Ordered an Unbleached Zenith Boar

[flask28]

After reading so many posts about the Zenith unbleached boar brushes I've really wanted to try one. YourShaving was the only place I could find them in stock (I didn't look around too hard though) and they seem to have a pretty good selection.

I have a bleached copper 506 (B33) that I like a lot, but I've been fixing to try the 10mm taller 507 handle. I thought this was my chance. They had two different 507 unbleached brushes in stock, the olive wood and black. Neither of those totally do it for me though. I know that's petty, I'm sure I'd love them. Especially the olive. But ultimately I decided to try the butterscotch 502 handle instead, another handle I want to try. But that was out of stock, of course.

I emailed them asking if they had any ETA on restocking the 502. And, in passing, mentioned that I'd love an unbleached Ivory 507. Jose wrote right back, sure man, I'll order it with the restock! That was a while back, but I got an email today the Zenith restock order had come in, including the brush I'd asked about.

I think it looks nice! I ordered two. As well as one of the butterscotch 502's.

This was my second order/experience with them and I've been really impressed with their service so far.

Now I'll have another tough boar to break in!

 

[Fred D]

Nice brushes, I'm sure you'll love them!

 

[Phoenixkh]

Nice, Flask

 

[merovirginian]

I have a bleached copper 506 (B33) that I like a lot

I have this one too, and it is an amazing brush, super soft and rivals the best badgers that I spend $$$ for. This Zenith is right up there in softness and pleasure.

Since I like this style so much, I've always had my eye on the similar unbleached one:

ZENITH unbleached bristle olive wood handle 506U XSE

For decades, boar bristle shaving brushes have been the choice of master barbers in Italy, and for good reason. Boar bristle shaving brushes are both effective at creating good lather and inexpensive, they won't break your walletThe boar bristles are full and soft, working up a rich lather and...

yourshaving.com

 

[ajkel64]

Nice looking brushes, I am sure that they will serve you well.

 

[flask28]

I have this one too, and it is an amazing brush, super soft and rivals the best badgers that I spend $$$ for. This Zenith is right up there in softness and pleasure.

Since I like this style so much, I've always had my eye on the similar unbleached one:

ZENITH unbleached bristle olive wood handle 506U XSE

For decades, boar bristle shaving brushes have been the choice of master barbers in Italy, and for good reason. Boar bristle shaving brushes are both effective at creating good lather and inexpensive, they won't break your walletThe boar bristles are full and soft, working up a rich lather and...

yourshaving.com

I've stared a lot at that olive 506 too . Wouldn't it be fantastic if TheGentleShave ordered some unbleached copper 506's? The good Doctor would sell out in a week!

 

[BigJ]

Great looking brushes!! Enjoy!!

 

[dmshaver]

The unbleached Zenith knots are wonderful, congratulations!!!!!!!

 

[Shaun asleep]

That looks like an amazing brush. I am confused though, I always thought boar was prickly, rough. The description on yourshaving reads: "The boar bristles are full and soft"

Are they...soft? I didn't come here looking for a brush, but this might tempt me...

 

[flask28]

Hey @Shaun asleep! Great question my man.

I'm a newbie so I'll hope Boarmasters @Tanuki , @dmshaver or @Chan Eil Whiskers jump in here to give you some sage advice.

I remember trying my first boar - I thought it was going to be like using a wire brush on my face. I started laughing out loud at the mirror halfway through at how not like that it was.

Boars, perhaps counterintuitively, are known for their soft tips. Really soft once they split (break in). But they are, generally, fimer fibers than other hair types. This sort of translates to "backbone" or having some "scrub" comparatively. The one cheap badger I have is way more prickly than any of my boars, but that's not a good badger sampling.

Boar's stiffness (not tip softness) varies greatly of course, a lot depends on the size of the knot and how high they are lofted - I just go with the ones the BoarMasters recommend - But I've never felt a "prickly" boar, while I have felt "prickly" badgers. If that helps.

My current favorite boar brush has almost 40 shaves on it and it's getting broken in, the tips are very soft feeling now and you can see here the ends are starting to split, but it's got a ways to go. Not synthetic soft but still really soft. Not all boars take this long, my Semouge SOC boar almost instantly broke in! But I found it didn't have has much backbone as others.

What I like most about face lathering with this Omega Jade boar is the pleasing sensation of gentle scrubbing it gives. I've found my less stiff synthetics, like the Bruce, don't really do the scrub thing but on the other hand are great painters. I'm hoping the Zenith is like the Omega but even better .

Boars are cheap and great man, get one!! But be patient about it breaking in. There are tons of fantastic posts here from @Chan Eil Whiskers and many others about solid ways to break them in and what to expect there.

 

[Shaun asleep]

Boars are cheap and great man, get one!!

Flask, thanks for your elaborate reply. They sound even more tempting now.

The problem is though, that alot of these things arent overly expensive. But after buying more than 2 dozen affordable razors, a truckload of do-ably prices soap, a modest collection of brushes, some honing stones, strops, pastes and aftershaves I have already spent a fortune.
I'm beginning to question where this is leading me? Am I still just in an orientational/experimental fase or am I really an empty materialistic vessel?

Will this brush be the proverbial drop that pushes me over the edge of being an enthousiast and make me a hoarder?

To be on the safe side I'll list it on my birthday wishlist. If anyone Buys it for me, I figure I'm not to blame.

 

[flask28]

Will this brush be the proverbial drop that pushes me over the edge of being an enthousiast and make me a hoarder?

Yes.

I'm trying to pull it together and stop, myself. Putting it on your wishlist is a super, super smart idea. One of those or maybe this one .

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Flask, thanks for your elaborate reply. They sound even more tempting now.

The problem is though, that alot of these things arent overly expensive. But after buying more than 2 dozen affordable razors, a truckload of do-ably prices soap, a modest collection of brushes, some honing stones, strops, pastes and aftershaves I have already spent a fortune.
I'm beginning to question where this is leading me? Am I still just in an orientational/experimental fase or am I really an empty materialistic vessel?

Will this brush be the proverbial drop that pushes me over the edge of being an enthousiast and make me a hoarder?

To be on the safe side I'll list it on my birthday wishlist. If anyone Buys it for me, I figure I'm not to blame.

@flask28 nicely covered the territory.

Unbleached boars meaning unbleached Zeniths from Your Shaving and unbleached Omegas such as the Jade, the ProPro, and the Mighty Midget (I think they are unbleached) need some serious breaking in, but are well worth the time breaking 'em in takes.

Bleached Zeniths are great right out of the box.

Boars are soft and scrubby. Good boars I mean. There are a few bad boars; I think the Stirling boar is a bad boar for example.

In my view most boars should have a nominal loft of 57 mm or lower (but there are exceptions). Boars which are too tall can be floppy.

One really wonderful thing about boars is their price relative to badgers. A very good boar can be had for $20 or less.

A very good, but also small little Omega, the Mighty Midget, can be had for under $10. This is from the Connaught Shaving site.​

I am not a fan of the Semogue SOC boar, but many are.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Shaun asleep]

Well @flask28 and @Chan Eil Whiskers you've done it now.
I ordered my first boar brush. I did go for a cheaper alternative, goodfellas smile the hog - made sure I got one within the loft you recommended.

I ordered something from a shave shop nearby, but needed something extra to qualify for free shipment. Hope the hog will be decent as well. They had no Omega or Zenith boars.

Now to find something else for my bday list.

Edit: sorry for going off topic.

 

[flask28]

Well @flask28 and @Chan Eil Whiskers you've done it now.
I ordered my first boar brush. I did go for a cheaper alternative, goodfellas smile the hog - made sure I got one within the loft you recommended.

I ordered something from a shave shop nearby, but needed something extra to qualify for free shipment. Hope the hog will be decent as well. They had no Omega or Zenith boars.

Now to find something else for my bday list.

Edit: sorry for going off topic.

HA! Congrats! Good choice, I see that brush a ton around here.

No man, this isn't off topic at all. I posted this to try to gin someone into getting themselves a new boar

 

[Guido75]

from a shave shop nearby

Nearby you is nearby me as well potentially?

Cheers on your new brush!

Guido

 

[gpjoe]

...I posted this to try to gin someone into getting themselves a new boar

Arrrrgh....

I'm definitely a boar convert. Most of my recent buys have been boar, and a synthetic. I rarely use my badger brushes any more, and use the synthetics when I'm in a hurry or don't want soak one of my boars.

The question now is:

How badly do I need a Zenith?

 

[Shaun asleep]

Nearby you is nearby me as well potentially?

Mijnbaard. So it's closer to you than to me.
They are great folk and have speedy service.

Regarding the hog.... The Zenith looks alot prettier...but am very curious to try a totally different kind of brush.

 

[Guido75]

Mijnbaard. So it's closer to you than to me.
They are great folk and have speedy service.

Regarding the hog.... The Zenith looks alot prettier...but am very curious to try a totally different kind of brush.

Ah yes! Know them. Thanks!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Well @flask28 and @Chan Eil Whiskers you've done it now.
I ordered my first boar brush. I did go for a cheaper alternative, goodfellas smile the hog - made sure I got one within the loft you recommended.

I ordered something from a shave shop nearby, but needed something extra to qualify for free shipment. Hope the hog will be decent as well. They had no Omega or Zenith boars.

Now to find something else for my bday list.

Edit: sorry for going off topic.

It's not a brush I knew so I looked it up. I wanted to find out who made it.

As I suspected it was made by Omega.

It looks like a very nice small boar which is likely to be quite to your liking. It may take a while to break in completely. All that means is putting it through dry to wet to dry cycles. You can do so my using it in your shaves. You can also break it in some before you begin lathering your face with it. Either way is fine.

It looks like a really nice knot.

Happy shaves,

Jim