My First Boar - Proraso Pro

[Phoenixkh]

You may eventually end up liking the little Zenith on the far right. I have that same brush and it took a lot more wet/dry cycles than any of my other Boars before I starting liking it. Now it just might be my second favorite after the Omega Jade.

Off topic, but nice table and CD player.

Thx for your compliments to the table and CD player. I think I might like the little Zenith too when it gets fully broken-in. I know it's a favorite of many. I'm a bit disappointed in my Premium Jade.... the later ones are not as good as the previous offerings, it seems. It's about the same denseness as the SOC brushes I have. Not horrible... but not as good as the Zeniths. It's a shame, really... I bought it because it's overwhelmingly a favorite among the B&B community.

 

[Phoenixkh]

You may eventually end up liking the little Zenith on the far right. I have that same brush and it took a lot more wet/dry cycles than any of my other Boars before I starting liking it. Now it just might be my second favorite after the Omega Jade.

Off topic, but nice table and CD player.

Thx for your compliments to the table and CD player. I think I might like the little Zenith too when it gets fully broken-in. I know it's a favorite of many. I'm a bit disappointed in my Premium Jade.... the later ones are not as good as the previous offerings, it seems. It's about the same denseness as the SOC brushes I have. Not horrible... but not as good as the Zeniths. It's a shame, really... I bought it because it's overwhelmingly a favorite among the B&B community.

 

[NorthernSoul]

I don't know why people are saying the Omega Jade is not as good. I think mine is excellent. It is a couple of years old and doesn't have the medallion. It is not comparable to the SOC at all having a firmer knot with dimensions of 27mm/53mm approximately. I also don't consider anything to be wrong with the density.

There are many fine Zenith brushes, of course, but I think there is a certain bandwagon/fashion element with those on this board. I am happy with the one Zenith boar I have.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I don't know why people are saying the Omega Jade is not as good. I think mine is excellent. It is a couple of years old and doesn't have the medallion. It is not comparable to the SOC at all having a firmer knot with dimensions of 27mm/53mm approximately. I also don't consider anything to be wrong with the density.

There are many fine Zenith brushes, of course, but I think there is a certain bandwagon/fashion element with those on this board. I am happy with the one Zenith boar I have.

The issue seems to be those bought in the last couple months..... not specifically those without Medallions but those purchased most recently. I bought mine in June. I tried to be clear. I haven't held examples of both but I posted a link to another thread by
@dmshaver.

I'm not trying to start a controversy... here's the link: post #9: New Zenith Unbleached Boars - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/new-zenith-unbleached-boars.621043/#post-11761746

I purchased the Connaught Premium Jade boar because it was so highly regarded here, but it seems it isn't the same as the ones so many of you love. DMshaver is trying to get to the bottom of it.

 

[J-MN]

I don't know why people are saying the Omega Jade is not as good. I think mine is excellent. It is a couple of years old and doesn't have the medallion. It is not comparable to the SOC at all having a firmer knot with dimensions of 27mm/53mm approximately. I also don't consider anything to be wrong with the density.

There are many fine Zenith brushes, of course, but I think there is a certain bandwagon/fashion element with those on this board. I am happy with the one Zenith boar I have.

The issue seems to be those bought in the last couple months..... not specifically those without Medallions but those purchased most recently. I bought mine in June. I tried to be clear. I haven't held examples of both but I posted a link to another thread by
@dmshaver.

I'm not trying to start a controversy... here's the link: post #9: New Zenith Unbleached Boars - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/new-zenith-unbleached-boars.621043/#post-11761746

I purchased the Connaught Premium Jade boar because it was so highly regarded here, but it seems it isn't the same as the ones so many of you love. DMshaver is trying to get to the bottom of it.

My Omega Jade is only a few months old and at this point it's my favorite Boar brush, so I guess if they did change it at some point, it could have been a change that actually made it better meet my preferences or there is some inconsistencies between batches. Mine is firm and quite dense, but having never tried an older one, I have no reference point to know how different it may or may not be. I guess I'll probably never know. Whatever the case, I'm completely happy with mine.

 

[couch_potato]

I think this is after 2 months of rotation usage, now seems better broken and this is amount of lather left after 1st pass. I don't have preferences between major boar-brands, I had fine experience with cheaper ones as well, however the quality of bristles is on point, much denser packed, soft, quality, possibly pre-treated in production. Worth every penny. Dipped in bowl of water for 20ish secs, used about 1cm of Proraso cream - more than enough for a two pass shave.

 

[NiOOH]

Omega boars have been my go-to brushes for years. I have several of them, including the Proraso Pro.
If I want to break-in the tips fast, I swirl the brush 30-40 times against a wet sandpaper (300-400 grit) and then wash it thoroughly. Some boars have this very unpleasant smell when new. I cure this with soaking in 1-2 % warm hydrogen perohyde solution for an hour or so. The smell is gone or heavily reduced.

 

[ChriWilson]

Thx for your compliments to the table and CD player. I think I might like the little Zenith too when it gets fully broken-in. I know it's a favorite of many. I'm a bit disappointed in my Premium Jade.... the later ones are not as good as the previous offerings, it seems. It's about the same denseness as the SOC brushes I have. Not horrible... but not as good as the Zeniths. It's a shame, really... I bought it because it's overwhelmingly a favorite among the B&B community.

Sorry to hear your experiences with the Jade Omega.
I purchased mine earlier in the year and found it to be excellent. So much so, that I purchased an additional in June for later or to gift. I seem to reach for it more frequently than my Zenith B34 and my Pro49; definitely not taking away from the latter.
It's most likely that I love its handle shape more.

Unfortunately, these variances are to be expected with natural materials which are assembled by hand. Could have been a situation stemming from the fiber itself or perhaps the assembler (new?) was towards end of day or having an off day. Lots of factors to consider...

Enjoy your journey

 

[rbscebu]

After 10 three-pass shaves, my Proraso Pro boar brush is coming along well. It now holds enough lather for three full passes using no more soap than I use with my Chinese synthetic.

​

I will report back here in a couple of weeks after my 20th outing with this brush. Weekends I am going to lather with my much loved Chinese synthetic.

 

[rbscebu]

I forgot to mention that over the past four shaves with this bush, I did not rinse the lather out after the shave. I just let the brush dry with the residue lather in it.

My theory with this drying method is that the drying lather particles will start to fill in any microscope holes in the boar bristles. Hopefully this will help to reduce the lather eating I was experiencing. It may be working.

The residual lather may even hasten the tip slitting .

 

[linty1]

I enjoyed this read and it inspires me to use my own boar, the soc. Thanks Richard, how many shaves do you have with the boar total? I am totally team "towel rub" on breaking in a boar, though I don't leave the lather in.

 

[rbscebu]

I enjoyed this read and it inspires me to use my own boar, the soc. Thanks Richard, how many shaves do you have with the boar total? ....

So far ten three-pass shaves with this Proraso Pro boar brush, my first boar brush. Each weekend I will go back to my favourite Chinese synthetic brush. During the week I will be shaving with my Proraso Pro boar brush.

 

[NorthernSoul]

After 10 three-pass shaves, my Proraso Pro boar brush is coming along well. It now holds enough lather for three full passes using no more soap than I use with my Chinese synthetic.

​

It looks to be coming along nicely. It will get much better with more use, though. That's one of the great things with boar brushes.

 

[Tanuki]

I forgot to mention that over the past four shaves with this bush, I did not rinse the lather out after the shave. I just let the brush dry with the residue lather in it.

My theory with this drying method is that the drying lather particles will start to fill in any microscope holes in the boar bristles. Hopefully this will help to reduce the lather eating I was experiencing. It may be working.

The residual lather may even hasten the tip slitting .

As a guy with too many boars and a preference for stout and assertive tips, as opposed to soft and split:

I have always thought that lather-eating was due to residual oils, etc. Any microscopic holes, crevices, hideouts are preserving these aromatic and lathercidal elements. The lather-eating and funk both diminish gradually. Leaving the soap in the brush after shaving might help empty out the reservoir, rather than fill it.

I haven't even bought a scanning electron microscope for verifying my honing technique, and now I have to prioritize a High Performance Liquid Chromatograph to resolve this question.

If you are producing good lathers on shave 10, without constant reloading, I say your break in program is excellent!

 

[ivan_101]

I will not comment on the question "To boar or not to boar". Many people on the forum know why.

5 hours of drying is not enough for a boar. You need at least 24h for the best splitting / blooming.

 

[NorthernSoul]

I will not comment on the question "To boar or not to boar". Many people on the forum know why.

5 hours of drying is not enough for a boar. You need at least 24h for the best splitting / blooming.

I said the same thing earlier and got pooh-poohed.

 

[rbscebu]

@ivan_101 and @NorthernSoul, I only did the 5 hour drying thing for 2 or 3 three days. Not sure if it was of any greater benefit as I had nothing to compare it against.

I am now just using the brush daily M-F in the normal manner. Finished shave No. 15 with it this morning. All is going well.

 

[NorthernSoul]

@ivan_101 and @NorthernSoul, I only did the 5 hour drying thing for 2 or 3 three days. Not sure if it was of any greater benefit as I had nothing to compare it against.

I am now just using the brush daily M-F in the normal manner. Finished shave No. 15 with it this morning. All is going well.

I just think it helps to get the bristles completely dry so they split faster. I've tried it with and without doing that. Not sure where you are in the world, maybe setting the brush out on the windowsill for a few hours will do the trick.

 

[rbscebu]

I just think it helps to get the bristles completely dry so they split faster. I've tried it with and without doing that. Not sure where you are in the world, maybe setting the brush out on the windowsill for a few hours will do the trick.

I am in outback Queensland so the temperatures are generally warm (28°C to 38°C) with low humidity. I am now in no rush to further split the bristles.

 

[NorthernSoul]

...38°C...