I would not recommend buying any Brush made from the Semogue factory direct. I have been waiting on a 1305 going on 50+ days and tracking shows last time it was documented was June 24 at 8: 13 am in Lisboa and still hasn't left Portugal yet.
The Summer of Semogue
- Thread starter TBoner
- Start date
I ordered a couple of brushes from the Portuguese Factory. Each took between 40 and 45 days to get to NJ. I was not in a rush, so it was OK.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The problem is not on Portugal's end. It is US Customs. Ordered April 14. Checking USPS (and CTT) tracking. All it ever showed is package left Lisbon the day after I ordered. Two months later suddenly appeared in the mail box. June 13. No scan into Customs, no leaving customs, no enroute to destination. Magically showed up 2 months later.
Checking tracking NOW there is no "Depart Lisbon", no "Arrived at Customs" no indication of why it took 2 months in country to be routed. ALL it says "Arrived at Distribution Center", "Out for Delivery", "Delivered". So they can say it took 2 days to deliver the goods.
It. Ain't. Portugal.
All of mine have turned into great brushes. It's very difficult to pick a favourite because they are all different. I could live with any one of them if I had to, although I might pick the 1800. Maybe.
That was my first thought as well ( Had to be on US customs side) But something doesn't add up here. I have already received 2 separate items from China that were ordered 1 week and 3 days after the Semogue, and 1 item ordered 2 weeks later from Japan that all had to go through customs.
SF vs NY Customs Office different Covid issues maybe?
- Thread starter
- #67
Yeah, that 1800 is something. I like it, but the 1250 is (so far) that little bit better (maybe). Then again, it has an extra dozen lathers on it since I had it before the buying spree.
Now, the 610 and 620 are coming on strong, and I see their wooden-handled brothers in your pic above. I would probably keep all 4 of them - 1250, 1800, 610, 620 - if I were looking to keep 4 Semogue boars. And who knows? Maybe I am. I keep circling the idea of 6 brushes, 6 soaps, 2-3 razors. Fixed four concept every month and multiple months per year with each keeper. Anyway, good brushes, to be sure.
Hello gentlemen,
We have been noticing an abnormal delay in the shipping to US. It appears that the brush is leaves Portugal in a matter of days, but once it lands, it stays in US customs for weeks. It never happened before, I can only relate this to an increase of worldwide online sales entering the US and at the same time, fewer people working in the customs due to the pandemic.
In Israel, we have also experienced a similar delay. Inside the EU, since there are no borders, the deliveries have been fast.
I hope this situation begins to get back to normal.
I'm sorry for any inconvenience, but it's not really our fault.
- Thread starter
- #69
The 1250 is a keeper for sure. At this point, the question is whether any of the others join it. I am finding that the 610 still hasn't opened up like its brother the 1470. The 620 is scrubby and nice, but maybe not quite as intuitive to use as the slightly longer lofts of the 1250 and 1800. All of them hold ample lather for my shaves, which consist of two shaving passes and a third pass of lather just because. I also sometimes throw in a neck shave, and still like the just-because lather-only pass on my face, and these will all do that, too, even the little 620. It's just a bit more work/thought to get things dialed in perfectly. I think some of that is due to rotating daily, which is not my standard MO. I think I may give each of these a 4-5 day stint of consecutive use to get them dialed in just right and see if any of them feels as natural for me as the 1250.
Some boars are love at first shave for me (830, 610), others grow on me in time (620, Omega 011842). The only ones that I cannot get along with are the denser ones (SOC, TSN LE 2019).
Your endorsement on the 1250 prompted me to use my 820 today. It is not broken in yet; I have used it in less than 15 shaves so far. Despite that, it performed very well. I think it is one of the Semogues that will take some time to break in. It remains to be seen if it is going to be a favorite, but so far so good.
I can't decide whether I like the 1250 or 1800 best. They are both great and both different. How they fair after a year or two will be interesting.
They'll keep strong for years to come, just take proper care of them.
- Thread starter
- #73
Well, summer's not over, but we are headed back to school, and I think my summer of Semogue is winding down. After giving all of these at least 20 lathers and a dozen shaves, I could probably use these Semogues in rotation for weeks and months to come without changing my opinions significantly. I know they will break in more and so on. But I also know what I like. In essence, this has been a process of attrition.
Torga C5 - great big wall of boar, makes tremendous amounts of lather, feels pretty good, but the handle just didn't work for me as well as I wanted, and in the end, I didn't find it an improvement over the smaller 50mm loft brushes; still has some breaking in to do, as it was the first to exit the rotation
830 - plush, soft, and sort of meh for me, this brush just doesn't make or hold lather like I think it should; again, it will break in more, but I'm not sure I care to wait on that; the second brush to exit the rotation
610 - never has opened up like the 1470, which is the same knot, so I guess it's just a small variability issue, but the handle is comfortable to use despite being small, and the scrub is really terrific; third brush to exit
620 - the biggest surprise for me, this brush has softened and opened up considerably, and it holds lather really well; I might compare this to a D3 in Best in terms of its general attitude and feel, but it's still undeniably boar, and a really incredible value; this never exited the rotation and may be a keeper
1470 - unlike its 610 brother, this was a lather monster from the get-go and improved as it opened up over the first dozen uses; I love the basic, utilitarian handle and the feel; this would be worthy of being one's only brush
1800 - well, just a fantastic latherer, and one that took a bit of time to soften; now that it has, though, it has kept the terrific backbone it has, and it splays less than the other Semogues, but still holds more lather than it looks like it should; handle is comfortable and ergonomic; never left the rotation, and it's possible it never will
1250 - this is my favorite of the Semogue boars; nominally 22/55, this feels not dissimilar to a 24/55 Omega in use (the 1800 is even more Omega-ish because of the grade of hair used), possibly because of the Semogue splay; this is an intuitive latherer, feels plush with backbone, and always just works, which in the end, is what matters most
Ultimately, I don't want a huge brush rotation. If I did, I'd keep all of these but the 830 and maybe the Torga. There are some things about all of them that I really like, and all of them feel good without major flaws. But I'd prefer to have a few brushes that I use often, know well, and really enjoy. To that end, I have a Shavemac 2-band, an Omega 10005, a Semogue SOC Mistura, and a 25mm Edwin Jagger synthetic that are keepers. I would rate the 1250 and 1800 in the same class as these as far as just feeling right for me, providing ample backbone, scrub - distinct from scritch, more like what Paladin calls tip presence - excellent lather release, comfortable handles, and consistent performance. The 1470 is mighty close and might sneak in, depending on whether I keep the Duke 3 in Best that should arrive this week.
I'm glad to have given all of these Semogues more of a chance than I had previously, and in particular I think I learned some things about what I really want out of a brush that I hadn't fully realized in 12 years of wetshaving. The evaluation of multiple brushes simultaneously and the attempt to narrow the field is really different than just getting a new brush and being way into it for a while and then eventually deciding to sell it or deciding that you really do love it.
Semogue makes great boars. They mix up handles and hair types well to make each brush unique. The brushes all work well. Some are particularly transcendent. For me, the best of the lot are the 1250, the 1800, and the 1470...and the 620...
Semogue on, everyone!
Torga C5 - great big wall of boar, makes tremendous amounts of lather, feels pretty good, but the handle just didn't work for me as well as I wanted, and in the end, I didn't find it an improvement over the smaller 50mm loft brushes; still has some breaking in to do, as it was the first to exit the rotation
830 - plush, soft, and sort of meh for me, this brush just doesn't make or hold lather like I think it should; again, it will break in more, but I'm not sure I care to wait on that; the second brush to exit the rotation
610 - never has opened up like the 1470, which is the same knot, so I guess it's just a small variability issue, but the handle is comfortable to use despite being small, and the scrub is really terrific; third brush to exit
620 - the biggest surprise for me, this brush has softened and opened up considerably, and it holds lather really well; I might compare this to a D3 in Best in terms of its general attitude and feel, but it's still undeniably boar, and a really incredible value; this never exited the rotation and may be a keeper
1470 - unlike its 610 brother, this was a lather monster from the get-go and improved as it opened up over the first dozen uses; I love the basic, utilitarian handle and the feel; this would be worthy of being one's only brush
1800 - well, just a fantastic latherer, and one that took a bit of time to soften; now that it has, though, it has kept the terrific backbone it has, and it splays less than the other Semogues, but still holds more lather than it looks like it should; handle is comfortable and ergonomic; never left the rotation, and it's possible it never will
1250 - this is my favorite of the Semogue boars; nominally 22/55, this feels not dissimilar to a 24/55 Omega in use (the 1800 is even more Omega-ish because of the grade of hair used), possibly because of the Semogue splay; this is an intuitive latherer, feels plush with backbone, and always just works, which in the end, is what matters most
Ultimately, I don't want a huge brush rotation. If I did, I'd keep all of these but the 830 and maybe the Torga. There are some things about all of them that I really like, and all of them feel good without major flaws. But I'd prefer to have a few brushes that I use often, know well, and really enjoy. To that end, I have a Shavemac 2-band, an Omega 10005, a Semogue SOC Mistura, and a 25mm Edwin Jagger synthetic that are keepers. I would rate the 1250 and 1800 in the same class as these as far as just feeling right for me, providing ample backbone, scrub - distinct from scritch, more like what Paladin calls tip presence - excellent lather release, comfortable handles, and consistent performance. The 1470 is mighty close and might sneak in, depending on whether I keep the Duke 3 in Best that should arrive this week.
I'm glad to have given all of these Semogues more of a chance than I had previously, and in particular I think I learned some things about what I really want out of a brush that I hadn't fully realized in 12 years of wetshaving. The evaluation of multiple brushes simultaneously and the attempt to narrow the field is really different than just getting a new brush and being way into it for a while and then eventually deciding to sell it or deciding that you really do love it.
Semogue makes great boars. They mix up handles and hair types well to make each brush unique. The brushes all work well. Some are particularly transcendent. For me, the best of the lot are the 1250, the 1800, and the 1470...and the 620...
Semogue on, everyone!
I'm leaning toward the 1800 over the 1250. As you say they are both great brushes but I might just prefer the face feel of the 1800. Still early days for me. Great thread. 
I'll be picking up a 1250. I want something with good backbone.
Any thoughts on the SOC Boar? I love the Taj handle, but I seem to notice a lot of people saying it doesn't have the best backbone and splays a little too much. I don't like a brush that is too soft or floppy; it's why I have moved away from badger brushes entirely.
In the case that the SOC splays too much, would it help to trim the ends?
Any thoughts on the SOC Boar? I love the Taj handle, but I seem to notice a lot of people saying it doesn't have the best backbone and splays a little too much. I don't like a brush that is too soft or floppy; it's why I have moved away from badger brushes entirely.
In the case that the SOC splays too much, would it help to trim the ends?
Is the Torga C5 a big brush like the SOC or the omega 49? Or is it like one of the smaller ones?
- Thread starter
- #77
It's not a pro-size brush. The loft is only 50mm, and the knot is 25mm, but it's very dense, and the compact and dense feel makes it akin to a Chubby 1.5 in boar.
25mm is considered a big boar already, isn't it? The handle must be super thick.
You should not trim the ends. If you leave the ends alone, they will split; the brush will lather better and get much softer on the face. Based on your preferences, I would go for the 1250 or 1800. The SOC will bloom out a lot and get very soft, perhaps too soft and floppy. It is a nice brush, but soft.
Bloomed SOC beside 620 that has not been broken-in yet.
Thanks. But if I trim the ends, wouldn't the ends still split? The Taj handle is the nicest one I've seen. Otherwise, not sure if it is possible to remove the knot once it gets floppy and replace it?
Similar threads
