I was planning to wait a few months before ordering a 1520 (same knot as the 620) and a 1800, but I am now reevaluating my self-imposed moratorium.
Any chance we could see a photo of the legend?
The Summer of Semogue
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I was planning to wait a few months before ordering a 1520 (same knot as the 620) and a 1800, but I am now reevaluating my self-imposed moratorium.
Any chance we could see a photo of the legend?
Here you go, my Semogue family portrait.
Left to right: IB 2012 LE, BC Cerda, BC Mistura, 620, and 1800
I now realize that you have two legends: a cerda (boar) and a mistura (mixture). Those are beauties. Thanks for that!
Used the 2015HD this morning. I've only used 2 badgers before and just didn't like the face feel. Whether that was those particular brushes or badger hair itself I don't know yet. This one feels better though. It has nice back bone and density and quite soft tips, but here is a small amount of needley feeling going on which may or may not go away with use.
The jury is still out on it, and on badger hair in general for me. It may be too floppy for some because of it's loft but it is not a floppy brush. It may not have enough backbone for some but it still has plenty backbone. It's a lovely made brush though. Typical Semogue quality.
Did it smell like bacon?
No it smelled vulgar. Bacon smells like paradise.
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- #47
The 610 and 620 are proving to be a nice little 1-2 punch. I still like the 1250 and 1800 a great deal, as well. The 830 is taking time to break in, I guess. It feels pretty nice but lacks lather-holding capability as of now. Tomorrow the Torga gets its first run in over a week; it does appear to have more split tips after its most recent lathers, so hopefully its performance reflects that.
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- #48
The 1800 has turned another corner, apparently. It made 4 generous passes of lather from a second-tier hard soap today, and it held onto them throughout the shave. Just a real pleasure to use. Is it better than the 1250 for me? Not sure. But it's very good.
I've come to appreciate smaller boar knots over time, and especially during the time I've been using these Semogues. My Omega 49 and Semogue 2000 used to be the pinnacle of boar for me, and now I find myself wondering if the 1250 and 1800 might be too big. The 620 and 610 are just such nice scrubby little knots. And yet, the efficiency of lather from the 22/55 Semogue knots is undeniable. One of those and a 24/55 Omega may shake out as the two boar keepers. Or maybe those are too similar and I want to keep the scrubby short lofts. Anyway, great shaves continue.
I've come to appreciate smaller boar knots over time, and especially during the time I've been using these Semogues. My Omega 49 and Semogue 2000 used to be the pinnacle of boar for me, and now I find myself wondering if the 1250 and 1800 might be too big. The 620 and 610 are just such nice scrubby little knots. And yet, the efficiency of lather from the 22/55 Semogue knots is undeniable. One of those and a 24/55 Omega may shake out as the two boar keepers. Or maybe those are too similar and I want to keep the scrubby short lofts. Anyway, great shaves continue.
I used my 2015 HD with LEA cream this evening and had an amazing shave. That little sucker can sure hold a lot of lather - great 22 mm brush!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! The 1800 sounds tempting and I will keep an eye on your reviews. I like the 830 because it is completely different, but the 610/620 are my favorites from the Semogue lineup.
Lately, I set my Semogues aside in favor of Omegas. Their setup is quite different and I somewhat prefer it to the larger bloom of the Semogues. Great stuff either way!
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- #51
The Omegas are still my preferred boars, I think, but the 610 and 620 are making headway.
The 1800 is the most Omega-ish Semogue I have used, other than the 2000. It feels closer to my 10005 than the other Semogues, because it blooms less and has a bit more backbone than, say, the 1250. I do dig the 1250 as a lathering tool, because it just makes gobs of the stuff and doesn't eat it before I'm done shaving.
It makes sense that the 610/620 are your favorites. Very controlled bloom, especially the 610, which I used today. I actually want it to open up a bit more, and I expect it will, as Semogues change even more than Omegas as they break in. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, because I know some of these may wind up being less favorable for my preferences by the time they are all the way broken-in, whereas while Omegas improve in lather capacity and do soften up some, from shave 10 or 15 on their general character is established. You can tell if one is going to be scrubby, plush, floppy, etc., by the end of a month using it every other day.
I'm not sure summer is enough time to fully evaluate these Semogues, but we shall see. I can say that I just am not digging the Torga C5. It's such a big, dense knot and a short loft that it winds up being less intuitive for me to use than the others.
I used my Semogue just now after several days of employing the soft APShaveCo synthetic tuxedo brush. Quite a difference in feel.
The Owners Club 2 band is my favorite brush: Once broken in after a few shaves, it turns into a lather monster whipping up copious amounts of lather in no time. Also, it spreads the lather as evenly as a synthie. Though the silvertips are soft, the strong backbone allows the brush to hug the skin which makes for a very "comforting" shave.
And in almost ten years it has barely lost hairs.
And in almost ten years it has barely lost hairs.
I have been switching between a 610 and 830 for the summer. Great brushes.
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- #55
I'm still having a hard time loving the 830. The handle is perfect, and the feel is fine, although to me not as good as their other hair. However, the lather capacity is still not where I want it. I do think part of my issue is that I need to start with this brush a shade wetter, so I'll give it a shot on Monday. Today was just okay. Tomorrow I already know will be great: the 1250 is up.
Similar experience here. I love the look of 830 and the feel of it but it doesn't perform as well as I'd like. I think it's the low backbone and floppy bristles that doesn't pick up enough soap for me. It's still a keeper in my den though. I just need to load heavier each time.
I hear what you are saying about the 830. I have a 1305 with the same knot. Have you tried using the brush with some cream - works quite well.
Creams are another good option. I love using my boars with palmolive shave cream.
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- #59
I hear you guys on creams, but I seldom use them. I'm just more of a soap guy. I will try loading longer with a wetter brush next time the 830 comes up in the rotation.
Today the 1250 was simply mind-blowing. It may be my Goldilocks among Semogues. I could have shaved 5 passes with the lather generated from my standard loading of Palmolive. The feel is fantastic. Cheap stick, cheap boar, and a user-grade MMCP and just a really great shave that reminded me why I got into wetshaving to begin with.
Now, the thing is, I don't have an 820, but I like the 830 handle, and the 820 is the same knot as the 1250. Don't know if it's worth it to me right now to buy the 820 because I also dig this wooden handle shape. But eventually maybe.
Today the 1250 was simply mind-blowing. It may be my Goldilocks among Semogues. I could have shaved 5 passes with the lather generated from my standard loading of Palmolive. The feel is fantastic. Cheap stick, cheap boar, and a user-grade MMCP and just a really great shave that reminded me why I got into wetshaving to begin with.
Now, the thing is, I don't have an 820, but I like the 830 handle, and the 820 is the same knot as the 1250. Don't know if it's worth it to me right now to buy the 820 because I also dig this wooden handle shape. But eventually maybe.
The enabler in me says to just buy the 820 - it's only about $20. That said, I prefer the wood handles.
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