Rudy Vey VDH boar in Antique Blue

[Klarion]

Specs I was given:

LEFT: UK/Vulfix cream bristle knot, 22mm diam, 48mm loft (going to my brother, eventually)

MIDDLE: Omega bander boar knot, 24mm diam, 54mm loft

RIGHT: Omega banded boar knot, 22mm diam, 45mm loft

 

[Joe Edson]

Wow, that 22mm at 45mm loft is going to be a face lathering machine. Hope to see a comparison in about a month to the semogues and these. Love that antique blue!

 

[Doric]

Rudy always does such wonderful work!

 

[JPDyson]

I want that middle brush. Maybe in a 50mm instead. Shoot, gotta wait this B&B group buy situation out...

 

[damooshki]

I like the handle on the left but the knot in the middle. Either way though, those all look great. What did they cost if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Klarion]

Rudy's boar brushes run $35 standard. Cost might have been extra if I'd gone through with a Semogue knot transplant like I'd originally planned.

But I do so love breaking in my boar brushes.

 

[djh]

Seriously lovely looking brushes- I'm sure that they will perform as well as they look seeing as they come from Rudy. Nice stuff!

 

[Klarion]

First impressions!

The left handle is definitely my favorite - it was the only one I'd asked to have altered to look more like a VDH handle. More voluptuous, more rounded edges. That said, I really like all the handles, finding them to be wonderfully ergonomic in the hand. The blue is simply fantastic to look at, and the resin is actually very weighty compared to the wooden, acrylic, or aluminum handles I've been used to.

The Omega knots are actually very surprising. Quality bristle, I must say. For anyone interested in boar customs, these use the same bristle that Omega use in the 31XXX and 81XXX series. I believe they should come to a similar softness at the tips as Semogue's own Premium grade of bristle. Immediately, they are much easier on the face than the Extra grade properly broken, or the Best at approximately 50% broken in. Right now, I can see that the knots, while using a thinner bristle, have a nice fill density and don't imagine these will become floppy when I'll truly have them broken in about a month from now. If I'm guessing by the shape, I'd say they are set to develop less of a splay than a comparable Semogue offering (830 and 620). For now, they're reasonably gentle and feel nice and tight while face lathering.

The UK cream knot leaves quite a bit to be desired, compared to the other two. Testing the bristle, it's very similar to the White Best that's offered by Semogue. Its face lathering performance is middling, however. I think the more bulbous shape requires more breaking in to lather acceptably without having to place too much pressure on my skin (quite a no-no with new boar brushes). The knot feels much less dense, and that was before it lost about 20 bristles during my initial break-in process: a 5 minute soak in hot water, with 3-4 test latherings using Williams, Proraso and MWF. If I'm eventually unhappy with this, I'll probably just go for an Omega re-knot, or something spectacularly crazy like a fan-shaped Shavemac D01 silvertip.

 

[mretzloff]

Those look great. I have always liked the VDH boar's handle, and Rudy did an excellent job!

 

[Klarion]

Man, these Omega knots really are impressing me. The UK has been very middle of the road so far. Nothing displeasing, but I suppose I've been spoiled by the quality of bristle (not to mention softness of the tips and fill density) of the Omega and Semogue knots/brushes I've experienced so far. If the knot was 2mm larger and a lot more dense, it could very easily mimic the feel of a Boreal 976 though.

 

[Fozz7769]

Great looking brushes! I will foloow this with interest.

 

[Joe Edson]

You are not helping my SBAD at all. Looking at the 31064 or the 81052 as I type this....

 

[solar]

I have two Vey brushes and will likely get more. He produces beautifully-turned handles, uses outstanding knots of badger hair, and really, they work and feel like my most expensive Simpson's, for a fraction of the cost.

And Rudy is a complete gentleman to deal with.

C

 

[JPDyson]

Well, that's that - I've asked Rudy to re-create that middle brush for me. Guess I gotta have an Omega boar to go w/my Semogues (now that my Pro 49 has gone to a new home).

 

[Klarion]

Nice. You using the same exact loft then, or just handle shape?

 

[JPDyson]

Nice. You using the same exact loft then, or just handle shape?

I'm going for the same knot size; I wanted something that would be a solid all-arounder, and this seems like it fits the bill. A decent amount smaller than the Pro.

 

[Klarion]

It's a pretty solid knot. I could stand for still a bit more density, or the loss of a couple of millimeters in loft, since I'm into that sort of thing. Pretty good choice, though.

 

[Hercule]

...(now that my Pro 49 has gone to a new home).

Your former 49 is enjoying its new home by the way. Used it last night - made great lather but it is enormous (in a very luxurious way).

H

 

[Klarion]

That 49 should make you reasonably happy, Hercule. I've got one, along with another Omega with the exact same knot as my middle brush, just to have some extra stuff on hand. The one I've received has good bristles, albeit a little floppy due to the long loft. Hell, I'm considering another Rudy Vey custom using the 49 Pro's knot. Probably with a different handle.

FYI, my brushes are breaking in wonderfully. The 24/55 is starting to lose its stiffness, though I'd expected that due to the lowered density of the knot. Shame, because with an extra 10-15% more bristle stuffed into that knot could have been a perfect medium sized boar brush. The little 22/45 is the real gem, however. Its fill is the same, but miniaturized. I think that extremely short loft really helps this bristle shine (finer than Semogue offerings). While the tips of the bristle are flagging and softening, but the left helps keep the shafts relatively stiff.

 

[JPDyson]

I had to add a proper Omega to my stable of boars, and I could think of none better than a little VDH-inspired, antique blue RV custom. I love this little touch - Rudy is bringing his A-game lately. PS, photographs don't really tell the story of this color. It's fairly dynamic when held in-hand.