One thing I've seen guys do is to remove all the cracked/chipped paint and use a wood sealer/stain on the exposed wooden handle.
Looks awesome after this treatment!
Semogue FAIL
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One thing I've seen guys do is to remove all the cracked/chipped paint and use a wood sealer/stain on the exposed wooden handle.
Looks awesome after this treatment!
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- #22
I sealed up the handle cracks with a nitrocellulose lacquer, but it still looks like ¢rap. I was hesitant to remove the paint, not knowing what kind of wood was underneath, but I think I'll do that.
I've got boars from Omega, Semogue, Zenith and Mondial. They all have their strong points. I think the Semogues were the slowest to break in, on average. I almost lost patience with the C5 Torga, but it (finally!) turned out to be a great brush. The C5 has a solid resin handle, too.
I have seven Semogue S.O.C.’s and Torga C 5’s and they all are excellent, even though some of the S.O.C.’s are several years old. In fact, I use the humble badger and boar Semogues more often than some of my much pricier (Simpsons, Mühle and Thäter) brushes.
So, the OP’s experience is opposite of mine.
In fact, I recommend Semogue when a novice asks me for advice on shaving brushes, but I should add that I never subscribed to the theory that a shaving brush should hold enough lather for several passes.
I recharge the brush for every pass, except for the final touch-up.
As a rule, I stay away from painted wooden brush handles, as there is always a risk that moisture gets between the paint and the wood and the paint starts flaking off. By comparison, varnished brush handles like the Semogue S.O.C.’s have never given me that problem.
Another rule I have is that on the Internet I don’t let myself be influenced by outlier posts and concentrate on what the large majority of members can agree on and that is in case of Semogue brushes that these brushes are great value for money.
There is always a chance that a particular brush is an outlier, and there are often too many variables in user’s technique to clearly define why one user struggles where the vast majority succeeds.
B.
So, the OP’s experience is opposite of mine.
In fact, I recommend Semogue when a novice asks me for advice on shaving brushes, but I should add that I never subscribed to the theory that a shaving brush should hold enough lather for several passes.
I recharge the brush for every pass, except for the final touch-up.
As a rule, I stay away from painted wooden brush handles, as there is always a risk that moisture gets between the paint and the wood and the paint starts flaking off. By comparison, varnished brush handles like the Semogue S.O.C.’s have never given me that problem.
Another rule I have is that on the Internet I don’t let myself be influenced by outlier posts and concentrate on what the large majority of members can agree on and that is in case of Semogue brushes that these brushes are great value for money.
There is always a chance that a particular brush is an outlier, and there are often too many variables in user’s technique to clearly define why one user struggles where the vast majority succeeds.
B.
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I have the exact same 1470, also purchased last year and the only brush I've used since. (Well, I used a pastry brush a couple times in a pinch.) I don't think it's ever "broken in," but I'm not sure how to tell. I got good lather from the first use and now there are a few hairs with split ends around the perimeter, but it still has the same backbone and scritch (and general shape) it always has. The lather hasn't gotten better or worse.
I hope it doesn't "go moppy" after a few years, because I've budgeted for a new brush only every 20 years.
I have the Semogue Galahad C3 Boar. It's definitely a "lather eating brush." It's also gelled, at least as far as I can tell, from my limited knowledge on the subject. I'm curious if anyone can confirm this, and if the wet mop issue is limited to gelled knots.
Gelling is a treatment that may be used for badger hair. Badger hair naturally comes to a sharp point. Gelling weakens the structure of the hair at the tips, so instead of forming a point, the ends of the hair resemble little rounded hooks. This results in a softer feel on the face.
Boar hair is different. The tips typically becomes softer naturally with use when they split. Boar hair may be processed through boiling and bleaching. This can reduce the backbone depending on how it's done. Backbone is also affected by the knot loft and density.
Semogue has different grades of boar hair that mainly differ in firmness and softness at the tips. The wet mop issue results from the hair used and knot construction, not necessarily from chemical treatment. Not all Semogue boars will get floppy, though.
Lather eating is common for boar brushes until broken in. That may take around 25-50+ lathering cycles to resolve. Note boar knots need to be soaked before use. Otherwise, they will take up water from the lather, making it disappear.
TurnNShave offers gel tip options (untreated, half gel, full gel) for their Shoat knots, unfortunately, I haven't found any information about what treatment(s) Semogue uses. There is very little information about the varieties of their knots.
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- #29
I got a Semogue 1305 & it's all that - scrubby with plenty of backbone. After break in it doesn't hog a lot of water.
The Semogue 1438 is another matter altogether. While scrubby it took way longer break in than I have patience. It not only hogged water, but also the handle became waterlogged and cracked the paint.
I don't know about the quality of their other brushes, but I regard Semogue as a crapshoot.
I minimize water absorbing from lather by squeezing out the brush occasionally while building a lather.
The Semogue 1438 is another matter altogether. While scrubby it took way longer break in than I have patience. It not only hogged water, but also the handle became waterlogged and cracked the paint.
I don't know about the quality of their other brushes, but I regard Semogue as a crapshoot.
I minimize water absorbing from lather by squeezing out the brush occasionally while building a lather.
The Semogue info I have shows the Galahad with Premium grade boar bristle. That is one of the softer grades. I have Premium grade in my C5 Torga, but it's not at all floppy (more like a wall of boar). However, it is a 24mm x 50 mm knot instead of the 22mm x 55mm knot listed for the Galahad.
Turn -N- Shaves Etsy site says their "shoat" knots can be "gelled" as an option. It says the gelling is a processing step that is done in-house. I think that is pretty unusual for boar knots. None of my five Semogue boars are gelled. They all have conventional boar hair.
The only info I could find about gelled knots is this article:
Shaving brush knots misteries: the gel tips feature.
If you like a one-of-a-kind, smooth and soft feeling while applying the lather, then adding a gel-tipped shaving brush to your rotation will be surely a good choice. Learn more about shaving brush knots with gel tips.
About half-way down, there are two side-by-side photos, wet regular knot and wet geltip knot. My Semogue when wet looks *EXACTY* like the photo on the right, the one indicating geltip.
When dry the tips feel pokey like needles, but when wet they are soft and I cannot really feel the tips on my skin, and the bristles feel slimy like I dipped the brush in motor oil.
Perhaps that is normal for boar brushes, I don't know, this is the second boar brush I've owned, the other was a cheap VdH that I threw away after a week.
Should I expect the leather eating to diminish as I continue to break it in?
I'd say yes, expect lather making to improve a lot with break-in. Some Semogues are very slow to break in, BTW. I'd give it at least 30-40 cycles with complete drying in between. I like my Semogue boars a lot, but they really tried my patience at the start.
Boar brushes normally feel prickly when dry, but that goes away when they have soaked for a few minutes. The bristles need to be completely saturated before use. You should expect the brush to get softer as it breaks in. Some of my boar brushes are much softer than two-band badgers.
The article is about badger brushes, particularly two-band badgers. I think Turn -N- Shave has created confusion because they call their optional treatment for their own "shoat" knots "gelling". That is very unusual (probably marketing-speak for strong chemical treatment of the tips).
Badger hair doesn't develop splits like boar does. Some people don't like any "scritchy" feeling. That's the reason gelled badger brushes are sold. Boar brushes don't need gelling. They just need to break in. The tips split over time which softens them and improves lather making ability.
I honestly don't think Semogue gels their boar brushes. They do bleach the bristles and sometimes dye them. But not to the extent of physically damaging the bristles. A gelled badger will shed little pieces of hair from the tips.
Boar brushes normally feel prickly when dry, but that goes away when they have soaked for a few minutes. The bristles need to be completely saturated before use. You should expect the brush to get softer as it breaks in. Some of my boar brushes are much softer than two-band badgers.
The article is about badger brushes, particularly two-band badgers. I think Turn -N- Shave has created confusion because they call their optional treatment for their own "shoat" knots "gelling". That is very unusual (probably marketing-speak for strong chemical treatment of the tips).
Badger hair doesn't develop splits like boar does. Some people don't like any "scritchy" feeling. That's the reason gelled badger brushes are sold. Boar brushes don't need gelling. They just need to break in. The tips split over time which softens them and improves lather making ability.
I honestly don't think Semogue gels their boar brushes. They do bleach the bristles and sometimes dye them. But not to the extent of physically damaging the bristles. A gelled badger will shed little pieces of hair from the tips.
Glad I stuck with a cheap Chinese boar, because it needed zero break-in, it doesn’t shed, and it’s not a lather hog. It’s seen daily use for 9 months without giving up the ghost so far with no special care needed or given.
I find Semogue to be am extremely tempermental line of brushes. I have finally gotten my 610 to where I like it. Here are my experiences with the Semogue.
1) It takes a long break in period. My 610 took a lot longer to break in than my Zenith B16.
2) The bristles retain a LOT of water. After I soak it I squeeze it fairly well to get as much water our as I can. Even with that the bristles will retain enough moisture to produce lather.
3) While I do not soak my soap puck with silver tip, synthetic, or horse hair (with the exception of Mitchell's Wool Fat), I soak my puck with water whenever I use a boar brush.
With the above three guidelines, I have gotten good to exceptional lather with my Semogue 610. I have gotten spectacular lather with Proraso soap.
Hope this helps.
1) It takes a long break in period. My 610 took a lot longer to break in than my Zenith B16.
2) The bristles retain a LOT of water. After I soak it I squeeze it fairly well to get as much water our as I can. Even with that the bristles will retain enough moisture to produce lather.
3) While I do not soak my soap puck with silver tip, synthetic, or horse hair (with the exception of Mitchell's Wool Fat), I soak my puck with water whenever I use a boar brush.
With the above three guidelines, I have gotten good to exceptional lather with my Semogue 610. I have gotten spectacular lather with Proraso soap.
Hope this helps.
I had, IIRC, a 1305 some years ago and didn't care for it but I think it was mostly the painted handle and I hadn't used (that I remember) boar brushes before. For whatever reason, I got rid of it. However, I recently saw the SOC Tak brush and was able to order it from Portugal for $35-36 shipped. I got a USPS notice it was now in New York. I live in the west so maybe I'll see it this week. I hope it works out!
I only have 20 brushes and 5 of them are Semogue SOC variants, and they are pretty much the only brushes I currently use.
The boars do take forever to fully break in, no question. 4 of mine have the wood handle and I love it. The SOC Mistura was originally too scritchy for me (and I hate that), but after a couple of months it's becoming my favorite.
The boars do take forever to fully break in, no question. 4 of mine have the wood handle and I love it. The SOC Mistura was originally too scritchy for me (and I hate that), but after a couple of months it's becoming my favorite.
I'm continuing to use my Semogue Galahad C3 Boar and it just keeps getting better every shave. I use it every shave and soak it for about 3 minutes before the shave.
It doesn't seem to be eating lather anymore. The slimeness is gone. And its starting to bloom nicely.
It doesn't seem to be eating lather anymore. The slimeness is gone. And its starting to bloom nicely.
I got it and it's beautiful. I've used it on a couple shaves after working the brush for a bit. Since joining here at the beginning of August, I've bought the Semogue, an Omega Jade from Connaught, a Proraso Pro, and a Trafalgar T2 synth. The three boar brushes are a wonderful change of pace from the super and silvertip badger brushes I was using. My wife found three other forgotten brushes at our other place (an Omega 10065 boar, a VdH boar, and an unbranded synthetic (which I have no recollection of acquiring). So I went from 5 brushes in regular rotation to 12 brushes in just over a month. Geez...
Anyway, I didn't like the 1305 Semogue I had some years ago in spite of its very cool old school look but I'm sure liking the SOC Taj boar.
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