Impressions of a Maggards boar-badger knot

[Bjlefebvre]

I bought a Charcoal Goods 24mm aluminum brush handle from the gentlemen @bjm on BST and now awaiting delivery of a Maggards boar-badger mix knot. I searched around on B&B to see if other folks had impressions of it but didn't see much beyond relatively short threads of the "I like it!" variety. So I thought I'd try it out and offer thoughts once it comes in and I spend some time with it.

This is mostly being done on a whim with next-to-no expectations. I'm currently using a Shave Forge horsehair knot in a Whipped Dog handle and love it. It shed like crazy for the initial week or so but has since been hassle free. I tried a Maggards badger knot for short time last year and found it too soft for my taste - my brother received it as a Christmas gift. But given that the boar in this mix should give this one a little more oomph, I figured I'd give it a shot. It was either this or a TurnNShave Fullmoon synth, but I haven't quite sold myself on synths yet. But that could be next.

Anyhoo, while I'm waiting for the knot, handle and squidge of silicon gel, I'll open the floor to anyone who wants to sound off on their experience with the boar-badger mixed knot.

 

[xiletero]

Didn't know they had one....
Omega Mighty Midget mixed= excellent small brush (needs break in).
Semogue Mistura= amazing medium size brush

Hope yours turns out to be a good one....will follow.

 

[bjm]

I recently set one in a Yaqi Sagrada Familia handle.



I haven't had a chance to use it yet; I'm coming to end of one fixed-four and getting ready to start another. This thread may have just inspired me to start breaking it in with a few head shaves. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I went direct to Oumo and bought myself 25 of the knots (in fan) after trying 2 of the APShaveco Fans and one of the Maggard bulbs (I believe both are bought from Oumo by the vendors). I like them that well. The bulbs are good too (Maggards doesn't carry the fans as far as I know), but I prefer the fans.

With the fans you can set them 39-44mm loft and get a nice scrubby brush with insane amount of backbone. 45-49mm and get a good brush with a little scrub and a ton of backbone. Or 50-54+ and get a good brush with a little scrub and still good backbone.

Bulbs probably follow the same formula but shifted up a few mm across the board.

Love these knots. They make up ~50% of my brush collection at the moment and are used in maybe 80-90% of my shaves.


As for shedding. (Of ~20 I've used so far)

One shed for 30+ shaves and I eventually tossed it. One shed for ~20 shaves, seemed to be stopping and I sent over the @Chan Eil Whiskers to try, so he can perhaps update if it's still shedding.

Most of the rest shed for ~5-10 shaves before stopping. Maybe one or two never shed, but they're generally shedders for at least a few shaves while the loose hairs work their way out of the knot. Then they're good to go.

 

[oscar11]

I have a couple brushes made with these knots. Nice knots, imo. Here's one in a blooddwood handle. The wood handle has cracked so there will be a new handle for this knot sometime in the future.

 

[Bjlefebvre]

Oh man, I wish I would have known there was a fan version floating around out there. I usually prefer fans.

 

[Bjlefebvre]

I have a couple brushes made with these knots. Nice knots, imo. Here's one in a blooddwood handle. The wood handle has cracked so there will be a new handle for this knot sometime in the future.
View attachment 1242694

Beauteous.

 

[Timeclo]

I have the 24mm Apshaveco Mix badger/boar fan knot and I use it quite often for body shaving. In the beginning it had both scrub and scritch and it was uncomfortable to use on the face. Now after numerous body shaves, I think it softened up. I'll be taking it for a shave later on but for now, I'm sticking to my softest brushes for my face.

The boar bristles are quite stiff and it did not break in easily. Some of them felt like straws so a consistent use of it helped those stiff bristles soften and also shed some of them out.

 

[jesseix]

I haven’t loved my Maggard mixed knot so far. It hasn’t softened up like I was hoping it would, still pretty right and scritchy even after a good number of uses. I enjoy my Semogue Mistura brush more.

 

[jesseix]

I haven’t loved my Maggard mixed knot so far. It hasn’t softened up like I was hoping it would, still pretty right and scritchy even after a good number of uses. I enjoy my Semogue Mistura brush more.

That was meant to be “still pretty Tight and scritchy”... can’t edit now

 

[Timeclo]

I haven’t loved my Maggard mixed knot so far. It hasn’t softened up like I was hoping it would, still pretty right and scritchy even after a good number of uses. I enjoy my Semogue Mistura brush more.

Same with my APshaveco mix knot. It's still feeling scritchy/scrubby after numerous uses on it. Definitely doing a bowl lather instead of face lather with this one.

 

[LJS]

They may all be oumo knots. They all almost certainly come from some Chinese manufacturing.

They are a good blend. I really like boar and really like badger so this combo pleases me. But I also like a huge spectrum of brushes. This blend does give a bit of the best of both hair types. You may just have to try to see

 

[oscar11]

This is my other knot that I used just about exclusively last summer with Williams soap. Unique feel to them.

 

[Bjlefebvre]

That's a nice handle on that knot, @oscar11 . Where did you source that?

 

[oscar11]

Homemade handle.

 

[Balthier]

I don't see oumo mixed knots on their store page?

 

[RayClem]

I use boar brushes, I use badger brushes, I use synthetic brushes, and I use horsehair brushes. They each have their advantages and disadvantages. However, I do not quite understand the thought behind mixing boar bristles and badger hair. Sometimes compromise is not the best option.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I don't see oumo mixed knots on their store page?

They weren't available on AliExpress I had to go through Alibaba. Minimum order was 25. I think they said they could do 10 but it was like $40 per knot to do it.

In quantities of 25 they were high 400 - low 500$ after shipping, if I remember right.

Not really worth it in most cases. I would say to just buy them from AP shave Co.

 

[BigJ]

I have a couple brushes made with these knots. Nice knots, imo. Here's one in a blooddwood handle. The wood handle has cracked so there will be a new handle for this knot sometime in the future.
View attachment 1242694

Great work!!

 

[bjm]

I recently set one in a Yaqi Sagrada Familia handle.

View attachment 1242663

I haven't had a chance to use it yet; I'm coming to end of one fixed-four and getting ready to start another. This thread may have just inspired me to start breaking it in with a few head shaves. I'll let you know how it goes.

It's been ten days of head shaves and all is well. I don't know if I would consider the brush to be broken-in, but at least it has stopped shedding. It was losing one or two bristles about every other shave and that finally stopped a couple of days ago.



I really like the brush and look forward to some face-lathers in a few weeks. The loft is just right for me set at about 15mm deep. And if the silicone ever fails, I'll go straight for the epoxy.

Be well and stay safe...