How long to break in a boar and other questions

[ccrowder]

So I recently decided to give DE shaving a try. After reading up I purchased a Semogue 1305 brush. Now I know it will take time for this brush to break in but is there any rough estimate? I had been having problems with my lather and wonder if it is due to the brush being new. When I use the cheap badger brush from Target I get lots of nice rich thick lather with soap that I just am not seeing with the boar.

Also with boars.. do they ever feel dry even when they dry? When I go to check the boar 24h after using it the deep center still feels like it could be damp. I know that it seems to take forever to dry while the badger brush from target dries in less then 12-hours (practiced a lather with it at night and it was dry in the morning). Would a stand to hold it upside down help the boar brush dry? Or do I need to skip days using it just to let it dry out?

 

[Drubbing]

I've had a 1305 for a couple of weeks. Yes, they take a while, mine about 2 weeks or so.

The tips took a bit longer to soften than the Owners Club brush, and about the same time to give up a decent amount of lather. I just overloaded it so it had no choice in the matter.

When it breaks in it's a good piece of kit. I'm preferring it to the Owners club at the moment.

It'll take the same time to dry whether it points up or down. You'll know when it's fully dry; it stiffens up again. I use my brushes for a while, then give them a few days off and use something else.

EDIT: give it a really good soak before each shave, while its new. I also added a dummy lathering each day to get it to soften.

 

[JPDyson]

The 1305 could easily take 2-3 months of every-other-day use to be totally broken in. It should improve pretty rapidly over the first 14 uses though. I would suggest soaking your brush for at least 10 minutes before starting to make your lather (not necessary with badger, and less necessary once boar is broken in). Also, depending on what you're using (cream, glycerine soap, hard tallow-based soap, etc) you may need to experiment with water amounts. I do think badgers are a little simpler to lather, but once you figure out what your boar needs, it's a very fine tool. As for not drying out, that's somewhat odd by comparison with my boars. I squeeze them out, give them a couple good firm shakes, and dry the tips on a towel before standing them up on the base (I never hang mine). Typically dry the next day.

 

[MikeC]

My Semogue 1800 took about 3 months of every other day use to fully break in.

 

[DE Shaver]

I find that at about two weeks of daily use, the boar brush break-in will start to show some nice progress. After a month or so, you should see a signficant difference, with more but modest changes as times go on. You can attempt to accelerate the break-in process if you are unwilling to wait it out by drying your boar with a hair-dryer set on high. I did this for a week on one of my Omega brushes and found it helped split the ends of the boar brush and soften it up over and above normal break-in. However, this is somewhat harsh treatment and can result in breakage if you overdo it.

 

[ccrowder]

How can you tell when the brush is dry.. I know this sounds like a really dumb question but when I feel my brush down deep towards the knot it gives the impression of damp but I can never get any moisture out.. Is it just the fact it is cooler or since boar hair does hold water is it damp and just not coming out of the hair when I touch it.

I am content to let the brush break in naturally but want to make sure it is drying out enough between shaves to keep it from mildewing or other nastiness.

 

[JPDyson]

How can you tell when the brush is dry.. I know this sounds like a really dumb question but when I feel my brush down deep towards the knot it gives the impression of damp but I can never get any moisture out.. Is it just the fact it is cooler or since boar hair does hold water is it damp and just not coming out of the hair when I touch it.

I am content to let the brush break in naturally but want to make sure it is drying out enough between shaves to keep it from mildewing or other nastiness.

Use it, at most, every other day. Whenever you're done with it, squeeze out the excess water, give it a few solid shakes (perhaps in the tub?) and then brush it on a towel for a few seconds.

 

[ccrowder]

Use it, at most, every other day. Whenever you're done with it, squeeze out the excess water, give it a few solid shakes (perhaps in the tub?) and then brush it on a towel for a few seconds.

So with a boar brush I need to let it dry 48 hours? Is this just until it is broken in or from here on out? I guess the fact I bought a target badger brush means I can but seems like a bit of a limitation on boar brushes if you need to own several just to shave every day.

 

[JPDyson]

So with a boar brush I need to let it dry 48 hours? Is this just until it is broken in or from here on out? I guess the fact I bought a target badger brush means I can but seems like a bit of a limitation on boar brushes if you need to own several just to shave every day.

Probably not a strict requirement; however, I've seen it advised that you should always have at least two so that the brush is completely dry between uses. This is not a law of some kind - just an opinion.

 

[talibeard]

So with a boar brush I need to let it dry 48 hours?

Boars need in general more time to dry fully. It depends on were you let it dry, how 'dry' your house is and how wet they are when you put them away after use whether it will be dry after 24 hours. 9 out of 10 times mine are but on very humid days when heating the house is not yet needed they might need a little longer. It has nothing to do with breaking in these brushes.

 

[aimsport]

I've found that drying time is very important to the break in. Also, my initial break-in with MWF was going too slow. Switched to ARKO for my break in of all my boars and it went much faster. I soak and palm lather my dry unbroken-in boars as part of my morning shave, and then let them dry completely for a few days, and repeat. The tips of the boars split wonderfully over time and create a special creamy lather softness that is unique to my boars.

Just when you think you're about to give up on a boar is when it will begin to drown you in creamy lather.

 

[Mike Schutz]

I have 4 boars (and 3 more on order. No I don't have a boar AD) When breaking them in, I used them every other day to give them a chance to dry. It took them about a month of every other day use to break in and they will still continue to improve after that.

The bottom line is that boars need to be used when they're new to break in. Whatever method you use, you will have a great brush, when IT is ready.

Enjoy!

 

[Judge Dee]

Perhaps the lanolin in the MWF was having an effect similar to hair conditioner on the brush, partly slowing down the process of the hairs splitting, much in the same way that conditioner is supposed to prevent split ends!

 

[jakko]

One way to speed up splitting hairs would be to use a hair dryer to blow dry the brush. I did that for my omega 98 for the first few times I used it and it achieved split hairs faster than my travel brush which i used the au naturel method.

 

[David in Boston]

One way to speed up splitting hairs would be to use a hair dryer to blow dry the brush. I did that for my omega 98 for the first few times I used it and it achieved split hairs faster than my travel brush which i used the au naturel method.

Been using the hair dryer method and noticed faster results.