My Semogue 830 Is A Lather HOG!

[eezee]

Does anyone else have this experience with this brush?

I love the bloom that this brush has developed and it has become extremely soft. Let me tell you though, it is a P-I-G pig!!

Just wanted to vent a second or two!!

 

[redrako]

 

[Pepin]

No, I have not had that issue with my Semogue (or Omega) brushes. Only lather hog I have is a TGN badger.

 

[Ad Astra]

Before someone says "Thread is worthless without pix," here you go:



Has to be your Sem. 830 lather hog looks like my Sem. 830 lather hog.

Best splay in the business, and soaks up 25 cents worth of soap ... puts 10 cents worth on your face, but it's enough.


AA

 

[Mischief]

I have never understood the phrase Lather Hog.
If one of my brushes has a lot of lather in it I just squeeze the extra out and use it for the second or third pass.
I have never had a brush eat up or keep me from using the lather.

 

[musicman1951]

Don't have the 803, but my SOCs are not lather hogs. My Kent BK8 likes to eat a bit of lather. Most badgers like a bit of lather.

Like Mischief said, it's there if you need it.

 

[FatboyFan]

I like my Semogue 830. It's a great brush...I find it way more comfortable than my Semogue Owners Club 2 band badger.
Sometimes I find if the brush hadn't soaked quite long enough, the lather can break a little between passes but if I properly control the amount of water in the brush (not too wet but not to dry), lather breakdown isn't so much of an issue.

The term 'load it like you hate it definitely applies to this brush. Gather plenty of soap up.

If you want a no sweat lather, perhaps look at a Plisson style synthetic brush. Takes a little bit of "shavecraft" to get the best from a boar.

 

[Pepin]

I have never understood the phrase Lather Hog.
If one of my brushes has a lot of lather in it I just squeeze the extra out and use it for the second or third pass.
I have never had a brush eat up or keep me from using the lather.

To me it means a brush that holds on to the lather as opposed to one that lets you paint it on your face easily.

 

[TonyJoe]

Does anyone else have this experience with this brush?

I love the bloom that this brush has developed and it has become extremely soft. Let me tell you though, it is a P-I-G pig!!

Just wanted to vent a second or two!!

Interesting. I have the opposite experience. My 830 gives up lather so easily, I sometimes have hardly any left for later passes.

It's more of a lather slut, I guess.

Considering the splay in this brush, this makes sense to me, whereas your experience of it being a "lather hog" is something of a surprise. Maybe you're just not getting as much soap loaded as you think you are. I've always found that the sparseness of this brush makes the loading process require more work.

I'll use mine tomorrow and see if the lather has been hiding in the breech of the knot all along. But when I'm cleaning up a the end of a shave, I've never noticed a large amount of lather being rinsed out of my 830.

 

[eezee]

Maybe I've been confused on the meaning of "lather hog." It eats lather. I'll load and load and the first pass will be wonderful. When I pick it up for the second pass I haven't a clue as to where all the lather has gone. Maybe "slut" is a better description. I don't necessarily mind hitting the puck again but this brush is in a league all to its own as far as eating the lather.

 

[Ad Astra]

If you don't know what a lather hog is, use a synthetic *one day* - and be amazed at how much more soap you have! They don't soak up water/soap anything like boar/badger.

My one pure badger, shaking that thing out is like a wet dog shaking- where'd all that water come from! The boar doesn't release it all at once like that but holds plenty.


AA

 

[TonyJoe]

I've always taken "lather hog" to mean that much of the lather generated by the brush remains in the brush and doesn't get put on the face. Then you squeeze the knot and a big gob of creamy lather comes out.

What you describe [MENTION=74779]eezee[/MENTION] is exactly what I experience with the 830. I think it just doesn't hold on to soap the way some brushes do while loading. You have to really work the soap down into the brush if you don't want to reload during the shave.

 

[BigJ]

IMO what you are discussing is "flow-through."

I have found that the densest brushes tend to have less flow-through. This is what I expect when I buy these brushes.

IMO this is a "characteristic" of particular knots, not a criticism. I do not expect every brush to perform the same! Clearly YMMV.

 

[Mischief]

Maybe I've been confused on the meaning of "lather hog." It eats lather. I'll load and load and the first pass will be wonderful. When I pick it up for the second pass I haven't a clue as to where all the lather has gone. Maybe "slut" is a better description. I don't necessarily mind hitting the puck again but this brush is in a league all to its own as far as eating the lather.

Sounds like it releases the lather very well!
Ain't nothing wrong with hitting the puck again.

 

[Galhatz]

I use a lot of product... lots of product.
It is cheap and if it means I finish the tub sooner - all the reason to buy more sooner.
The 830 in this regard is like any other boar brush I have.

 

[redslayer8585]

I sort of noticed my 830 holding on to the lather probably like the first month or so. After it broke in fully, though, it just performs great. It's my go to brush and it's what I compare all my other brushes to. I will say it does like a LOT of product though.

 

[Penknight]

I've only used mine twice now, bought brand new, and I'm not having any issues with it holding lather. I'm excited to see how it performs after it has been broken in. I can say that thus far, I prefer it to my Semogue 1305.

 

[whiteweed]

I only have read the OP. I would try to use more product. Another possibility is maybe the hair needs cleaned, I use a shampoo for stripping build up can't remember which. If you use a lot of preshave maybe a build up has occurred. I love mine. sorry you are having trouble

 

[RobsForge]

Seriously man what the heck! That was my first impression with the 830 brush!!! I can load a soap or cream with twice and much product for twice as long as compared to a bigger knot and still a quarter of that lather to my face! I don't know, I find it very odd. This brush is pretty much useless when bowl lathering for me but I do see other people having a lot of success bowl lathering with the 830 so this is my "shaving stick, face lathering brush". I think it might have to do with how fine the hairs are. Either they soak up too much water or not enough in those thin hairs. I'm still experimenting with soaking times and so far have found that the longer you soak this brush, the more lathers disappears into the unknown.

 

[RobsForge]

My Omega 10066 has a bigger, more densely packed knot with thicker hairs and it has much better flow through with soap and creams than the Semogue 830. YMMV obviously. Like I've always said, I want the Omega knot in a Semogue handle.