What's new

How do you soak your boar brush?

I wonder if I'm the only one that does this. When I soak my brush (Omega 10051 boar, plastic handle) I squeeze the submerged bristles to expel any excess air. If I just place the brush in a mug or the sink it doesn't seem to absorb much water. The bristles are quite nicely broken in but a couple of cracks have developed in the handle, one on the ring. I suspect that I have done something wrong. It is my first and, apart from an incredibly prickly 20+ year old one of indeterminate hair, only brush so I have little to compare it with. So far I have read that many people just soak the brush half way up, some suggest that a boar needs soaking to the base of the knot to prevent bristles breaking off, while Omega suggets just wetting the brush. Any and all opinions welcome.

Wes
 
I just drop my Semogue boar in a mug of water up to the bristles for a few minutes, shake it out a little and load.
 
I soak my boar (Omega 10066) in a mug, along with my soap puck, about half-way up the bristles. If I soak it any deeper, it dribbles water the whole time I am (face) lathering.
 
I soak my boar (Omega 10066) in a mug, along with my soap puck, about half-way up the bristles. If I soak it any deeper, it dribbles water the whole time I am (face) lathering.


Yeah, that's what happens to me. I think I've been over-soaking. I mainly want to know the correct method for future brushes; I don't want them all cracking!

Thanks

Wes
 
I have an Omega 10005 (boar with beechwood handle) in my rotation which is fairly similar to your 10051. I put it in a cup of warm tap water about three-quarters up the bristles for 5 minutes. The water wicks up to the handle in that amount of time.

Then, when I'm ready to shave, I give it one shake and load. I've used that routine with this brush since 2013. Neither the handle nor ring have any cracks, and the bristles are in great shape, i.e. nicely split, soft, none broken.
 
I have an Omega 10005 (boar with beechwood handle) in my rotation which is fairly similar to your 10051. I put it in a cup of warm tap water about three-quarters up the bristles for 5 minutes. The water wicks up to the handle in that amount of time.

Then, when I'm ready to shave, I give it one shake and load. I've used that routine with this brush since 2013. Neither the handle nor ring have any cracks, and the bristles are in great shape, i.e. nicely split, soft, none broken.

I use the same routine. It works well for me.
 
OK - I've just had a shave. I put the brush in a cup of warm water 3/4's up for a few minutes. No water wicked up towards the handle; I gave the brush a couple of shakes and only a few drops of water came out - it looked pretty dry. I loaded from my tub of soap and a bristle came out almost immediately - lathering was really hard work tonight. The bristles felt quite scratchy against my face, just as I remembered from the previous times I've attempted to soak my brush in the standard way. A further point to note: when I first got this brush I was soaking it in the sink and if I just dropped it in, it would float horizontally on the surface. This brush is driving me crazy!

Wes
 
OK - I've just had a shave. I put the brush in a cup of warm water 3/4's up for a few minutes. No water wicked up towards the handle; I gave the brush a couple of shakes and only a few drops of water came out - it looked pretty dry.
It's weird that your brush isn't absorbing any water. I wonder if there's some kind of coating on the bristles. Maybe washing the brush with some shampoo will work, like the way one would treat a brush when they're breaking it in.
 
All my boar brushes are Omegas. I basically fill my lather bowl with water and rest the brush in the bowl with the handle resting on the edge of the bowl. I leave it soaking only long enough for me to apply pre-shave oil to my face and load a blade in my razor if there isn’t one already. Usually there is a blade already loaded though. I then dump the water and shake the brush twice before starting to load from the tub of soap. I rarely see any bristles in the lather. I won’t say I never see bristles though.
 
You may baby an Omega boar and it still may swell enough to crack the socket rim or the handle. It has no effect on it's performance and longevity. It even gives it character.
 
It's weird that your brush isn't absorbing any water. I wonder if there's some kind of coating on the bristles. Maybe washing the brush with some shampoo will work, like the way one would treat a brush when they're breaking it in.

I shampooed the brush thoroughly when I first got it (I've had it since March/Apr) and I've used it for 50+ shaves. The not absorbing water thing is weird, I agree. I can overcome it by squeezing the submerged bristles but no one else seems to need to do that and it's kind of a pain. I've contacted the vendor but I'll likely just end up doing as naughtilus says and enjoy its quirks. Luckily it was only 5 quid including delivery but if it was an expensive brush I'd be pretty @*%! Thanks for all the input.

Wes
 
I'm not ready to let this thing go. :001_smile

Maybe a soak in a weak vinegar solution might be worth a try. The idea is to strip away factory residues from a new brush or any soap/mineral/skin oil buildup after you've been using it awhile. Mantic59 describes the process (in this article).

By the way, since my last post, I decided to break out the Omega 10005 and go through the routine that I mentioned. Took a few photos to illustrate how it usually goes for me...

Plastic cup, half full of warm water, bristles three-quarters immersed:
proxy.php


Five minutes later, after a firm shake, a 1 cm blob of Nivea Sensitive cream:
proxy.php


After thirty seconds of vigorous palm-lathering:
proxy.php


Compared to all the issues that you've experienced, I think this is closer to what most of us expect to get when we lather up.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I tend to only soak the brush (in a mug) for as long as it takes me to finish filling the sink to the right height, and then prep my face. If when I get the brush out, it doesn't seem fully softened (sometimes that can happen - after all, the lanolin in my favourite soap is what stops sheep getting waterlogged), I'll use it to paint water on my face. This helps further prep both sets of bristles, mine and the boar.
 
Compared to all the issues that you've experienced, I think this is closer to what most of us expect to get when we lather up.

Exactly!

I'm not ready to let this thing go. :001_smile

That's what I love about this place :lol1: I'll try the Mantic vinegar & dish soap methods and report back. Once I've deep cleaned I'm going to have to wait for it to fully dry out again to see if we're getting anywhere

Wes
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
In my scuttle, of course. If you don't own a scuttle you'll have to raid the kitchen for a small bowl or mug.

I put enough warm water to cover about 3/4 of the brush hair and give it a few swirls around the bowl before resting the handle on the side. Then I take a shower and it's more than ready to go.

Squeezing the brush seems like an odd requirement.
 
It just occured to me as I gave the brush a few pumps - in the pic previous post, the brush doesn't normally sit upright like that, it kind of floats off balance and rests against the mug at an angle.

doc.jpg
 
Top Bottom