I have a Simpsons Colonel and a cheap Omega; I prefer the Omega boar brush. The Omega lathers as well and feels better on my face.
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I have a Simpsons Colonel and a cheap Omega; I prefer the Omega boar brush. The Omega lathers as well and feels better on my face.
I do use and like the Simpson, but nothing matches the feel of that boar "scrub".
I picked up a NOS Rubberset Boar - it's a pleasure to use and is only now just about broken in after maybe 40 uses. Do I prefer it to badger - I don't see the point in comparing them, I just rotate my brushes as I do my razors - which I also don't compare.
On the subject of cost of badgers - probably my most luxurious knot is a high mountain from TGN which cost maybe $50 dollars with shipping - this is also in an aluminium Rubberset at about $40 - so I have the height of elegance, performance and luxury for less than $100.
Update: I received my Semoque Owners Club direct from the factory in early April and have been using is almost exclusively for the past month. It took a few shaves to break in BUT now it has definitely convinced me that I've been missing out for all these years. It is truly a pleasure to use.
I usually bowl lather and I was skeptical at first as to whether it would stand up to my Badgers as far as being able to produce a nice thick 'Uber Lather'. It exceeded my expectations and I am SOLD! I love it and am now a convert. It will remain at the top of my list.
The Semogue Owner's Club boar is one of the best boar brushes out there. I loved the one I had, and I regret selling it (in a moment of weakness). I still use and love my Omega Pro boar. I love everything about it, including the cheap handle. :)
I recently acquired a Whipped Dog 30mm boar brush. I have an Omega 10066 boar brush and liked it for hard soaps but still used silvertip brushes more often. Once I got the large boar brush from Larry it's all I use anymore. Almost as soft as a badger but with twice the backbone and can lather any soap hard or soft with ease and holds a mountain of lather enough for 4-5 passes most of the time.
I never anticipated liking a boar brush as much as I do but I'm sold on them and will likely never go back. In fact I used a 26mm Whipped Dog silvertip today and was disappointed compared to my new boar.
Call me a peasant if you will...
Brushes are VERY much a YMMV thing. I've got boars and multiple badgers (including Plisson HMW). All too big.
IMO it's the size that matters. I prefer small ones and use almost exclusively my cheap AOS regular badger. Boars are not my thing. Large badgers are not my thing. Also have a small Colonel Simpsons in silver tip that I like. Anything larger… meh!
No Boar ? No party !
The same way people justify having more than one razor. Unless you somehow use two at a time to shave, more than one is excess. Ok, if you're not honing yourself, having a backup while the other is shipped off for honing makes sense. How many guys here only have 2?
you short change yourself. a good boar is awesome. ryirtuyfhjgfytjerwagshdjt7yuyjfgrttshdhfjtershdfgj thdgftfyjfhf. gilbert. kvkuyvhktdsjzetrjdcfkytglhuhlyfkftyjhxhshrtjerkgul khjgfkdtsjhtersjdfiuglhonhvtxrtsdyfkgbkjhvcgxfsdry tugkhjbhvgmcnfxshrdfgucgjrdtkufygjvhcggxjdtfkgvcgj xgfdfyjcrjydtkfjcgdtfygvgcctdfg.mhxgzfeaswetdhxdza srxhfezahtsjrdtfxhdzeasrtdjfxhzatswerkfktdjrsjserf ykdjxesekryfhktdjrsyryfjtdxzdsaesrtdhfyjgukvhcgxfn zbeatwyeuriltugkvcgxbfzder.
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Don't kill me please!
After reading this thread, I decided to give my old boar brush a try. It has at least a year's worth of use, as I had at one point used soap and brush while cartridge shaving. Well, I'm going to have to buy an Omega to see the appeal, because despite being well broken in, I felt like I was using porcupine quills on my neck...there was nothing soft about it at all. Granted, it was a very cheap brush, so my judgement (for now) applies only to my specific brush and not boar in general.
Do yourself a favor and spend a little extra and get a 30mm boar brush from Whipped dog. It is WAY softer than my omega and hold enough lather to shave for two days...just my opinion. The only problem is that it doesn't fit my brush stand and I have to improvise to dry it upside down. Not knocking the Omega as I have a 1066 and enjoy it very much also just not in the same league with the whipped dog.
Added benefit of the boar is it tears into hard soaps with aplomb...if it can be altered with a brush this one will do it. I have no vested interest in whipped dog just very happy with the product and service. I also have a whipped dog 26mm silvertip and I prefer the boar to it as well as my AOS badger brush.
Yes. Page two of the brush subheading. But actually just send Larry Andro an email and let him know exactly what you want and he will contact you back to confirm then send a paypal invoice or you can pay by credit card your choice. He is outstanding to work with and you'll have your brush usually in 3-5 days depending on where you live. He is based out of Texas.
Yep, all set...contacted, confirmed, and paid. :)
For the record, I do have a 30mm boar brush, not whipped dog. I find that it is way too big for my face. I am not a small person so I would think that the exposure length of the bristles will make a huge difference in usability. Written between digging lather out of my ears and trying to think!
Have fun however you work it out!
~Richard
The pure pig bristle is a devine brush . I will never put a scunks hair brush on my face . Neither will pai a prise equal to its weight in gold :nono:
No (at least half-decent) brush will not make functional lather. If one does not produce lather straight on the face but in a mug/cup/scuttle/hand palm/coconut shell, the brush is, functionally speaking, irrelevant. I can make exactly the same lather with a €2,50 boar, a €7,50 synthetic or a €150 Thäter two-band silvertip. The reasons why I prefer the Thäter is manifold.
- I find it easier to get a good lather, mainly due to its superior ability to retain water
- I enjoy the luxurious sensation of its soft tips
- It is a high quality item made by real craftsmen (who get paid proper wages, as well)
- It is durable. It will most likely last at least half my lifetime. I really like that.
However, this is only my preference. Nonetheless, it is also a matter of quality (knot density, (un)trimmed knots, handle, bristle retention - half a knot is no knot - etc.) but even a low-quality brush will likely be able to provide you with great lather.
Oh, and an aside: if you want a brush that does not involve the death of an animal, you are left with either synthetic or horse brushes.
A skunk? I think you are confusing a few animals.
I'm not worried about animal fur. The world has bigger problems.
Our local USPS sort center is awful...they wait until a trailer is full before they route packages to local Post Offices, so my brush is just sitting, waiting...no wonder they are losing money. "Here, customer service! Have a tracking number! Now you can see why your packages get delayed, rather than thinking it is just transit time!"
I'm going to start choosing UPS whenever possible.
If going with a boar, the big Omega is an awesome value for the money. One of my favorites!
I personally think if guys would cease tossing them into the water instead of using them as they were meant to be used, most quality brushes would be great. All Hail the Omega 'extra gross' :bow ! (Rehandled by HarryWally) :D
Not sure what you mean by tossing them into the water. Don't brushes need to be soaked before use?
I've always run mine under hot water for a few seconds, maybe 10-15.
I've also soaked while in shower, same results as just wetting. Stiffness of bristles were the same as well.
So to the gospel I share with you fellows. It is great to wash out your brush after use, squeeze it good. hang her to dry.
I begin with a dry brush, nice and dry. Was cleaned out good after last use. Needs a bit of fluffing, I suppose.
In using tubs and pucks, a bit of water on them for 15 minutes, if you can spare it. Creams, just go at it adding a tad of water here and there til right.
Pour off all water, dip the tips of the brush in hot water and stir. Dip the tips as you feel necessary, but keep the mixture 'rich'.
Keep the water to the minimum, yet add some. Fill the brush with lather, not water?
Why soak a brush? Use it's best characteristics. Soaking one makes for a floppy mess, IMO.
Well,
I have been following this thread with interest, so many different views. I have decided that I have found my ideal brush (cheap hollow handle aside), which strangely enough is one that I had always used before straight razor shaving. An Omega Boar (49, I think)
I had tried various Badgers in the past and found them too soft/floppy. I then did the rounds of brushes again, the best of the badgers I tried seemed to be the Thater SRP edition from 2011.
I am once again almost exclusively and contentedly using the Omega again, soaked for a few minutes, I haven't found anything better.
I'm also sure that this opinion will change again.
My 30 mm boar brush from Whipped Dog came today. Wow, it is stiff! I know it will break in and soften, so I think I'm going to switch to soap for a while to help that process along.
I'll have to let it dry bristles up since it doesn't fit in any of my brush holders.
I like my Boar brushes, I have the SOC and omega's I like the Omegas a bit more, I still throw my badgers in the rotation each week.
Tried the 30 mm brush. Found it difficult to sufficiently load with soap, probably because the brush is so large.
Despite the stiffness of the bristles, I didn't find them picky at all, just stiff yet soft. Nicer than the el cheapo boar brush I already had.
My best brush is a ten-buck Omega 10029 boar. It's a lather machine on soaps and a wonderful face latherer and massager. I've got a half-dozen other brushes - all boars. I've never come across any badger brush I've liked at any price - they were all floppers and promptly got sold off. And I honestly have no idea what guys are talking about when they say boars are "scratchy".
The only disadvantage of the 10029 is the cheap hollow handle. I've been tempted to buy 6-8 10029s and have them re-handled with something nicer. Then I'd never need another brush again.
Of course badger fans will be just as adamant in their preferences. To each his own :)
If Pig Hair works for you,thats all that matters
I use both. Love my badgers and boars for different soaps, creams. If a badger of quality is considered too floppy, I always suspect someone is tossing it in hot water prior to use, which is not the way to go, IMO. I do like my big Omega, cheap handle cut off and rehandled by HarryWally. Equally impressive (Or at least more so) is my ebony and ivory 2 band badger from Pixelfixed, who also provided me an African Blackwood, stainless bands with ivory inset in the base. A face-lathering bomb. Love them all!