Thread: Boar vs Badger brushes

Originally Posted by MDM

Hello gents,

I am a proud straight razor shaver for a year or so and i would like to hear your opinion about differences between boar and badger brushes, pro's/ con's.

Thank you.

Regards,
Dan

Hello Dan! I use both and even different grades of badger. Boar is boar from what I have seen and useful for the backbone it provides. I do like silvertip but find that badger finest double band to be better with backbone and yet just as nice bristle tips that don't prick.

But to each their own. I like horse hair too and synthetics for certain applications. I could go on and on as you see.

Originally Posted by MDM

Hello gents,

I am a proud straight razor shaver for a year or so and i would like to hear your opinion about differences between boar and badger brushes, pro's/ con's.

Thank you.

Regards,
Dan

I prefer quality boar over badger. They are both used to whip up lather. If you go to Italy you'll notice that over 90% of Italian barbers use boar. My main cream is Cella and sometimes I use DR Harris cream. The lather is the same irregardless of which brush I use. I sold my Simpsons and my Thaters and now use Semogue OC Boar and Omega Boar brushes. Money is not an issue I just prefer the feel of a good quality boar brush on my face. It's always nice to try different brushes and materials and let your face decide which one is best for you

Depends on the soap I use. A soft soap like Catie's I will use a synthetic or a badger. For harder soaps like Cold River I use the boar or a horse hair.

I enjoy them all but if I had to lean one way I would edge toward my badger.

I used to use a few boar brushes, but I have gotten bored of them tbh.
I had one silvertip, but I found it to be really floppy, so right now I am using a synthetic untill I have the money to buy a Simpsons brush. When I get a simpsons I should get a good badger experience I hope..

Well my opinion may differ from others but I actually prefer a broken in (2 years) boar brush over a silver tip badger brush. I have an omega boar with a beechwood handle that just gets better with use, doesn't shed and has become very soft with use with enough backbone for even the hardest soaps. It is my daily driver while my Thater sits idle for special occasions only.

Originally Posted by alla2465

I used to use a few boar brushes, but I have gotten bored of them tbh.
I had one silvertip, but I found it to be really floppy, so right now I am using a synthetic untill I have the money to buy a Simpsons brush. When I get a simpsons I should get a good badger experience I hope..

I face lather and like soft tips and good backbone in a badger brush, sort of a more gentile version of boar qualities. I found out the hard way by going through different badger brushes that it is the 2 band silvertip variety that does the trick for me. The 3 band silvertips have all been a disappointment being too floppy for me. Hope you get one that you like the first time round.

Bob

I have found recently that a nice double band badger has great backbone and still has soft tips that are not prickly. May want to try that grade of badger alla2465 and see how that works for you. I make my own and while I think there is a use for a supple and very soft silvertip, most days I am reaching for the likes of a double band badger.

Good luck.

Tell me if I'm wrong, I'm thinking, everyone should give brushes a chance to break in before they are evaluated.

Badgers don't really seem to have much, if any, break in period. Usually how they feel the first time using them is how they are going to feel a year from now. The tips might soften some, but not much. A quality boar on the other hand will take awhile to truly break in. The tips will split and become softer. My favorite though is still my 2 band finest badger.

I have 8 Badgers and 2 boars.... Both work well, but given my druthers, I'd personally take a nice badger brush. That said, my boar brushes are my goto brushes during the hot summer months with something like Proraso for a cream or soap, and in the cold months when my skin is a bit more chapped and dry, I prefer a large luxurious badger brush with a floral scented soap or cream.

Boar is cheap, try it first, give it time to break in... if you hate it, you can always buy a badger brush, but remember that with badger brushes, it takes some money to get a good one. Unless you luck out like I did last winter. I bought an ebay knot from China, the cheapest handle I could find, glued them together myself, and have not used anything else since. I'd order a couple more knots, but I seriously doubt they would be as good as the one I got. These things are made by hand and they WILL vary.

Regards

Christian