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Looking for advice for 3rd brush purchase! Boar vs synthetic?

Hi all,

I have been wet shaving for 10+ years, and I've been re-evaluating my equipment and how I have been doing things.
- I have transitioned from creams (such as TOBS) to soap (ie Haslinger) and looking for more environmentally friendly options (i'm not an environmentalist, but I am conscious of plastic use etc).
- I prefer to load my brush first, then continue onto the face and face lather
- I like to swirl the brush into my face and 'scrub' while building up the lather
- I don't have sensitive skin or any difficulties with shaving, I have every 2 days, sometimes daily
- Razor of choice is the Muhle R41 with Astra SP

I currently have two brushes:
1. Muhle Silvertip Badger Traditional chrome brush
2. Semogue 2-band Badger brush, resin handle

I have been considering either a Simspon Trafalgar T2 or a Semogue special edition S.O.C. Boar Shaving Brush in Cherrywood handle.

I understand there is a break in period and boar behaves very differently to badger which I have been used to for 10 years. I have a Muhle travel synthetic brush which I use exclusively when travelling, but I dislike how it 'clumps' on the face.

I am undecided on what to get next, and would like to add a third brush to my line up.

Many thanks for your help.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
The SOC Mistura is a very popular badger/boar brush I would definitely consider.

I also have an SOC LE TSE boar that is lovely, with a little less backbone than the Mistura.

My favorite synthetic is the Omega EVO, but I only use it as a travel brush. It has a ton of backbone and doesn't throw lather as easily as most synthetics.

But there are plenty of shavers who prefer a synthetic over anything else.
 
It sounds like you might enjoy one of the more premium boar brushes. This thread showcases some nice ones (starting around page 11 out of 60+):


The SOC boar blooms out to a really large size. For a face lathering brush, I like the C5 Torga boar more than the SOC. These have a shorter loft which is nice for face lathering. Also, consider the Omega Jade premium boar from Connaught in the UK. Another nice one is the Zenith 506U unbleached boar brush.
 
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The Mistura boar/badger is a great brush. If I were going synthetic I would advise contacting Rudy for one of his custom Muhle 25mm STF brushes. I have 3 now (one is 23mm) and they are by far my favorite brush. He sets the knot lower than Muhle and it provides nice backbone while still offering good splay.
 
I have one brush of each major type so badger, boar and synthetic. A boar does require breaking in as you already mentioned and my boar can still be stiff without water, but as soon as I add water it becomes soft enough to enjoy and paint lather. Took only about a week of shaving to break in.

I find boar brushes to work wonderfully well with harder soaps due to their stiffness.

In terms of mega lathering capabilities my Razorock Plissoft 400 is an absolute king. And very very soft to the face. With excellent splaying as well.

Obviously YMMV.

Enjoy your choices and purchases!

Guido
 
Hi all,

I have been wet shaving for 10+ years, and I've been re-evaluating my equipment and how I have been doing things.
- I have transitioned from creams (such as TOBS) to soap (ie Haslinger) and looking for more environmentally friendly options (i'm not an environmentalist, but I am conscious of plastic use etc).
- I prefer to load my brush first, then continue onto the face and face lather
- I like to swirl the brush into my face and 'scrub' while building up the lather
- I don't have sensitive skin or any difficulties with shaving, I have every 2 days, sometimes daily
- Razor of choice is the Muhle R41 with Astra SP

I currently have two brushes:
1. Muhle Silvertip Badger Traditional chrome brush
2. Semogue 2-band Badger brush, resin handle

I have been considering either a Simspon Trafalgar T2 or a Semogue special edition S.O.C. Boar Shaving Brush in Cherrywood handle.

I understand there is a break in period and boar behaves very differently to badger which I have been used to for 10 years. I have a Muhle travel synthetic brush which I use exclusively when travelling, but I dislike how it 'clumps' on the face.

I am undecided on what to get next, and would like to add a third brush to my line up.

Many thanks for your help.


In some aspects I may be a dissenter here, as I do not believe in the “boar for hard soaps” axiom.
After 10 mins soaking, my (Semogue, Omega, DaniDom) boar brushes can get very soft and lose most of their initial stiffness.

If I need a brush for a truly hard(ened) soap, I rather reach for my synthetics, as their stiffness does not change when they have been wet for a while.

And that’s the rub, if you find that a Mühle Silvertip Fibre® “clumps” too much, then synthetics from the likes of Mühle, Shavemac (which I use mostly), Omega, and Simpson may not be for you.

I found that some of most capable boar brushes are Semogue SOCs and the lesser known DaniDom brushes, made near Barcelona.

DaniDom brushes were recently discussed here: DaniDom Shaving Brush Review | DaniDom History | An interview with DaniDom - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/danidom-shaving-brush-review-danidom-history-an-interview-with-danidom.619772/
and can IMO hold their own against much better known boar brushes.
They may be hard to find, but they are available from the DaniDom associated online shop Elook Barcelona - https://elook.es//.


And then there are of course the Semogue (SOC or Torga C5) Mistura brushes that combine badger and boar hair.
Very well made brushes that try to combine the best of the badger and boar hairs and that work very well.
If you are not ready to commit to a 100% boar or synthetic brush, a Mistura might just fit the bill.


Hope this helps,


B
 
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Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I just started using the SOC Mistura brushes. I only have two shaves under my belt so I don't exactly qualify for a sound endorsement, but I really like them. I got both the Taj and the Butterscotch. I did three wet/dry cycles and they were broken in enough so there was no scritchiness right from the start.

I have boars I'm breaking in.. no shaves yet.
 
Pleased to report I ended up getting the boar - and after a initial breaking period it's possibly my favourite brush.
Very much enjoy the backbone and scrub, and it's much softer than I thought it would ever be.
 
I really fell for boar brushes. I purchased an Omega because it was inexpensive and had orange on the it. I'm a sucker for any orange. Since then, I have purchased a Semogue 2000 and put together 4 other artisan handles with boar knots from Maggards.

Still love my badger brushes and even put together a brush to try the newer G5 synthetic knots. The G5 is a great brush but I truly enjoy using my boar brushes best.
 
Here in Tennessee, orange is the order of the day…GO VOLS!!!
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Hi all,

I have been wet shaving for 10+ years, and I've been re-evaluating my equipment and how I have been doing things.
- I have transitioned from creams (such as TOBS) to soap (ie Haslinger) and looking for more environmentally friendly options (i'm not an environmentalist, but I am conscious of plastic use etc).
- I prefer to load my brush first, then continue onto the face and face lather
- I like to swirl the brush into my face and 'scrub' while building up the lather
- I don't have sensitive skin or any difficulties with shaving, I have every 2 days, sometimes daily
- Razor of choice is the Muhle R41 with Astra SP

I currently have two brushes:
1. Muhle Silvertip Badger Traditional chrome brush
2. Semogue 2-band Badger brush, resin handle

I have been considering either a Simspon Trafalgar T2 or a Semogue special edition S.O.C. Boar Shaving Brush in Cherrywood handle.

I understand there is a break in period and boar behaves very differently to badger which I have been used to for 10 years. I have a Muhle travel synthetic brush which I use exclusively when travelling, but I dislike how it 'clumps' on the face.

I am undecided on what to get next, and would like to add a third brush to my line up.

Many thanks for your help.
I all honesty I recommend going with a synthetic brush. The quality has improved immensely and will feel closer to what you're accustomed to with badger than a boar hair brush would.

Personally, I have a "pure" badger brush that is cheap and ultimately scratchy. I started with it. Obviously it's not great but I still use it from time to time, on occasion.

I also have a boar hair brush, a horse hair brush and a synthetic brush. All work well but obviously are different so they function and feel differently. I've used them all for a long while and each is good in their own way.

I never replaced my badger brush with a better quality one because as you know quality badger brushes are very expensive. The other issue is that the animal has to die to harvest the hair. I'm pretty sure the same goes for boars/pigs. Horse hair is the only commonly found hair in a shaving brush that is sustainably obtained without a need to kill the provider.

In all honestly I would like to own at least one high quality badger brush. I may add a better one to my collection at some point, but would only add one if it were gifted (pif'd) to me or if I come across a good used one for sale. I just couldn't buy new.

My boar hair brush does work well. Especially after breaking it in. It's just different than badger in a way that's hard for me to describe.

When synthetics first came out they weren't that great and we're very much compared to and in the shadow of badger hair brushs. As I'm sure you know. Now-a-days you can find synthetic hair brushs that are on par with badger hair. Or even better in some people's opinion.

My favorite and daily driver is my Vikings Blade "White Knight" synthetic brush and I have to say, it's freakin awesome! Go check it out. Or pick up another brand... Either way I think synthetic is closest to what you expect based on what you're used to.

Enjoy.
 
I use all of them. I have an Edwin jagger 23 mm and a Fine 24 mm, both synthetic. Mostly I use them for traveling. Once in a while I remember them and pick them up for a shave. They are fantastic. The only synthetic I use regularly is a 22 mm Plisson Haute Montagne which is dazzling.
Then I have this SOC Butterscotch Mistura (50/50 - boar and badger) which is one of my favorites. I also have other grades - Pure and Best- for other adventures.
Two Manchurians, an M7 and a Chubby 3 are also added in my collection, and while being very different - one is a lather hog the other not - proportionate an unique experience.
To finish the badgers I have 5 Silvertips, from whom one is a Shavemac with a 30 mm knot. I am still learning how to control it, but it is a stratospheric brush. Finally I have 2 boars, an Omega and a SOC. Both have 24 mm knots.
The boar brushes require much work to properly breaking in, yet they are one of the most generous ones once you do it right. And are perhaps the ones who give better emotions. I will never separate from them, because they are the real spirit of wet shaving: trying, perfectioning and enjoying the old ways.
 
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