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Omega Premium Boar

Folks, Connaught sells a top end Omega, the 011842. This is advertised as a premium boar...with a large faux jade resin handle. (Previously it carried a different #; it was changed, I think, when the logo emblem went away.) Handsome thing. See website for pics, please.

Initial impression is the handle is a wee bit larger than necessary. Have big hands? You will love it. Loft is a tad on the short side; the brush has oodles of backbone!

I've ten shaves in. Lost two bristles only. Bristles are starting to split.

The break in is going to be a long one. This is much stiffer than any boar I've used.

Cost to my door was about thirty bucks.

Mac
 
I've got the version with the emblem. It's a very good brush, but the Omega Proraso brush is nearly as good for half the price. Even so both brushes are superb.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
I've got the version with the emblem. It's a very good brush, but the Omega Proraso brush is nearly as good for half the price. Even so both brushes are superb.

These are mine.

Jade.MightyMidget.640.4-18.JPG


The Might Midget is a lot stiffer. So is the Proraso Pro. All three are great brushes, but one is much easier to break in than the other two.

I like the emblem! Why did they get rid of it?

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
I’ve got two Omega 011842 brushes, one brush fully operational and the second brush for safe keeping for to replace.
 
These are mine.

I like the emblem! Why did they get rid of it?

I complained loudly - by email to Connaught Shaving and in a couple of review comments (which Connaught may or may not have read) - asking for branding to be flush with the handle and not intrude on the tactile sensation from the brush. Of course, as time passed, I grew used to working around the raised emblem to the point where I may not complain as loudly any more, but I still prefer no raised emblem.

-Edit
And of course, I am not claiming exclusive credit for the disappearance of the emblem .... Just saying that I was one of those who complained
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
I complained loudly - by email to Connaught Shaving and in a couple of review comments (which Connaught may or may not have read) - asking for branding to be flush with the handle and not intrude on the tactile sensation from the brush. Of course, as time passed, I grew used to working around the raised emblem to the point where I may not complain as loudly any more, but I still prefer no raised emblem.

-Edit
And of course, I am not claiming exclusive credit for the disappearance of the emblem .... Just saying that I was one of those who complained

I must be a clod because I never noticed the emblem except for how good it looks.
 
How many uses to break in your Omega?
Roughly 6 or 7 times and I soak the boar brush overnight in cold water about 3mm below the knot and then hand lather, rise clean and soak again when the knot fully broken in. After that I always soak my boar brushes in cold tap water for 45mins before wet shaving, because the boar will not break or loose too many hairs soaking in cold water. Warm water can loosen the hairs overtime because the glue will start to weaken overtime, that’s why I prefer cold water not warm water, so the boar hairs and glue doesn’t loosen up overtime and will last a very long time using cold water.

I have 6 different Omega boar brushes, never had any issues with the knot, never lost too many hairs for nearly 8 months now, you’ll loose a few hairs fresh out of the box which is very normal.
 
I soak the boar brush overnight in cold water.

Old Italian barbers used to soak their new brushes (and talking about Italian barbers they only could have been giant boar brushes) two days in cold water. The process helps to strengthen the knot and to hydrate the bristles at their full capacity.

A modern and very efficient way to break in a new boar is to soak the brush in a mug of cold water and let it sit three days in the fridge (40F-50F range). During this process, if you take the brush out of the fridge once a day and dry it with a bath towel, the thermal shock and the action of rubbing make the bristles split much faster.
 
Old Italian barbers used to soak their new brushes (and talking about Italian barbers they only could have been giant boar brushes) two days in cold water. The process helps to strengthen the knot and to hydrate the bristles at their full capacity.

A modern and very efficient way to break in a new boar is to soak the brush in a mug of cold water and let it sit three days in the fridge (40F-50F range). During this process, if you take the brush out of the fridge once a day and dry it with a bath towel, the thermal shock and the action of rubbing make the bristles split much faster.
In the UK the method was different. You soaked the brush, wrapped it in wet muslin with the tips sticking out, then dried it in front of a fire. The rapid drying caused the hair ends to split ( like human hair does when you dry it quickly). A better modern way is to use a hair dryer.
 
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