Hi everyone I am looking at moving to using the traditional shaving soaps and creams and was wondering is the boar brush that comes with the $10 van der hagen set something to avoid? I'm curious if it is as I'm thinking about buying either that or just buying a Viking revolution brush and bowl.
This brush any good?
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I think a Boar is a great brush, and IMO, a good one to start with. It's my preferred brush on hard soaps. 
Without a photo and description of what is in the set it is very hard to advise you. Boar brushes are not expensive and a decent one like the Omega 49 (25mm knot) will cost $10 on its own. That Omega brush is very good value for money and West Coast Shaving have that on offer for $7.49 but are you looking for a bowl and brush stand too; I don't know. I would have thought there are better deals than a Van Der Hagen set.
Do bear in mind that boar brushes take up to 30 shaves to break in but you get a great brush after it has broken in, so be patient with a boar brush.
For a lathering bowl you need something at least 4" diameter and rice bowls are ideal for that; they are also readily available in most supermarkets.
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Here's the picture of the van der hagen set. Just comes with the brush, bowl and some soap.
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Many years ago all I could get was a VDH and I had good and bad luck with them. I still have one in my collection but about 4 shed so many bristles that they eventually wound up in the trash can. An Omega brush like the Pro 48 is around 12 bucks or so and much better quality.
I think my inexpensive Omega boar is a 10108. Does that sound right? It comes in 3 handle colors. I have the red one.
I’m on my phone at the moment so it’s more difficult to link a thread, so I would recommend using the B&B search for “December boar month “ and choose “search thread titles only “. There is so much good information in that thread about all things boar. It’s well worth reading.
I’m on my phone at the moment so it’s more difficult to link a thread, so I would recommend using the B&B search for “December boar month “ and choose “search thread titles only “. There is so much good information in that thread about all things boar. It’s well worth reading.
I'm relatively new, though I started blindly back in 2020, but I have a couple of suggestions.
If you're just starting out, I would recommend getting a synthetic brush. One that is very popular is the RazoRock Plissoft Synthetic Shaving Brush (~$12) which can be purchased from italianbarber.com. My reasoning, while learning how to lather you don't need to be hindered by breaking in a brush. A synthetic works very well from the start.
Another suggestion, I would recommend using an unscented soap, like those offered from Stirling Soap Co. Finding the right scented soap can be a deep and costly rabbit hole. I would be cautious on what you buy. What someone says they like on a Youtube video may not be at all what you like. ....And just use a supermarket after shave like Mennen Skin Bracer before you dump a ton of money on scents you don't like.
The first order of business is to learn how to shave your face.
If you're just starting out, I would recommend getting a synthetic brush. One that is very popular is the RazoRock Plissoft Synthetic Shaving Brush (~$12) which can be purchased from italianbarber.com. My reasoning, while learning how to lather you don't need to be hindered by breaking in a brush. A synthetic works very well from the start.
Another suggestion, I would recommend using an unscented soap, like those offered from Stirling Soap Co. Finding the right scented soap can be a deep and costly rabbit hole. I would be cautious on what you buy. What someone says they like on a Youtube video may not be at all what you like. ....And just use a supermarket after shave like Mennen Skin Bracer before you dump a ton of money on scents you don't like.
The first order of business is to learn how to shave your face.
I had the Van der Hagen "premium" shave set. The best part of the set is the bowl, and IMO the bowl is too small to be really usable. I threw the brush away after 1 week. However, the brush in the photo you posted doesn't look exactly like mine, so maybe they have different varieties.
I bought a couple of the old sets maybe 10-12 years ago. I still have one brush. Very dense and has not shed much. I bought the sets primarily for the soap and bowl. I look at those bowls for holding soap (VdH!) and not lathering. I like their soap quite a bit but as I used it up, I didn't replace it as I like so many things even better. I think @MarioFan got some pretty good advice here. Probably skip the VdH, buy the $10 Omega brush or maybe a synth, and scrounge around for the rest. @NotBloomingAL has good advice in his post.
Go cheap, or go home. Synthetics, although cheap, ALL lather easily and are simple to care for. Unlike boar brushes, there's no animal smell to soak out, no break-in period, and you don't have to soak them before each use. And synthetics don't shed.
I have a bunch'a cheap synthetics that all rival my boar & badgers, and are impressive at any price.
Look for the Maseto Synthetic for $9.99 on E-Bay. It's so impressive that I got the black one to go with my white one.
They ship from China but delivery is unusually quick.
The handle is solid and built to last. You can pay more for much less brush. This will be the one you measure all other future brushes against.
I have a bunch'a cheap synthetics that all rival my boar & badgers, and are impressive at any price.
Look for the Maseto Synthetic for $9.99 on E-Bay. It's so impressive that I got the black one to go with my white one.
They ship from China but delivery is unusually quick.
The handle is solid and built to last. You can pay more for much less brush. This will be the one you measure all other future brushes against.
I have a couple of Semogue Boar brushes. One is outstanding, the other .. not so much ...
If you just gotta have a Boar Brush, go with the Omega - I've got one with the red handle, too.
I haven't actually used any of my boar brushes yet. They are pretty well broken in now via wet/dry cycles. Based on face feel without lather, my favorites are my Zenith boars. I have three Zenith brushes now with the 506 handles....Copper in both boar and Manchurian badger and a black resin unbleached boar. It's a lovely handle shape for my hand... of course, as always, YMMV and all that.
If I had it to do over again, I'd probably avoid the Semogue Owner's Club boars.... they aren't all that dense, but the SOC Mistura brushes are amazing... so good, in fact, I brought both of them with me to Bali for our month long stay here.
Heh, I just bought the SOC boar in butterscotch (received today). It's my first boar (with no intention of buying another in the foreseeable future). In my very limited experience with brushes, density doesn't seem to be the best measuring stick for a brush. My Stirling badger is very dense, which makes it more of a chore to use. I have to use the brush aggressively to release the lather and paint. And it doesn't paint as well as my synthetics. My PAA Atomic Rocket doesn't have a dense knot; which I thought would be a drawback to its use. But I don't think I've ever had a bad experience using it. It's performed well without any thought. Now this SOC boar, I've only cleaned it and made a few lathers. The first two lathers, with modest amounts of soap, it ate. The third lather I loaded it to the brim and I was surprise at how well and thick it painted on the palm of my hand. To me, it's looking like it'll be a great brush once broken in. BTW, I have that Mistura on my wish list. Especially now that I have a good grasp on the size the brush will be.
I bought the brush, along with a lather bowl, from Maggard. The plastic lather bowl was $15. It looks like it'll be a decent bowl. Hopefully better than my cat water bowl.
The cat drinking bowl with haphazardly hammered dings for soap aggitation: It worked pretty well, but my brushes would inevitably fall into the lather. The brush handle in the new one should be a nice addition.
My 99¢ Store glass Libby Crisa bowl is the ideal shape & size for me. It holds plenty of lather and has a light pebble texture. Plus, if I drop it, I've got a couple of spares that cost around $2 for both.
It's something I would avoid, but now I'm spending your money - which seems suspect.
The safest cheap brush is a synthetic. For around $12 you can get a very serviceable brush that will do a fine job for you. Boars would be the next rung up on the price scale. Quite a few shavers use only synthetics, but either way it's nice to have one for a travel brush as they dry quicker.
I'd "borrow" a bowl you think might be a good size from the kitchen. When you decide it's too big/small you can trade it in for a different size. Somewhere not too far down the road you'll either become a face lather guy or have a really good idea of your ideal bowl dimensions.
You can get some nice soaps for $5-10. So now I've got you spending twice as much money, but you're going to end up with non-frustrating goods that will serve you well. And after all, how many people end up happy after buying the cheapest stuff available?
The safest cheap brush is a synthetic. For around $12 you can get a very serviceable brush that will do a fine job for you. Boars would be the next rung up on the price scale. Quite a few shavers use only synthetics, but either way it's nice to have one for a travel brush as they dry quicker.
I'd "borrow" a bowl you think might be a good size from the kitchen. When you decide it's too big/small you can trade it in for a different size. Somewhere not too far down the road you'll either become a face lather guy or have a really good idea of your ideal bowl dimensions.
You can get some nice soaps for $5-10. So now I've got you spending twice as much money, but you're going to end up with non-frustrating goods that will serve you well. And after all, how many people end up happy after buying the cheapest stuff available?
For many years (decades) I used a vintage Ever Ready boar brush left to me by my Grandfather. In 1968 it was already a vintage brush, and my Mother tried numerous times to throw it out. I packed it away and rediscovered it when I was finally old enough to shave and it was my only brush, and after joining B&B, I read of how spendy badgers were all that. I saw brushes on Aliexpress really cheap and bought a $2 "Best Badger". It was actually a synthetic & this was back when synthetics were loodked down at with disfavor. It was a 19mm brush, and I discovered later that I preferred it to bigger 24-26mm toilet bowl scrubber Badger brushes - my face just isn't that big and the biggies make enough lather for 2 people.
Synthetics have since gained favor for their price and performance. I've gone on to buy badgers, Boars, and more synthetics, and I most often reach for the cheaper synthetics. They perform just as well as the expensive brushes; only the handles aren't as glitzy.
Synthetics have since gained favor for their price and performance. I've gone on to buy badgers, Boars, and more synthetics, and I most often reach for the cheaper synthetics. They perform just as well as the expensive brushes; only the handles aren't as glitzy.
