Thread: Badger/Boar mix brushes

Howdy, hope all is well today. I'm looking for opinions on Badger/Boar mixed brushes. I do have a badger and a boar brush and I enjoy both for different reasons, but was wondering what you guys thought about mixed brushes. Are they worth a try, or should I just stick with pure brushes? What mixed brushes would you recommend? Thanks in advance for your time.

I have been meaning to try one as well, but haven't gotten around to it yet so I can't really offer an opinion. But the way I see it, badger=good, boar=good, then badger+boar=double good...right?

I've always thought they combine the worst qualities of both.

Besides, have you ever seen what happens when a boar hassles a badger? It ain't pretty for the boar.

Why would a man want to date an ugly woman & a pretty woman at the same time?
I just don't see the benefit.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Why would a man want to date an ugly woman & a pretty woman at the same time?
I just don't see the benefit.

That could get "Pretty.... Ugly"

Gentlemen,
The brushes combining badger and boar bristles I have tried, from Semogue to less coveted names, all were unpleasant. As my friend Spendur points out, such dual hair brushes use the worse qualities of boar and badger, especially badger. At least that seems to be the case to me. I abhor pure grade badger hair for its coarse characteristic, which irritates my face, and many dual hair brushes use this unpleasant badger hair grade. Some gentlemen like these brushes and that's fine. Would I recommend a boar-badger shave brush? A resounding no.

The first few I tried I found to have too much scritch to my liking. It's quite possible that the knots in those brushes had best or pure badger hair mixed with lower quality boar.
I did take another chance on a Semogue Amici brush recently. It has backbone for days and just enough scritch to feel but not be uncomfortable. The backbone is excellent. I enjoy the brush.
I'm guessing the variation in badger hair grades is larger than that of boar hair grades. If you have a brush mixed with Pure or Best badger level hair, it's going to be a rough ride. However if it is mixed with a higher grade of badger hair, the face fell will be much more comfortable.
By no means am I an expert in mixed knots. I prefer 2-band or densely packed 3-band badger brushes. I was pleasantly surprised by the amici. It can tear up any hard soap with ease and still has a nice face feel. I'll probably try another mixed knot from Semogue at some point. But I will definitely make the decision based on the type of badger hair in the knot.

I own a Semogue SOC 2012. It has nice backbone, some scritch and it is not a lather hog. All in all I like it!

I alternate between 2-bands and boar. I never had an interest in the mixed knots for the reasons that have been stated above. However, I recently acquired the Semogue 2012 SE, based primarily on positive comments by other users. I've only used the brush 5 times but so far, but I'm pleased with it. It's a mix of 2-band and boar. I don't usually like any scratch in a brush and for me boar is preferable to pure badger. The Semogue 2012 SE has a small amount of scratch, but not enough to be a problem. In some ways it's a compromise, because it doesn't have all the benefits of an all 2-band or all boar brush. I find it to be a nice change from the 2-bands and boar, and it'll probably have a permanent place in my rotation.

Semogue also did a 2013 LE for the Portugese forum Barbear Classico, with 100 each of boar, 2-band, and mixed knot. I did not get the mixed, but the reviews on it have been positive. It's also mix of Semogue 2-band and boar. I think the quality of badger used in these mixed brushes has a lot to do with what characteristics they end up with.

I have 2 mixed badger brushes,actually are knot because the handles are from another source
One is 20 and the other 23mm
Except the bad smell (some de-funk work especially in the first) those knot pleasured me
The "work" much better than all my Finest that i have plus better than some Boars as TGN
I like them so i ordered another one knot at 24mm.
When arrives i will post the results,i have pictures from the previous 2 somewhere in my files
Those Mixed badgers were a surprise for me.