SOC Boar-How’s your backbone?

[johnwick]

Hey fellas,

I wanted to get thoughts from those of you that have an SOC. Mine now has 50-60 uses under its belt and it has become much softer over time. I now consider it fully broken in. Lots of split ends, soft, no scratchiness, lathers well etc. It’s a very nice boar and I do not regret the purchase.

It does seem, however, that over the last few weeks it has lost quite a bit of backbone.

I wouldn’t call it floppy like some badgers, just not what I had out of the box. It still loads soap well enough but I’m a face latherer and find it splaying quite a bit once it hits the cheeks. How do you guys think yours have held up over time?

John

 

[Chevyguy]

Hey fellas,

I wanted to get thoughts from those of you that have an SOC. Mine now has 50-60 uses under its belt and it has become much softer over time. I now consider it fully broken in. Lots of split ends, soft, no scratchiness, lathers well etc. It’s a very nice boar and I do not regret the purchase.

It does seem, however, that over the last few weeks it has lost quite a bit of backbone.

I wouldn’t call it floppy like some badgers, just not what I had out of the box. It still loads soap well enough but I’m a face latherer and find it splaying quite a bit once it hits the cheeks. How do you guys think yours have held up over time?

John

After two years of use I think mine still has plenty of backbone even though it does splay a little bit. It's my go to brush most of the time.

Clayton

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[David Gay]

I have the boar badger blend. I find it has great backbone. It’s been used about the same amount of times as yours probably and there is no floppiness. Hardly loses any bristles. It’s a tightly packed knot.


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[heyello]

semogue brushes tend to get pretty soft, I've just opted out of soaking them to help them maintain backbone. I add the water I'm going to need to the tub directly, for creams i just place the cream and some water in my hand, load it into the brush and start face lathering.
You might still have some loss in backbone if you use it daily, especially if you live in a humid area, but thats why I have 2 brushes .

Edit: I also like to wrap a rubber band around the knot on the days I don't use it, help it get more uniform, which aids in adding the backbone, back to the brush.

 

[TexLaw]

An SOC always will be on the floppier side of boar brushes. Mine still does fine and is about the same as it's been for the last year or so.

 

[Your Majesty]

So which semogue has good backbone and no floppiness?

 

[TexLaw]

Look for something with a shorter loft. Boar brushes often are cut with longer lofts, and that lends to a bit of floppiness. There also is the barber technique of holding the brush such that you pinch in the bristles, functionally shortening the loft. You can adjust or release the hold on the bristles to vary the backbone of the brush.

Don't get the wrong impression, now. No boar brush is like trying to lather with a mop.

 

[Velohammer]

My SOC boar brush lost backbone over time as well. I use it for bowl lathering and it works great for that. The SOC two-band badger is a better face-lathering brush.

 

[Chevyguy]

So which semogue has good backbone and no floppiness?

Semogue 1520.

Clayton

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[EzraCobb]

Absolutely Not, I lathered my SOC Mistura ever day for 3 weeks Plus to break it in and have used it a ton of times - Still has A TON of back bone is the best face lathering brush I own, Granted I Don't face lather much - but this is the best... I own over a dozen Semogues and there my best brushes... I LOVE HOW THEY take time and PATIENCE to get them perfect... There made of Real Hair and not Synthetic - so if you want brush to be perfect on day one - get a synthetic..These take time... but I honestly have bit seen the backbone get week on my SOC Mix. The semogue 820 and 1250 are floppy but in a good way and they have that softer boar hair - I loves this - there floppy but still have enough back bonne to annihilate any soap.. I will use my semogue soc tonight~

 

[Screwtape]

MY SOC cherrywood boar was wretched. Way too floppy, not enough hair for the size, and it shed. In the end, I turned it into a SOC cherrywood Tuxedo and I am now very happy with it.

 

[Galhatz]

So which semogue has good backbone and no floppiness?

Semogue boar brushes become floppy over time, that is my experience with the SOC,1800, 620, 830 and 1305. The 620 started very though it surprised how it lost its backbone.

Their badgers are a different story. The SOC finest I have had for over 5 years and it is a great brush. I picked up the new mistura mixed and it is really one of my favorites.

For backbone in boar brushes, the best I have encountered are by Omega: 011842 and Proraso Pro which is a 48 with a short loft. Much smaller, the 10077 also has an excellent backbone.

 

[Your Majesty]

Semogue boar brushes become floppy over time, that is my experience with the SOC,1800, 620, 830 and 1305. The 620 started very though it surprised how it lost its backbone.

Their badgers are a different story. The SOC finest I have had for over 5 years and it is a great brush. I picked up the new mistura mixed and it is really one of my favorites.

For backbone in boar brushes, the best I have encountered are by Omega: 011842 and Proraso Pro which is a 48 with a short loft. Much smaller, the 10077 also has an excellent backbone.

I guess I'll just stick to omega.

 

[Dzaw]

Interesting this thread should pop up now.

I had been having real problems with my new SOC boar in cherry.

I did a three day cold water break in, drying it by aggressive towel and hair dryer once a day, but otherwise, letting the bristles soak in water in the fridge (being careful that the water level does not go all the way to the handle). for the three days. After this break in, this brush is softer than the omega 10029 that I gave the same treatment to three months ago.

This brush works beautifully on a stick/puck of Arko that I pressed into a bowl. However, I have another soap I just can't get this brush to load with. I have a puck of TOBS sandalwood that I ground using a rotary handled cheese grater, and then I pressed it in to a ceramic mug that I had preheated with boiling water. I pressed the shaved soap down using a marble pestle, then added a tiny amount of boiling water to help press the shavings back into one solid puck.

The omega brush has more backbone than the SOC does now. The Omega will load and lather this hardened puck, but I can't get the SOC to load it well enough to lather at all.

It took me a lot longer than it should have to figure out that the problem was the brush, but this brush works wonderfully well with both the Arko and the Wholly Kaw I've tried it with. I think I over hardened the TOBS when I pressed the grindings together as hard as I did at as high a temperature as I could reasonably do without adding safety gear. Already a hard triple milled soap, I think I maybe made it even harder, ruining it's ability to load into and lather with brushes that are softer than omega boars.

OTOH, the SOC is a very pleasant brush in use, soft and smooth and pillowy with enough backbone to lather on the face nicely, just not quite enough to load the hardest of soaps.

 

[johnwick]

I have quite a few triple-milled soap samples that are unused. The hardest soap I have today is SV Felce and the SOC still loads it well. I have found the SOC to load all my rotation soaps extremely well. Holds a ton of lather but isn’t a hog.

The only other brush I have right now is the Stirling finest badger in 26mm (it replaces my first, awful brush the Escali). The Stirling i an outstanding brush for its price point IMHO but I have found the brush does not play well with certain soaps, and it does hog the lather from time to time.

 

[md1234]

Interesting this thread should pop up now.

I had been having real problems with my new SOC boar in cherry.

I did a three day cold water break in, drying it by aggressive towel and hair dryer once a day, but otherwise, letting the bristles soak in water in the fridge (being careful that the water level does not go all the way to the handle). for the three days. After this break in, this brush is softer than the omega 10029 that I gave the same treatment to three months ago.

This brush works beautifully on a stick/puck of Arko that I pressed into a bowl. However, I have another soap I just can't get this brush to load with. I have a puck of TOBS sandalwood that I ground using a rotary handled cheese grater, and then I pressed it in to a ceramic mug that I had preheated with boiling water. I pressed the shaved soap down using a marble pestle, then added a tiny amount of boiling water to help press the shavings back into one solid puck.

The omega brush has more backbone than the SOC does now. The Omega will load and lather this hardened puck, but I can't get the SOC to load it well enough to lather at all.

It took me a lot longer than it should have to figure out that the problem was the brush, but this brush works wonderfully well with both the Arko and the Wholly Kaw I've tried it with. I think I over hardened the TOBS when I pressed the grindings together as hard as I did at as high a temperature as I could reasonably do without adding safety gear. Already a hard triple milled soap, I think I maybe made it even harder, ruining it's ability to load into and lather with brushes that are softer than omega boars.

OTOH, the SOC is a very pleasant brush in use, soft and smooth and pillowy with enough backbone to lather on the face nicely, just not quite enough to load the hardest of soaps.

Did you try the brush with any other hard soaps? I have this brush and it works well with any cream or soap I have (I don't have TOBS sandalwood though).

 

[Dzaw]

Did you try the brush with any other hard soaps? I have this brush and it works well with any cream or soap I have (I don't have TOBS sandalwood though).

I don't have any other truly hard soaps - I currently only own the three.

However, I really don't think it's a TOBS soap problem, I really do think that with heat and pressure, I overhardened this already hard soap.

The SOC loads both the Arko and the WK quite nicely, so I just use it for those. Maybe when the Arko runs dry I'll replace it with another triple milled something, and try the SOC with that.

 

[md1234]

I don't have any other truly hard soaps - I currently only own the three.

However, I really don't think it's a TOBS soap problem, I really do think that with heat and pressure, I overhardened this already hard soap.

The SOC loads both the Arko and the WK quite nicely, so I just use it for those. Maybe when the Arko runs dry I'll replace it with another triple milled something, and try the SOC with that.

In that case I recommend Tabac or Fine lol.
Enjoy your shaves!

 

[musicman1951]

The TSN LE (I think I got the letters right) has more backbone.

For me the SOC has perfect backbone, but I use a scuttle. For face lathering I use a Semogue 2 band badger, which has more than plenty of backbone.