For my first month of wet shaving I had been using a 50+ year-old Stag boar brush that had belonged to my Grandfather and Dad. It was holding up ok, not losing more than a couple of bristles per shave, but I never had a really great lather with it, even after following all of the advice I could find here (and that's a lot).
My other option is to finish restoring an Ever-Ready 150 with a TGN Finest 2-band 20 mm knot, but I just haven't had that last hour or so in the past two weeks to finish building the "shelf" and setting the knot. I should have that finished tomorrow and be test-driving the badger by the weekend.
To tide me over and get me through a week of travel, I ordered a Semogue 1520 from WCS and have been using it for the past 10 days. Man, what an eye-opener! It seems to be able to generate ridiculous amounts of lather with DRH Marlborough soap, or Proraso or AOS Lavender creams without even really paying attention. It has a lot more backbone (and bristles) than the old Stag, with very minimal scratch. And that's without much of a break-in. I also noticed almost zero boar-funk on this brush upon opening. I gave it a couple 10-minute soaks in OxyClean and a good rinse before using, and all I've ever smelled from it was whatever soap or cream I was using. By far the best $17 I've spent on shaving gear so far. Well, Proraso Green was a pretty good discovery too, as was OBR Limes and Peppercorns, but those are consumables...
I'll be looking forward to comparing it to the re-knotted Ever-Ready when it's completed, but really the only reason I see to have more brushes than this (for me personally, not judging anyone else here), is for a) variety, which helps make the shaving experience more enjoyable for me and keeps me from taking it for granted, and b) to help both brushes last longer and provide more enjoyment. Like having two pairs of good work shoes.
I'll let y'all know how the brushes compare. I think it may be time to retire the Stag, until maybe I get the urge to put a nice new knot in it down the road. I'll wait to see how the Ever-Ready works out first, but maybe I'll wind up restoring the Stag and passing it on to my brother to get him hooked on wet shaving. He doesn't bother with his chin much, but he's got a lot of skull to keep streamlined.
My other option is to finish restoring an Ever-Ready 150 with a TGN Finest 2-band 20 mm knot, but I just haven't had that last hour or so in the past two weeks to finish building the "shelf" and setting the knot. I should have that finished tomorrow and be test-driving the badger by the weekend.
To tide me over and get me through a week of travel, I ordered a Semogue 1520 from WCS and have been using it for the past 10 days. Man, what an eye-opener! It seems to be able to generate ridiculous amounts of lather with DRH Marlborough soap, or Proraso or AOS Lavender creams without even really paying attention. It has a lot more backbone (and bristles) than the old Stag, with very minimal scratch. And that's without much of a break-in. I also noticed almost zero boar-funk on this brush upon opening. I gave it a couple 10-minute soaks in OxyClean and a good rinse before using, and all I've ever smelled from it was whatever soap or cream I was using. By far the best $17 I've spent on shaving gear so far. Well, Proraso Green was a pretty good discovery too, as was OBR Limes and Peppercorns, but those are consumables...
I'll be looking forward to comparing it to the re-knotted Ever-Ready when it's completed, but really the only reason I see to have more brushes than this (for me personally, not judging anyone else here), is for a) variety, which helps make the shaving experience more enjoyable for me and keeps me from taking it for granted, and b) to help both brushes last longer and provide more enjoyment. Like having two pairs of good work shoes.
I'll let y'all know how the brushes compare. I think it may be time to retire the Stag, until maybe I get the urge to put a nice new knot in it down the road. I'll wait to see how the Ever-Ready works out first, but maybe I'll wind up restoring the Stag and passing it on to my brother to get him hooked on wet shaving. He doesn't bother with his chin much, but he's got a lot of skull to keep streamlined.
