Semogue SOC Boar beats Yaqi Badger!

[polanalyst]

Just a little comparative report since I have been using these two brushes for about 3 months now and can judge more effectively since both are fully broken in.

I had bought a SOC since it has always had rave reviews and that beautiful resin handle release left me no choice! I also always wanted a barberpole design and that Yaqi 2-band badger also just looked the part! So, they are now competing for my affection, but the Semogue is winning out!

Both are visually wonderful brushes. The Yaqi is big - very big and really dense. But, even with more swirls of soap, it just doesn't adequately transfer the soap from the tub nor excel at lathering. The Semogue has no trouble at all and after a short lather period (in the soap tub) creates a fantastic lather.

Although the Yaqi is not bad at all, it's no-where near the Semogue in creating a thicker on-face lather. The Yaqi does have more scritch though as the Semogue has broken in really soft.

Clearly, the size and density of the Yaqi might be the issue and I might need to swirl even longer at my soap. But even if I do this, there is just not enough lather creation. Interestingly, the Yaqi performs much better with creams and I will certainly use it more for that.

So, the Semogue SOC boar is the winner here - at least with my quality soaps like Grooming Dept, Tabac and Declaration Grooming.

 

[naughtilus]

Nice brushes!

How many shaves with the badger so far?

 

[polanalyst]

Nice brushes!

How many shaves with the badger so far?

The badger has had at least 30 shaves. That should be enough to judge? What do you think?


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[naughtilus]

The badger has had at least 30 shaves. That should be enough to judge? What do you think?

Just 4-5 shaves are enough with badger brushes, unlike boars that take a while. I asked because I'm curious how much these bloom with use. Not much, apparently.

 

[polanalyst]

Just 4-5 shaves are enough with badger brushes, unlike boars that take a while. I asked because I'm curious how much these bloom with use. Not much, apparently.

Yes, I did not notice much blooming at all.

 

[RayClem]

Badger brushes are different than boar brushes, which are different than horse hair brushes, which are different than synthetic brushes. Each of us has our preferences. I enjoy using all four types of brushes but each requires a slightly different technique to produce the best lather. I suggest that rather than determining which type of brush is "better or best" that you focus on learning how to achieve the best results with each brush you own.

I have a large collection of soaps and a large collection of brushes. I will pick the soap for the day's shave and then try to choose a brush that I think will produce a great lather with that soap. Occasionally, the combination does not work like I wish and I will choose another brush the next time I use that soap.

You might water in the badger brush before loading. You might not be loading enough soap for your shave. You might not be adding enough water to properly hydrate your lather. Larger badger brushes can be lather hogs, so you might need to squeeze lather from the brush between passes. Experiment until you learn what works for you, your soaps and your water.

 

[polanalyst]

Badger brushes are different than boar brushes, which are different than horse hair brushes, which are different than synthetic brushes. Each of us has our preferences. I enjoy using all four types of brushes but each requires a slightly different technique to produce the best lather. I suggest that rather than determining which type of brush is "better or best" that you focus on learning how to achieve the best results with each brush you own.

I have a large collection of soaps and a large collection of brushes. I will pick the soap for the day's shave and then try to choose a brush that I think will produce a great lather with that soap. Occasionally, the combination does not work like I wish and I will choose another brush the next time I use that soap.

You might water in the badger brush before loading. You might not be loading enough soap for your shave. You might not be adding enough water to properly hydrate your lather. Larger badger brushes can be lather hogs, so you might need to squeeze lather from the brush between passes. Experiment until you learn what works for you, your soaps and your water.

Yes. I agree there are many reasons for the inconsistencies with the Yaqi. I have tried many if not all of your permutations with the brush and it would seem - as you suggest - that it is a borderline lather hog since it retains copious amounts of lather that needs to be squeezed out. Given that I have about ten brushes including synths, boar and other badgers, I have a reasonable sense of comparison. Still, the Yaqi is well worth the modest price despite my more limited success with its lathering abilities!


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[Boar Fighter]

I guess i should feign surprise that the "inferior by definition" boar, didn't lose? No, it would be an offense to my nickname, wouldn't it...

 

[painted_klown]

I'm happy to see the Semogue SOC boar is a good brush. I wasn't sure what to get, so I ordered one of these yesterday. I can't wait to try it out, especially after your review.

 

[bluesman 7]

I'm happy to see the Semogue SOC boar is a good brush.

I found it to be too much of a lather hog. Had a broken in one PIFed to me and PIFed it off after the first failed use. YMMV

 

[painted_klown]

This, along with a Simpsons Berkeley 46 in Best Badger will be my first two brushes, so I will not have much of a reference point, to be honest.

When you guys that brushes are lather hogs, do you mean that you end up using a lot of soap with them because they absorb too much to create a nice lather with a tiny amount of soap?

Sorry for the noob question, but I am just getting started in the DE shaving hobby.

 

[bluesman 7]

My experie

When you guys that brushes are lather hogs, do you mean that you end up using a lot of soap with them because they absorb too much to create a nice lather with a tiny amount of soap?
.

My experience with the SOC was that I put the normal amount of soap on my face with a stick, hit it with the brush and got nothing, repeated the soap application, got nothing again, added more soap and got the tiniest hint of lather, gave up and grabbed my Omega boar and PIFed the SOC at the next meet. Three times the amount of soap was not near enough for that hog.

 

[Boar Fighter]

My experie

My experience with the SOC was that I put the normal amount of soap on my face with a stick, hit it with the brush and got nothing, repeated the soap application, got nothing again, added more soap and got the tiniest hint of lather, gave up and grabbed my Omega boar and PIFed the SOC at the next meet. Three times the amount of soap was not near enough for that hog.

Yup. I have Semogue 1470, 1250, 1800 and 830. My impression of the Semogues, which i have written once before, is: They feel better than Omega (softer bristle, but better is subjective here), but they take much longer for full break in and being softer, they are more prone to eat lather, because they bloom much more than Omegas. A brush that blooms a lot, traps much lather in the bottom of the knot, much like badgers. Omegas might feel stiffer, but break in is super fast and they just work easily.

This said, i prefer Semogue for face feel, but overall, you gain something in one brand and you lose something, compared to the other brand.

Bottom line is: Load it with enough soap and everything will work. But Omegas just work easier and with less soap, simply because the knot is tight and thus, not too much soap can be trapped at the bottom of the knot, because there isn't much space left, with the bristles being all so vertical.

 

[naughtilus]

The beauty of the long lofted Omega boars is how well they release lather with simple back-and-forth strokes. On a short lofted dense badger you get the lather coming out the base, which is odd at first but you get used to it. If it refuses to do even that, drip some water in the knot with your finger tips to get it going.

 

[Boar Fighter]

The beauty of the long lofted Omega boars is how well they release lather with simple back-and-forth strokes. On a short lofted dense badger you get the lather coming out the base, which is odd at first but you get used to it. If it refuses to do even that, drip some water in the knot with your finger tips to get it going.

It's not just the long lofted. I have a 22x50mm Omega. At first, i thought "i am going to struggle to get 3 passes at the first shaves". I proceed to shave #1 and i get easily 4 passes. At the same time, the Semogues with higher loft, at shave #5, struggled to arrive to pass 3. Heck, with Semogues, before the 5th shave, i had to reload during pass 2. Because they have the thinner bristles, going out to all directions, so soap gets trapped at the bottom of the knot and good luck getting it out of there without manually squeezing. The Omegas, have a more vertical knot, with less but thicker bristles going all the same direction, so when you move the brush, the bottom of the knot sort of propels the soap upwards and you get it easily on your face.

With Semogue, my motto, is: "If you look at the brush and still wonder if you 've loaded it enough, load some more". That's if you want to be sure that you won't have to reload later.

 

[naughtilus]

It's not just the long lofted. I have a 22x50mm Omega. At first, i thought "i am going to struggle to get 3 passes at the first shaves". I proceed to shave #1 and i get easily 4 passes. At the same time, the Semogues with higher loft, at shave #5, struggled to arrive to pass 3. Heck, with Semogues, before the 5th shave, i had to reload during pass 2. Because they have the thinner bristles, going out to all directions, so soap gets trapped at the bottom of the knot and good luck getting it out of there without manually squeezing. The Omegas, have a more vertical knot, with less but thicker bristles going all the same direction, so when you move the brush, the bottom of the knot sort of propels the soap upwards and you get it easily on your face.

That makes a lot of sense. Omega boars seem to be like brooms and Semogue like mops. Brooms push and distribute. Mops soak in, hold and smear.

 

[Boar Fighter]

That makes a lot of sense. Omega boars seem to be like brooms and Semogue like mops. Brooms push and distribute. Mops soak in, hold and smear.

Exactly, very good example. It's the only explanation i could think of. Because when i started buying Semogues, i was dumbfounded, because i was loading them as i was used to load boars, but i was constantly running out of lahter. And i have been a boar user for many years, it's not like i hadn't seen a boar before. They were just behaving very differently compared to Omegas.

 

[bluesman 7]

Started a new thread on these differences rather than hi jack this one. Semoque/Omega, different pigs or what.

 

[BigJ]

View attachment 958871 Just a little comparative report since I have been using these two brushes for about 3 months now and can judge more effectively since both are fully broken in.

I had bought a SOC since it has always had rave reviews and that beautiful resin handle release left me no choice! I also always wanted a barberpole design and that Yaqi 2-band badger also just looked the part! So, they are now competing for my affection, but the Semogue is winning out!

Both are visually wonderful brushes. The Yaqi is big - very big and really dense. But, even with more swirls of soap, it just doesn't adequately transfer the soap from the tub nor excel at lathering. The Semogue has no trouble at all and after a short lather period (in the soap tub) creates a fantastic lather.

Although the Yaqi is not bad at all, it's no-where near the Semogue in creating a thicker on-face lather. The Yaqi does have more scritch though as the Semogue has broken in really soft.

Clearly, the size and density of the Yaqi might be the issue and I might need to swirl even longer at my soap. But even if I do this, there is just not enough lather creation. Interestingly, the Yaqi performs much better with creams and I will certainly use it more for that.

So, the Semogue SOC boar is the winner here - at least with my quality soaps like Grooming Dept, Tabac and Declaration Grooming.

GREAT LOOKING BRUSHES!!

 

[painted_klown]

Thank you to all for explaining this to me. I am excited to get my brushes in the mail, to be sure. I'm currently using a make up brush as that is all I could find locally. Unfortunately, it's far too soft to use with my puck of Williams.

I ended up buying a tube of Cremo cream ,and it works well enough for whipping up a lather with the soft Cremo. For my shave last night, I worked for a long time to get my lather just right, and had one of my best DE shaves yet.