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
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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
Welcome to the forum Dan! i have both a silver tip and a Ever ready boar. the boar brush has to be soaked before use because it takes time to absorb water while the silver tip can be just ran under the faucet. there are different qualities of both and having said that i wouldn't recommend the ever-ready. some people really like boar brushes so i guess i haven't found the right one. JMHO and YMMV.
Hi tintin,
Thanks for your reply. I just ordered a boar brush and I will see what it feels like.
Finally a forum for shaving enthusiasts. In my country I cannot ask anyone about these topics (everybody is gillette here) :))
Yes, this is a great forum, lots of information and great people always willing to help and talk razors!
Welcome to the forum. Keep in mind that with your new boar brush it will take sometime to break in. By breaking in I mean for the tips of the bristles to split/flag. Once that happens it will feel a lot better on your face. I'd give it about 2 weeks of every day use for the break in to happen. Some take less and some take more.
Bob
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the reply and useful info. My father advised me to get a badger brush (the hair is not so tough as in boar) but after a lot invested in my razor a boar brush works fine I hope for now :))
You are welcome. It has always been the case that a badger brush was considered better than a boar brush. In order to get a good badger brush with soft tips and good backbone/stiffness you have to spend a good deal more than for a boar brush. Personally, I use boar, badger and synthetic brushes and each has their own personality. In the end they all make a good lather if you have the right technique for each. One of my favourite bushes is an Omega boar brush that costs less than $10. I am pretty sure once you get your new boar brush broken in and get used to using it you will be pleased with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by MDM
If the time comes when you decide you want to try a badger brush you will then know better what characteristics you will want from a badger brush. No sense to rushing into buying an expensive badger brush right away till you know better what you may want. Either type will do the job just fine but in a different way.
Bob
I think the biggest difference between the two is that the boar is alot more stiffer while the badger is on the softer side. I like the boar brushes with soaps and badger with creams Y.M.M.V.
I'm sure that the quality or type of the brush is as important as the other tools but as you say Bob it's best for now to start with a cheaper one for training :)Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
Hi Tarkus and thanks for the reply.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarkus
By coincidence I got a soap ordered together with the boar so it should fit well as you say :)
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
I only have a boar, a synth, and a badger (all Omega).. but i reach for that inexpensive boar brush quite a bit more than i thought i would.. considering what the others cost.
It sheds a bit but it doesn't bother me.
I have an expensive Badger Silver tip and a cheapo Boar, I like them both. If I could only keep one it would be the Boar, go figure. I like a stiffer backbone for lathering and application. Just my 2 cents.....Freddie
I like badger better than boar by a longshot. I have two boar, both semogue, and both are good. I just don't find the feel as much to my liking as the badger. OTOH, maybe I need to use them more to break them in as Bob H suggested. Not sure if they are 'there' yet.
Yeah gotta agree with Bob
I got a PIF Boar Semogue and honestly for months if you asked me I would have told you that Boar was Meh :)
Then it finally broke in and now it is a great "Soap Brush" and especially effective for "Lather on the Face" days..
I am by no means saying better then a Badger but I use it nearly as much now that it is broken in :)
Just to be clear, I am by no means saying a boar is better than a badger just that once broken in they tend to feel a lot better than when new. Boar and badger are very different in the way they feel on the face in use. It is personal preference sort of thing. Some days I like boars, other days I like badgers and then there are the synthetic days. I gotta do something about these mood swings, life would be simpler. ;)
Bob
I like my boar for bowl lathering and my badger for face lathering.
I currently have a boar, 2 badgers(a 2 band and a 3 band), an omega mixed midget, and a couple synthetics. The boar(a Semogue 830) was my first brush and I've been coming back to it a lot lately.
I've seen a lot of disputes over which is "better" between boar and badger, and have to say that either one will put lather on your face.
Each have their own characteristics, many of which are pretty subjective. What one considers soft another could consider slightly scritchy. Boars do take some time to break in and the wait was worth it for me, but I love my badgers and synthetics as well.
I enjoy using all of my brushes, and each finds their way into my rotation. There might be one brush out there that has the perfect balance of backbone, softness, density etc for me, but yours would likely be completely different.
Hi gents,
Thanks you for all your opinions.
Today I got the boar brush from Proraso. Something cheap to start with.
I tried it and yes I feel it to be a little stiff but when I applied a good amount of soap it was ok. Feels like a massage to the face :)
On the other hand the new Proraso soap (with mentol) is a challenge, I still feel my face burning from the mentol inside I think, but that is a new topic for another section of the forum.
Have a nice evening.
I have both and like both - but they are different beasts in my opinion.
Like comparing cats and dogs - they have different attributes unique to each, and with how inexpensive boar brushes tend to be, it's easy to have a place in your brush rotation to change things up once in awhile.
Once I stopped comparing the two, opened up a great experience using boar brushes, they are tops in the "scritch" department as far as I'm concerned and are really great to dig into the face if you want a good scrubbing.
Dan, I have the poraso menthol cream in a tube. It is strong stuff. What I do is lather up with a neutral (no aroma) soap puck then put a dab of the poraso in a bowl and mix the two. Cuts the strength of the menthol is a nice lather. If you have the cream it is easy, if it is a puck also a bit more to it, but can be done. Mixing it I mean.Quote:
Originally Posted by MDM
Thanks Jimmy,Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
This is quite useful. I will get a some type of neutral soap and try mixing them.
In the end this proraso soap is nice. The face feels great afterwards, true that this is my first time using soap and brush but never to return to shaving foam or gel !!! :)
Yes, once you try the soap/brush that is the end of the alternatives. As for the neutral soap. I find MWF (Mitchell's Wool Fat) to be sans aroma. That may just be me though, since some guys say it has an aroma to them. If it does I'd assume it is slight. My tobacco pipe smoking in excess has affected my sense of smell so I'm not a good barometer of soaps or creams. Obie would be the best guy to ask that I know of.Quote:
Originally Posted by MDM
Once the boar breaks in and the ends split it will get considerably softer while retaining the backbone, which is one of my favorite things about boars. The delayed gratification aspect of them lol. There are plenty of unscented soaps that you could mix the Proraso with, if you were so inclined. I've always found MWF to pretty much just smell like soap, but everyone's sniffer is a little different. Or you could find a scent that complements it. The diversity available is kind of staggering.Quote:
Originally Posted by MDM
Good luck with your brush!
I have had 4 boar and two silvertip brushes. After a two day soak in hair conditioner and a month of use, I will take the boar. The badger feels better to start with, but the ends never break in, so will feel "pokier" to me than a well used boar. My boars are all cheap Semogue or Omegas to boot. I gave away both badger brushes.
Boar brush "bristles" will flag and break in while Badger "hair" doesn't flag/break in. There a many grades of badger hair knots. If a badger hair brush feels "pokey" a different grade may have the silky soft tips and good backbone/stiffness. For me, I get that silky soft tip feel from 2 band silvertip badger knots.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brent375HH
Bob
My goto brush is an Omega synthetic that I really like. Like others have said, I also like my Badger for creams and my Boar for soaps. The synthetic seems to like both creams and soaps equally as well
Funny thing about boar brushes, I started shaving a looong time ago using boar brushes and creams. Never had a badger till 5 years ago. Personally, I don't care which I use for either soaps or creams and the same goes for the synthetics.
Bob
I like boar brushes. My current favorite is an Omega 48, and I've had a few simpsons. I don't like small brushes, I have big hands and I like big fat obnoxious knots. I lather differently than most suggest however. I never shake or squeeze the brush, I load as wet as I can and use the shaving mug for droppings I can lather for my last pass. I load foam, not hard soap residue. I basically whip enough air into the foam to the point the lather is thick enough to sit a quarter on and slick enough a pair of cleats would slip and fall.
Mitchell's Wool Fat is good stuff, to me it kinda smells like a condom though.
I have over a dozen brushes, half badger and half boar, oh and one horse hair which I quite like, most of my badgers are custom handles and short loft (height of the knot showing above the handle) all nice brushes, but I tend to use a boar for 90% of my shaves I just like the backbone they offer, but others like super soft and less backbone so each to there own.
An Omega Pro is a good cheap boar to start with its a big brush, but I like mine.
I inserted a synthetic knot into a long-handled colonel conk. It lathers like a whisk. Great for the scuttle.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by MDM
But to each their own. I like horse hair too and synthetics for certain applications. I could go on and on as you see.
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 :)Quote:
Originally Posted by MDM
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by alla2465
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