My opinion exactly. My Omegas have wooden handles and they are quite nice.
My experience with Semogue
- Thread starter Jimmyinkedup
- Start date
I think the boar fanatics have built up semogue b/c realistically they are the only premium boar in town. The other two mainstays are omega and whoever does the cheapie vdh/surry are it IIRC. They are the only to use these metal cups and wood for the most part. Lots of differences from acrylic and horn.
The same argument pops up over all the brushes. Every single brand, whatever the reason.
Whether it be price, size, shape, whatever.
The same argument pops up over all the brushes. Every single brand, whatever the reason.
Whether it be price, size, shape, whatever.
ftfy
NO bad experiences here. The 620 I own will be the only dinky brush that I will ever own and not replaced. It's a one time affair but it's a great brush! Having said that I know where your coming from OP as this was the case in reverse I believe with Kent. The gradual positive evolution of the Kent line from being "floppy" just a few yeaers ago to what I have in the BLK12 could not be so different. Companies either strive to become better and "listen" in to their customers (or the President tries his own brush and finds it unacceptable)and improve something or outsource it, get inferior glue, hairs, cheaper labor etc and damage their reputation in the long run for short term gain.
I bought an 830 last spring, and a second for my brother in November, and neither of them had any issues that I am aware of (though I didn't use the second one personally, and haven't heard how it is doing). I see a few complaints about Semogue on here, but I haven't noticed all that many.
I have had brushes from other name brands that I thought were absolutely awful (Simpson and Omega) but those were only one each, so I can't say if they were typical of their brands.
I have had brushes from other name brands that I thought were absolutely awful (Simpson and Omega) but those were only one each, so I can't say if they were typical of their brands.
One poster mentioned in a thread that maybe since this company is one of the most popular brush companies and since they sell such a large amount of brushes, and you always have a certain percentage of defective ones, that their percentage of defectives is higher than the rest due to selling such a large quantity of product. Just a thought.
- Thread starter
- #27
My opinion is not meant to offend the Semogue fans but all one need do is look at this section of the forum and count threads or posts on brush complaints or quality issues and it is obvious my position is not without foundation. By far Semogue has more negative quality issues than any other brush recently. Could it be that they sell more brushes than anyone else? Perhaps, but if you look at the first several pages of threads the ratio of semogue complaints vs a single other brush complaint is around 5 to 1. I seriously doubt they sell 5x more brushes than say Omega. Now b&b is simply a cross section of the wet shaving populous, however I think we would agree you would be very hard pressed to find a better "control group" for such data collection than this forum. Ive had 2 semogues, both boars (620,1800), and my issue was knot consistency. One continued to lose hairs till I simply stopped using it, the other the hair clumped rather strangely leaving large gaps in the brush even after it was dry. I take meticulous care of all my items, these brushes were not an exception. It seems like if you "get a good one" it is very good, but it also seems to me the likelihood of getting one with some type of issue is growing at an exponential rate. Again, just my opinion but using this board and this particular forum as a control group to compile data, it is not like my opinion is without foundation. I apologize if my personal opinion offended anyone and Im sure there are plenty of good semogue brushes out there, obviously there are, but the likelihood of getting one with a problem lately seems much greater to me than with other brushes.
"....but I think Shavemac might be the only brush company I haven't seen someone complain about on here"
Not to worry. Just give it some time
Not to worry. Just give it some time
Actually, come to think of it, someone did have a shavemac knot fall out, but I think he had soaked it in boiling water"....but I think Shavemac might be the only brush company I haven't seen someone complain about on here"
Not to worry. Just give it some time
"....but I think Shavemac might be the only brush company I haven't seen someone complain about on here"
Not to worry. Just give it some time
I haven't heard ever any complaints about Plisson...
I have not been wet shaving long, so I don't know about the great history of Semogue. I just know that when I got my 1800, it was better than all the other brushes I tried around the same price range. I liked it so much, I got 8 more Semogues. I've not had any issues at all with any of them. No shedding, no knots falling out, nothing at all like that.
For me, it's the best valued brush on the market today.
For me, it's the best valued brush on the market today.
- Thread starter
- #32
^^ 9 brushes, no issues, that is pretty darn good...
I only have two Semogues, the SOC and the 830, both are perfect. Knots are great, no shedding, and the handles are flawless. Less than $30 for each, can't imagine a better deal for a brush. I prefer both to my previous Simpson. Simpson, at least for awhile, seemed to have the most complaints about quality, although that may simply be in comparison to the price of their brushes.
My Semogue SOC is my only Semogue brush. I get a stray bristle from time to time (once every few weeks?), but that's about it. It's a big boar brush which almost instantly became my favorite brush. I haven't tried a Whipped Dog silvertip (or a Rudy Vey/Wolf Whiskers), but I've been very pleased with my brush.
I never noticed any knot consistency issues across the maybe 12-15 semo's I've owned. Ever last one was a superb brush for what it was.
I only ever bought one of their painted handles, and it arrived chipped, which was a common problem, but I was under the impression that issue had been addressed (didn't matter much to me because I think painted wood handles look atrocious anyway).
I've owned close to a hundred shaving brushes and I doubt I could say any maker has been MORE reliable and consistent than Semogue in my experience.
If I liked boars more than I do, I'd own few brushes other than Semo's.
I don't hang around this forum as much as I used to, but I don't recall EVER seeing a complaint about semogue quality or consistency. And I would believe in a second that Semogues sells more than 5x the brushes to THIS FORUM'S MEMBERS than Omega... as long as we write off the Omega custom B&B brush. Hell, once that brush is out of the equation, the only omega I remember seeing anyone mention more than once or twice here would be the pro and the midget... and I could name a dozen semogue's I've seen mentioned far more than the Omega pro or midget.
I only ever bought one of their painted handles, and it arrived chipped, which was a common problem, but I was under the impression that issue had been addressed (didn't matter much to me because I think painted wood handles look atrocious anyway).
I've owned close to a hundred shaving brushes and I doubt I could say any maker has been MORE reliable and consistent than Semogue in my experience.
If I liked boars more than I do, I'd own few brushes other than Semo's.
I don't hang around this forum as much as I used to, but I don't recall EVER seeing a complaint about semogue quality or consistency. And I would believe in a second that Semogues sells more than 5x the brushes to THIS FORUM'S MEMBERS than Omega... as long as we write off the Omega custom B&B brush. Hell, once that brush is out of the equation, the only omega I remember seeing anyone mention more than once or twice here would be the pro and the midget... and I could name a dozen semogue's I've seen mentioned far more than the Omega pro or midget.
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Nicely said Sir.
I hope not to offend my fellow B&B brethren here, but I'll simply say that complaints about any type of brush must be followed up with some line of questioning about how that particular person maintains and uses their brush.
-Is it something they use daily and does that brush get ample time to dry between uses?
-Is the brush stored in a place where it might be exposed to higher humidity?
-Do they soak it for extended periods (for example, overnight) when they first get it?
-Does the brush get submerged in exceedingly hot water before each use?
-Was the brush dropped/knocked against a counter recently?
-Does the user exert too much pressure against the knot when lathering?
I'm trying not to advocate "blaming the victim" here, I just hope it's not presumptuous of me to posit that "user error" could contribute to a small percentage of brush complaints for Semogue (or any other brand). This would skew any perception about the number of complaints against a brush manufacturer.
My own experience with Semogue includes three brushes (1520, 830, SOC) and the only non-subjective problem I've had with any of them is due to peeled paint on the handle of the 1520. But that too could have been my own doing as I had dropped the handle twice and might have submerged the brush in hot water a couple times (it was a "first" brush). I admit that I will not be buying any more painted wood handles from Semogue, but the knots have not caused a problem for me yet and I will continue to recommend them until they do.
-Is it something they use daily and does that brush get ample time to dry between uses?
-Is the brush stored in a place where it might be exposed to higher humidity?
-Do they soak it for extended periods (for example, overnight) when they first get it?
-Does the brush get submerged in exceedingly hot water before each use?
-Was the brush dropped/knocked against a counter recently?
-Does the user exert too much pressure against the knot when lathering?
I'm trying not to advocate "blaming the victim" here, I just hope it's not presumptuous of me to posit that "user error" could contribute to a small percentage of brush complaints for Semogue (or any other brand). This would skew any perception about the number of complaints against a brush manufacturer.
My own experience with Semogue includes three brushes (1520, 830, SOC) and the only non-subjective problem I've had with any of them is due to peeled paint on the handle of the 1520. But that too could have been my own doing as I had dropped the handle twice and might have submerged the brush in hot water a couple times (it was a "first" brush). I admit that I will not be buying any more painted wood handles from Semogue, but the knots have not caused a problem for me yet and I will continue to recommend them until they do.
No offense taken here but I do notice that these two posts contain highly speculative and general statements that bring no value to this debate.
Again, I have no interest in the company you mentioned but I try to be fair in my comments, fairness that B&B membership deserves.
I have and use several Semogue brushes and use one Omega 49, which I like very much. I had one bad experience with another Omega (30164) and a couple of bad experiences with Semogue. The Omega was returned for a refund (lost shipping but cannot stand defects) and had the Semogues replaced.
I can never forget that many of these brushes cost less than what a North-american would pay for a couple of coffees in a day. I do not say this to justify for poor quality, and if there is something wrong with any of their products, feel free to contact the vendor.
Past that, to me, the effort of debating or arguing for that matter, it is simply not worth.
In any case, posts and claims about defects/quality issues are best represented if pictures and explanations are included in the post.
Peace.
+100
- Thread starter
- #40
Wow people really seem to be taking this personally. Its not a debate-objectively its my opinion - subjectively it is simply true. Its very simple..read through this forum and there are more complaint threads re semogue than any other brush. At one point in the last week or so there were 4 semogue complaint threads on the first page of the entire forum when I clicked new posts. It was more than enough to catch my eye thus I started paying attention and reading through and realized it was a very real trend. Im glad people have had and are having good experiences with their semogue products. That still doesnt change the simple fact that what I am stating in this post is true. Now perhaps Semogue does sell more brushes than other companies..like i said if they do it isnt 5x more which is about the ratio of semogue brush complaints compared to any other brushes in the past several weeks here. It is not a subjective thing, numbers are numbers. It is what it is. Objectively it is in line with my personal experience, but that isnt the point. If you do not like my post because I pointed out this accurate statistical anomaly in recent posting trends re semogue quality, I am sorry. It doesnt change the fact that its true.
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