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The Summer of Semogue

Great thread! I had to read as I dug my 1305 from the back of the closet.

Over the years I've had practically every Semogue. 1305 (multiple times), 830, 820, 610, 620, 1470, 1438, 1250, 1800, SOC (multiple times in badger and boar). My absolute favorite was the old Cerda LE, which I think was similar to the C5. It was unbleached with a wood handle and measured 24x50 roughly. It was essentially a shorter loft SOC which was just awesome.

I tend to find that the 55mm loft brushes get to be too floppy and the 50mm brushes feel too small generally. I like a little more scrub out of the boars because when they break in they get kind of soft and floppy, not scratchy at all. And that's coming from someone who is a badger snob and dislikes anything less than Shavemac/Thater to avoid scratch.

So I'm kicking around getting a shorter loft boar again as all those are no longer in the den (aside from the 1305). Do you generally like the 610 over the 620?

How is the Zenith breaking in? I saw there's one for sale that's supposed to be like the Cerda (24 x 48).

Honestly, from what you're describing, I might say the C5 is your best bet in Semogues. It's 24x50, and the hair feels quite similar to the 610. It took a little longer to soften than the 610 but is now really firing on all cylinders. It holds a ton of lather, and the tips are very soft. It doesn't feel as flexible as my 55mm lofts from Semogue.

Funny you post this, as I've been using a 2-band silvertip Shavemac all week after months of boar. It's tremendous. I don't like scritch, but I do like some backbone, and 2-band Shavemac silvertip is just about perfect IMO.

Oh, about the Zenith: it is its own thing, and mine is surely not fully broken in, but I don't much think I'm going to break it in. I think I'm going to keep 3-4 boars, my Shavemac 2-band silvertip, my SOC Mistura, and a couple of synthetics. The rest...I will be selling or PIFing. I may pick up another Shavemac or two down the road - a silvertip or finest bulb would be interesting - and maybe an SOC Finest, but there are no unicorns, or rather, I have them: brushes that work well, feel good ergonomically, and will last for years.
 
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Honestly, from what you're describing, I might say the C5 is your best bet in Semogues. It's 24x50, and the hair feels quite similar to the 610. It took a little longer to soften than the 610 but is now really firing on all cylinders. It holds a ton of lather, and the tips are very soft. It doesn't feel as flexible as my 55mm lofts from Semogue.

Funny you post this, as I've been using a 2-band silvertip Shavemac all week after months of boar. It's tremendous. I don't like scritch, but I do like some backbone, and 2-band Shavemac silvertip is just about perfect IMO.

Oh, about the Zenith: it is its own thing, and mine is surely not fully broken in, but I don't much think I'm going to break it in. I think I'm going to keep 3-4 boars, my Shavemac 2-band silvertip, my SOC Mistura, and a couple of synthetics. The rest...I will be selling or PIFing. I may pick up another Shavemac or two down the road - a silvertip or finest bulb would be interesting - and maybe an SOC Finest, but there are no unicorns, or rather, I have them: brushes that work well, feel good ergonomically, and will last for years.

Thanks for the feedback! I had the C5 in my shopping cart for a bit but looks like they are out of stock in the US. Good to hear about the Zenith as well. I may have to pick up a 610 to tide me over...

I've had well over 100 brushes over the years and I've had probably 20 different Shavemacs, many custom ordered. They are my favorite by far because they have the best quality hair and the most consistency. As you can see from my profile I like Rudy Vey and he's made a bunch of custom brushes for me.

If I were cutting down to two badger brushes, it would be a Shavemac 2-band silvertip in a fan shape (24x50 for 2-3 passes or 22x48 for 1-2 passes) and a Shavemac 3-band silvertip in a bulb shape (26x54 for 2-3 passes or 24x52 for 1-2 passes). The bulb shapes are really interesting and different and the 3-band is very soft. It does need a bigger loft and knot though to keep that big luxurious feel. I have a 24x50 3-band fan which is also awesome so hard to go wrong with that.

Only tried a couple finest but I prefer the silvertip. I had one finest that never bloomed all the way and another that was a shedder. The silvertip (2-band and 3-band) has been so incredibly consistent it's had to go wrong with that.

(back on topic...)
 
Thanks for the feedback! I had the C5 in my shopping cart for a bit but looks like they are out of stock in the US. Good to hear about the Zenith as well. I may have to pick up a 610 to tide me over...

I've had well over 100 brushes over the years and I've had probably 20 different Shavemacs, many custom ordered. They are my favorite by far because they have the best quality hair and the most consistency. As you can see from my profile I like Rudy Vey and he's made a bunch of custom brushes for me.

If I were cutting down to two badger brushes, it would be a Shavemac 2-band silvertip in a fan shape (24x50 for 2-3 passes or 22x48 for 1-2 passes) and a Shavemac 3-band silvertip in a bulb shape (26x54 for 2-3 passes or 24x52 for 1-2 passes). The bulb shapes are really interesting and different and the 3-band is very soft. It does need a bigger loft and knot though to keep that big luxurious feel. I have a 24x50 3-band fan which is also awesome so hard to go wrong with that.

Only tried a couple finest but I prefer the silvertip. I had one finest that never bloomed all the way and another that was a shedder. The silvertip (2-band and 3-band) has been so incredibly consistent it's had to go wrong with that.

(back on topic...)
I'm going to stay off-topic for a minute. I have had a few Shavemacs over the years, too. A favorite brush that I sometimes regret selling is a Savile Row silvertip, which was a Shavemac knot (almost certainly). Bulb shape. It was just right every time, no doubt.

My current 2-band fan is a 24x50 and is utterly luxurious. I have been pondering having Rudy (he's made me many handles) make me a handle for a 3-band silvertip bulb. Maybe it's time to do it. Thinking about size, my old Savile Row was nominally 22x52 but when measured with calipers came in at 23x51, and it always seemed big enough. I shave 2 passes, plus shaving the back of the neck every Saturday. I like to lather after my second pass just for the feel of the brush. Sometimes I'll shave 3 passes. I am thinking I might go 24x52 if I have Rudy make one for me.

Finest feels good for me, but the one I currently have - fan @ 23/47 - doesn't quite have the backbone I prefer. A bulb would be better with this hair, I believe, and with the silvertip, too.

I had a D01 3-band that I absolutely loved once upon a time, but I think these days I'd find it too dense. Who knows? Maybe down the road. A silvertip bulb in a handle I've wanted for a while from Rudy, though...that seems like a good idea.
 
Semogue TSN 2020
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I was mighty tempted by these, but in the end, I couldn't pull the trigger. Prices were a shade high for me. They are beautiful, though.

Sir, I suggest a SOC Taj or Butterscotch at half the price. Pretty much the same brush. Of course they will tell you the LE has a better grade hair, otherwise who would choose it?
 
Sir, I suggest a SOC Taj or Butterscotch at half the price. Pretty much the same brush. Of course they will tell you the LE has a better grade hair, otherwise who would choose it?
That's part of why I couldn't justify the cost. My Torga C5 has to be pretty close to the same hair as this LE boar (and the SOC), and it was far less expensive. The silvertip was a tougher call. The best silvertip I've ever had was a Semogue LE from 2010. Regrettably, I sold it. I'm sure this isn't the same hair, but I trust Semogue to produce a good silvertip brush. Even still, I wonder if their 2-band Finest might be just as good and have equally soft tips, and again, it's far less expensive.
 
I really think Semogue makes a nice economical brush. Even my 2019 Limited Edition Barbear fits in this category though it cost twice as much as my cherry handled SOC. I used that Barbear again today and it is rounding into shape very nicely as the Mistura knot gets broken in.
 
Anyone else have issues with customer service from the Portuguese Factory?

I have an order that was either sent back to Portugal or lost and they don’t seem to want to help. I asked them to refund and I would reorder or just to resend the brush and they aren’t interested in doing that. It is 100% a postal issue, but they don’t seem to want to do anything (they need to open a case as the seller, not the receiver).

It was thru Amazon, so I will get a refund if I want, but I have heard good things about their customer service and love my other Semogues...

I should update my original post...

There was a bit of a language barrier and some miscommunication from the Portuguese Factory.

My brush was indeed lost in shipping (Canada Post issue) and the Portuguese Factory just wanted me to go to the actual post office to see if they had the package.

They sent out a replacement brush last week. Looking forward to my 4th Semogue and first in horse. 👍

Carlo was great to deal with once we figured this out.
 
@nemo - I bought Semogue 1470's as groomsmen gifts for my wedding (along with some Omega shaving cream and a couple other things). I was really broke back then but thought these would last a long time. Doubt any of them used it but hey...

So I got my Semogue 610 in today and it looked a little different than expected:

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Looked on the box and the sticker said 610 red edition, but under that was a 2015 HD sticker. Whoops.

Anyways, I gave it a test lather and the brush bloomed really nicely and the tips are actually somewhat soft. I had two different SOC 2-band badgers and this is at least as good in terms of hair. It's really springy which is different than the German hair I'm used to. It actually reminds me of my very first badger brush, a terrible little $10 Chinese wood handled brush that's been rebranded 100 times (Escali, Tweezerman, etc), except it's a lot softer.

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Nice score! I have wondered about the 2-band for ages. Never pulled the trigger. Someday perhaps.
 
After using boars almost exclusively for 6 months or so, I spent the last few weeks revisiting my badgers and synthetics.

Another case of history repeating itself. I started with my Simpsons and the performance was great, while the face feel was enjoyable. I even started thinking about getting another one, either a Simpsons in super or a silvertip from another maker. I then switched to my synthetics and the performance was exceptional. So much that I thought I could live only with those. Today, I used my humble 1460 which is full of paint cracks like those old Fender guitars from the 60's. Once again the face feel was so much better that I do not care for other types. Most probably another long boar-exclusive period has started.
 
After using boars almost exclusively for 6 months or so, I spent the last few weeks revisiting my badgers and synthetics.

Another case of history repeating itself. I started with my Simpsons and the performance was great, while the face feel was enjoyable. I even started thinking about getting another one, either a Simpsons in super or a silvertip from another maker. I then switched to my synthetics and the performance was exceptional. So much that I thought I could live only with those. Today, I used my humble 1460 which is full of paint cracks like those old Fender guitars from the 60's. Once again the face feel was so much better that I do not care for other types. Most probably another long boar-exclusive period has started.
I've been there. Too many times to count. Been on a badger bender myself. Used my 1470 today. Simply fantastic.
 
Ive got a 1470 in the mail from Conought. How many uses will it take to feel good?
Mine felt good after only a couple of uses, but it didn't reach its current lather capacity for maybe 7-10 lathers. The first two shaves didn't feel uncomfortable, just a bit out-of-balance, tilting more toward stiffness than splay. Now it has an optimal combination of the two. It is my favorite brush now, some 40 uses in, outpacing my 2-band silvertip Shavemac, my Duke 3 in Best, my STFs, and its fellow Semogue boars.
 
15 straight uses with my new Semogue SOC Taj Boar. I have never used the same brush for 15 straight shaves before.

I build the lather using the traditional Italian barber's approach: lots of water, handle on the palm of the hand, three fingers pinching the base of the knot and gentle scrubbing my face. What a pleasure!!

I think this might be the one :thumbup:
 
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