I could not find the Semogue Owners Club boar that I had left at my in-laws since the last trip so bought a couple Yaqis from yaqishaving.com.au, including the Liberty silvertip, which I can't find reviewed anywhere in either the short or long handle. I think it is quite a nice option at around the same price as the SOC boar, and one of the rare providers of a solid metal handle.
The brush felt very heavy in the hand, in contrast to the larger Omega boars whose "silver" handle is shiny plastic. This was a block of sheer aluminium with quite a bit left in to fill in the bottom of the brush. In fact the brush was so heavy my hand cramped a bit on attempting my usual very fast rotations to generate lather.
No badger smell dry; a light wetting let out a whiff of animal but loading the soap got rid of it, and after the wash it is barely perceptible.
A single load lost 4-5 hairs.
The backbone was much better than expected. A hint harsher than a Plissoft out of the box, once loaded, the brush is very soft yet with significant push back, I'd argue more significant than a broken in SOC boar (but it is somewhat smaller, and heavier, which may impact the impression). It is also softer than my broken in SOCs - you can't feel any hairs.
I'm also out of my usual soaps/creams so had to use a gifted l'Occitane sandalwood, it would be unfair to review the lather on that basis, but it was slick and came up very fast. Plenty left in the brush as expected from a silvertip after two passes.
Before and after:
Conclusion: I own two SOCs, multiple other Semogue and Omega boars, more synthetics and pure badgers than I can count (mostly gifted). I think for the price (USD 40 - at a local reseller! they are cheaper on eBay) this is a strong contender for entry level brush.
The brush felt very heavy in the hand, in contrast to the larger Omega boars whose "silver" handle is shiny plastic. This was a block of sheer aluminium with quite a bit left in to fill in the bottom of the brush. In fact the brush was so heavy my hand cramped a bit on attempting my usual very fast rotations to generate lather.
No badger smell dry; a light wetting let out a whiff of animal but loading the soap got rid of it, and after the wash it is barely perceptible.
A single load lost 4-5 hairs.
The backbone was much better than expected. A hint harsher than a Plissoft out of the box, once loaded, the brush is very soft yet with significant push back, I'd argue more significant than a broken in SOC boar (but it is somewhat smaller, and heavier, which may impact the impression). It is also softer than my broken in SOCs - you can't feel any hairs.
I'm also out of my usual soaps/creams so had to use a gifted l'Occitane sandalwood, it would be unfair to review the lather on that basis, but it was slick and came up very fast. Plenty left in the brush as expected from a silvertip after two passes.
Before and after:
Conclusion: I own two SOCs, multiple other Semogue and Omega boars, more synthetics and pure badgers than I can count (mostly gifted). I think for the price (USD 40 - at a local reseller! they are cheaper on eBay) this is a strong contender for entry level brush.
