What is your favorite boar brush?
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Where's the picture?
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I'd love to see photos of a boar you've used for three decades. That would be amazing. Like, is it broken in yet?
Recently a member asked me if he could expect his brushes to last more than a couple of years? I think there are plenty of guys who don't get how durable brushes are. Pictures of and stories about decades old brushes still in service are so valuable. There's gotta be some backstory about a prized purchased in Italy three decades into being of service old boar.
Happy shaves,
Jim
OK, here are some pics of my 30+ year old boar (maybe horse?). Picked it up in Italy while my wife and I were on vacation there. Some old shop in Rome.
Yes, it's REALLY broken in LOL
Mikey
Yes, it's REALLY broken in LOL
Mikey
That's the disadvantage of collecting boar brushes. The more you use them the better they get. So the more you have, the less they get better.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Thanks so much.
Beautiful brush. It still looks extremely good to me. The split ends really are impressive.
Happy shaves,
Jim
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
This one is not yet a favorite, but I used it this morning.
There don't appear to be many split ends yet, but it is getting there.
My Proraso boar (made by Omega; a short 49, or so they say) is not yet broken in, and it is quite scritchy. It has very excellent backbone, and it performs well, but it sure is not soft except when painting. Fortunately, I mostly paint. Unfortunately, I do not entirely paint.
I expect it will continue to break in slowly and it will eventually become a favorite.
Happy shaves,
Jim
There don't appear to be many split ends yet, but it is getting there.
My Proraso boar (made by Omega; a short 49, or so they say) is not yet broken in, and it is quite scritchy. It has very excellent backbone, and it performs well, but it sure is not soft except when painting. Fortunately, I mostly paint. Unfortunately, I do not entirely paint.
I expect it will continue to break in slowly and it will eventually become a favorite.
Happy shaves,
Jim
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
It took 2 months of daily usage for my proraso brush to become broken in and a bit softer. It will remain scritchy but not that much as you do have it now. Well I got used to it and for me it is soft enough, although my synthetic is much more softer.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I'm thinking of putting mine through a break in process.
Daily soaks. Daily toweling of the ends of bristles, rubbing them in all directions, not hard. Occasional lathers. Dry for 24 hours. Repeat. A month or three of this should do the trick.
It's not like it's a hassle. It's not like I do not have other brushes to use.
These are two of my favorites. If I use one on any given day it will be a favorite that day for sure! Both are a bit more broken in, and look it, than when this photos was taken, and the photo is not old. The Zenith looks a good bit more broken in now.
Thanks for letting me know how long your Proraso brush took to break in. The Semogue SOC, a very fine brush, takes forever to break in. Zenith and Mondial boar brushes are much softer out of the box and new, and they get better.
Happy shaves,
Jim
And it lathers crazy good with any soap. I use an omega Silvertip and other Badger for creams. Also a WSP or Bob Quinn symthetics for soaps.
Mikey
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
How often do you use the 30 year old boar? How many times (guessing of course) has it been used? What other boars do you have, and how do they compare? Any idea who made your boar?
What is the handle made of? Looks like wood.
I do not think it could possibly be horsehair. You don't comb it every time you use it, right? It looks exactly like boar to me.
Happy shaves,
Jim
It's been used well over 2000 times. I currently use it 1 -2 times a week. I had it on hiatus for about 8 years. Decides to put it back in rotation last year. I have an Omega boar (red & clear plastic handle) and a Semogigue Owners Club, neither that compare to my trusty Italian boar. In total I have 3 boars. The others are badgers & synthetics.
Mikey
Definitely a boar. It has never shed which is amazing for a $15-$20 brush (I can't remember the Lira).
Ummm .... The 3 day boar break in?
Seriously, though ..... I think people are put off by what they think is an "artificial" way to get to a broken-in boar brush. I would say far from it.
1. Forget the fridge ..... just leave your boar with bristles submerged overnight in a glass of cold water.
2. Dry it by shaking out the water and then rubbing it on a clean dry towel.
3. Further dry by leaving in the open until fully dry - say 12 to 24 hours
Repeat steps 1 through 3 a few times
That's it. That's all that's required to get very far along the way to a fully broken-in boar brush. I do this to every new boar brush I acquire.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Many brushes respond. Some take a lot more than this. I have the time and the patience.
Believe me, if it were this easy I would have only very soft boars. Maybe your water is better than mine or something. I have literally done this process you describe for weeks with some brushes only to discover they are still not broken in.
Like the man above said, his Proraso took months of every day shaving to get soft.
Happy shaves,
Jim
I got one of the new Thater boars and it's very nice. I think if I face lathered it would be my favorite. But I bowl lather and my favorite is the SOC. Great handle and most efficient at building lather, beautiful soft tips.
I try and Lather my new Omega up every day when I shave even when I don't use Her;
I used a Proraso boar made by Omega for the donor knot . It has been a few weeks now and she is really getting nice .
I used a Proraso boar made by Omega for the donor knot . It has been a few weeks now and she is really getting nice .
Semogue 620. Not quite soft yet, tried the 3 day break in method but it seems to need many shaves to be fully broken in.
