the cost of soaps, I should say.

 

[NorthernSoul]

I was looking to buy some Zenith brushes already, but their knots are huge. It seems their boars are just as big (27-28mm). I'm afraid it would be a soap eater. Do they have any smaller knots, like 24mm?

Yes, they do have some smaller brushes. You can see them on the yourshaving.com website (Spanish store).

Here is one of the 24mm boar brushes:

 

[ashwinbalachandran]

@ashwinbalachandran - First, great decision to buy a Semogue. Second, you need a Semogue brush for the simple reason that Semogue makes terrific brushes.

My recommendation is you start with a SOC 2-band finest or SOC mistura. Both are excellent brushes. The 2-band finest will not require any breaking in. The mistura will. My mistura took something like 25 shaves to soften up, after which it became an absolute pleasure to use.

Semogue boars come in a wide range of sizes and hair grades. Do you have any boar brushes? Do you have a preference for knot size?

Hi frank!

Someone is selling their mistua and i am seriously considering it.

I am also looking at a shavemac - RB3 Silvertip Badger 2-Band Shaving Brush - https://shavemac.com/en/retro-/90-wo1-shaving-brush-silvertip.html

Do you have any thoughts on this?

 

[ashwinbalachandran]

Mistura by a wide margin

Looks like mistura is loved by one and all!

 

[NorthernSoul]

Looks like mistura is loved by one and all!

The SOC Mistura does everything well, as long as you like a bit of scrub. It doesn't have cloud-soft tips, but so what? The SOC Mistura and the SOC Finest are two of my favorites.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Hi frank!

Someone is selling their mistua and i am seriously considering it.

I am also looking at a shavemac - RB3 Silvertip Badger 2-Band Shaving Brush - https://shavemac.com/en/retro-/90-wo1-shaving-brush-silvertip.html

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Both the SOC Mistura and Shavemac are great brushes. The choice of brushes is very subjective.

Recently, I have been using my SOC Mistura more and more, and enjoying it more and more, but the Mistura took a long time to break in.