Mondial 1908 Boar Brush

[HereticHermit]

I heard from Firenze- Italy and they sent me few pictures of latest stock and logo. But they are like totally lost on the brush I got from aussie ebay and want more pictures to 'study'. Looks like there was old-old stock and old stock (the one i got) and then there are these new stock pictures. The time stamp on these pictures is 7Th Feb 2019.

 

[BigD]

I heard from Firenze- Italy and they sent me few pictures of latest stock and logo. But they are like totally lost on the brush I got from aussie ebay and want more pictures to 'study'. Looks like there was old-old stock and old stock (the one i got) and then there are these new stock pictures. The time stamp on these pictures is 7Th Feb 2019.View attachment 995570 View attachment 995571 View attachment 995572

Very pretty.

 

[naughtilus]

I heard from Firenze- Italy and they sent me few pictures of latest stock and logo. But they are like totally lost on the brush I got from aussie ebay and want more pictures to 'study'. Looks like there was old-old stock and old stock (the one i got) and then there are these new stock pictures. The time stamp on these pictures is 7Th Feb 2019.View attachment 995570 View attachment 995571 View attachment 995572

At least we know the shiny acetate is their current production handle and not the matte polystyrene.

 

[HereticHermit]

Again, I'm satisfied with the brush and it wasn't a big expense. I'm not mad about it, but definitely intrigued.

Same here, at the price point I am not overly fretting and the brush itself is not bad. I am not using it for now but just take it through soak scrub and dry cycles. So far it is coming up alright. But I am intrigued too about what is final word from Mondial.

 

[naughtilus]

I think they are done selling boar brushes altogether. I just browsed their shop and Facebook, they are complete clone of TOBS, GFT, T&H, SJL. That English gentleman grooming genre that was popular until 5 years ago. Everything seems high quality, professionally presented and priced accordingly.

 

[HereticHermit]

Well I heard from Mondial. Here is their response.

Good morning sir,
Yes is a genuine Mondial 1908 brush but is an old design.
Hope is all fine.
Wish you a good day and a good shave!
MONDIAL 1908
Via di Colle Ramole, 9
50023 Impruneta
Firenze- Italy
www.mondial1908.it

I gave up on trying getting a response from them about the pictures in aussie eBay. Largely it was due tto language issues. So finally I sent an email in broken English with very small sentences stringed up. And that was their response.
So finally we can lay this old stock new stock controversy to rest and move on with actual business of shaving.

 

[carm10]

Well I heard from Mondial. Here is their response.

Good morning sir,
Yes is a genuine Mondial 1908 brush but is an old design.
Hope is all fine.
Wish you a good day and a good shave!
MONDIAL 1908
Via di Colle Ramole, 9
50023 Impruneta
Firenze- Italy
www.mondial1908.it

I gave up on trying getting a response from them about the pictures in aussie eBay. Largely it was due tto language issues. So finally I sent an email in broken English with very small sentences stringed up. And that was their response.
So finally we can lay this old stock new stock controversy to rest and move on with actual business of shaving.

Nice, thanks for following up on it.

 

[bjm]

Well, this thread has me a little concerned. I ordered a Mondial 1908 from Fruugo on the 21st of June. I received an email on the 23rd stating the brush had been shipped from Australia.

I also ordered a Zenith B03-A26 from YourShaving on the same day. I received an email stating the Zenith was shipped on the 24th. It arrived today.

I'm anxiously awaiting an update on the Mondial... fingers crossed.

Well, she arrived yesterday (6 July)...

I won't be able to use it for a while because I'm spending the month alternating between three other recent acquisitions (Antica Barberia Mondial, Omega 10049, and Omega 011842), but I hope to take her for a spin in August.

I can't speak to the negative reviews for Fruugo, but my order went through without a hitch. As for the release of personal information by aggregators, I can't speak to that either. But I can say it's probably no worse than the information we make available to the likes of Amazon, Google, and Facebook. I am a victim of both the Equifax and OPM breaches, and that caused much more damage than the release of my email or mailing address.

 

[HereticHermit]

@bjm good to hear that your brush came on time.
It's a good brush and I like how it has uniform bristles and somewhat dense knot than omegas in general. Also the bristles are just wee bit thinner than omegas. I can tell it's a fine brush in making.
Online privacy is another matter though. I still use a BlackBerry phone and am neither from MI16 or deal in blood diamonds. I can't avoid running into shady operations online but being little more careful can't hurt. Google data mining is perhaps a catastrophic event just waiting to happen but no one seems to care as long as Google provide apps for every silly thing under the sun.

 

[bjm]

@bjm good to hear that your brush came on time.
It's a good brush and I like how it has uniform bristles and somewhat dense knot than omegas in general. Also the bristles are just wee bit thinner than omegas. I can tell it's a fine brush in making.
Online privacy is another matter though. I still use a BlackBerry phone and am neither from MI16 or deal in blood diamonds. I can't avoid running into shady operations online but being little more careful can't hurt. Google data mining is perhaps a catastrophic event just waiting to happen but no one seems to care as long as Google provide apps for every silly thing under the sun.

Thanks. I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to use the brush. August can't get here soon enough.

I agree with you and I didn't mean to imply that I don't take online privacy seriously. I try to use all the tools in my chest to protect myself, but sometimes that's not enough. The two data breaches I mentioned (and who knows how many others) were beyond my control. Thankfully I have a variety of razors, blades, soaps, and brushes to help keep me calm

That's one of the things I've learned to appreciate about shaving. For a small part of my day I am in complete control of my preparation, tools, technique, and result. It is easily one of the most rewarding periods of my day.

Now, back to the original "Mondial 1908 Boar Brush" topic of discussion...

 

[les24preludes]

Any update on how the brush is breaking in? I'm tempted...

 

[ajkel64]

Any update on how the brush is breaking in? I'm tempted...

Yes, I am watching one the usual website at the moment. Anything to report?

 

[HereticHermit]

I am really liking the balanced handle. Not too heavy or feather light. Knot is fairly dense with bristles finer than Omega brushes. It has bloomed a bit but not floppy like Semogue (I have a 620) and split ends are multiplying. I tend to reach for it more often than I thought; esp over my Zenith B28 copper. Zenith at 128 grams with solid copper handle is slightly bottom heavy which I do not like. Though I would say Mondial and Zenith knots feel identical to me.

 

[les24preludes]

Useful update. Is the loft of 60mm OK for backbone?

 

[Sotiris_A]

Useful update. Is the loft of 60mm OK for backbone?

For me it is. Just for comparison, my copy has more backbone than my Semogue 830 or the two SOC I have. It is closer to my Omega 10098. I find the knot a bit on the large side for face lathering, but as always YMMV.

 

[HereticHermit]

Although I do not have calipers with me but this doesn't feel like a true 60mm loft. I would peg it about 58mm. The bristle density more than makes up for the tallish loft and in spite of 25mm it feels like a 28mm knot. In all I will say that backbone is firm enough without feeling very stout.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I've measured only one of my two Mondial boars, the aluminum handled boar, which measured like this: Knot 26mm. Loft 58mm.

 

[bjm]

Well, she arrived yesterday (6 July)...
View attachment 997066
I won't be able to use it for a while because I'm spending the month alternating between three other recent acquisitions (Antica Barberia Mondial, Omega 10049, and Omega 011842), but I hope to take her for a spin in August...

I apologize for not providing an update. I've been having such a good time with the Antica Barberia and the two Omega brushes that I haven't even unboxed the Mondial 1908 or the Zenith B2. And my newly-acquired SOC boar with the cherry wood handle just jumped ahead in the line. Life is good!

 

[HereticHermit]

I thought I will post an update about this brush.

Had this in my regular boar rotation for almost 1 ½ month now and this is how it looks. The picture is taken after a shave and it is somewhat moist. I have to admit the Omegas have spoilt me with fast break-in period. This Mondial has thicker bristles and a very tight knot of 25mm with a tallish. I would say the knot is stout in spite being this tall, thanks to thick bristles. It was really taking time to open up and I took help of a hair dryer on couple of occasions to accelerate the splitting. I have to admit the hair dryer induced splits are not as soft as natural splits but that it easy fix. Just couple of 5 min swirling about 5-6 times on a speckled non-slip tile brought it around and it is well on way to be a brush where I want it.
Given the tall loft, splay is really BIG one but not in an ‘all over and your face’ kind of way. I feel very much in control about preciseness, owing to stiffer bristles. It creates and holds tons of lather in top knot; leather doesn’t slip down and mess your handle and make it slippery. I appreciate when I don’t have to get bothered with a slippery handle. The knot is dense but not dense enough to give you a cloggy feeling and lather flow through is good. In contrast my Zenith B28 copper has finer bristles and very dense bristles but it feels little clogged. To me this knot feels it has more backbone than an Omega Pro.

If you like your brush to be taller loft and still a little ‘firm’, it will not disappoint you. A longer break-in (but shorter than a Semogue), slightly prickly, thick bristles might be turn off for some. The handle material gets 10/10 from me. It feels quality and trumps cheap Omega handles any day. At 80 grams overall weight the brush feels well balanced without tiring your hand. I will continue to use this brush to its logical end. As usual YMMV.

 

[naughtilus]

Beautiful! I love that bloom.