Unbleached boar brushes - what's available?

[naughtilus]

You guys are really splitting hairs referring to bleaching and sanitizing!

 

[Clay S]

Puny punitive punishment for punning!

 

[zoidberg]

Zenith have their boar brushes available in bleached and unbleached configurations.

Here is a picture of two of my Zeniths (bleached on the left, unbleached in the middle, with a Omega 80265 on the right)

The Zenith on the left, the bleached one (B10) when wet is moppy, floppy and has no backbone. It eats lather like no other brush I own.
The Zenith in the middle the unbleached one (Euro X) has the most backbone out of any brush I own, it's got very soft tips but it's very scrubby. Easily the best boar brush I own. Most efficient for not eating lather as well.

The Omega 80265 has a banded unbleached knot, in action it feels a lot different to the Omega 11819 (same spec knot as a 10066) it's got more backbone and is scrubbier, but Omega brushes have a lot of variability for the knots so it's difficult to make a sweeping generalisation but for the ones I have come across I have found I'd say the banded boar knots for the two 80265's I own (only one pictured) have bristles that is a bit thicker and scritchier than the unbanded bleached ones I own (11819, 10075).

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I've learned some things in this thread which will help me examine my boars to determine whether they're bleached or unbleached. I'm not sure it will matter, but it should be interesting.





Thanks, gentlemen.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Timeclo]

View attachment 1013238

Zenith have their boar brushes available in bleached and unbleached configurations.

Here is a picture of two of my Zeniths (bleached on the left, unbleached in the middle, with a Omega 80265 on the right)

The Zenith on the left, the bleached one (B10) when wet is moppy, floppy and has no backbone. It eats lather like no other brush I own.
The Zenith in the middle the unbleached one (Euro X) has the most backbone out of any brush I own, it's got very soft tips but it's very scrubby. Easily the best boar brush I own. Most efficient for not eating lather as well.

The Omega 80265 has a banded unbleached knot, in action it feels a lot different to the Omega 11819 (same spec knot as a 10066) it's got more backbone and is scrubbier, but Omega brushes have a lot of variability for the knots so it's difficult to make a sweeping generalisation but for the ones I have come across I have found I'd say the banded boar knots for the two 80265's I own (only one pictured) have bristles that is a bit thicker and scritchier than the unbanded bleached ones I own (11819, 10075).

I have a Zenith B10 bleached and it's been one of the most challenging boar brushes to use. Even when I load heavy, 1 out of 2 times, the lather is gone by the second pass. After my experience with this boar, I definitely prefer a unbleached boar although it does like a bit dirtier in terms of looks.

 

[zoidberg]

I have a Zenith B10 bleached and it's been one of the most challenging boar brushes to use. Even when I load heavy, 1 out of 2 times, the lather is gone by the second pass. After my experience with this boar, I definitely prefer a unbleached boar although it does like a bit dirtier in terms of looks.

Your experiences seem to be near exact to mine! The brush has the softest tips of any brush I own and feels a delight to the face but I find it really testing to build and keep a lather with, so it seems to be the brush I reach for the least.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

What, precisely, do you have against bleaching? Every bleached boar I've used to date (unbleached Semogues) has had zero stink whatsoever and is beautifully clean and even, with the occasional dark hair that's easily pulled out.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

YourShaving sells this as an unbleached boar. It absolutely is; it's considerably unlike bleached boars from Zenith and other companies. It's also a very excellent brush in all respects in spite of its low low price and cheap handle. It takes some breaking in.

I like it very much indeed even though the loft is what I think of as too tall (not too tall in unbleached Zenith boar but generally too tall; too tall in bleached boar).

Comparing it side by side with some of my other boars has been instructive.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[JayFromBrooklyn]

The Proraso travel kit in the carboard box comes with a Proraso branded Omega Bambino....a really great mini boar brush, definitely unbleached, lots of dark hairs in mine

*NOT MY PHOTO, pasted from Google images