Thread: My semoge owner's club boar is still shedding and it's really discouraging.

Well, the SOC brush that I asked about on april was the SOC Super Badger from SRD and the brush I'm referring to in this post is a SOC Boar brush I got from another vendor. I contacted SRD about the Super Badger if it is okay to possibly switch it to another brush that is closer to the 55mm loft and wider diameter. I then got an email stating that they checked their brushes and were surprised to see that all the ones they had all measured 50mm. They said they weren't sure if it was a typo or if they changed the brush over the years. They offered a refund and changed the 55mm measurement from the SRD website to 50mm after that.

The B&B Essential brush I was asking about because I think I stupidly pressed too hard on a soap when lathering when it was new and some of the bristles in the middle looked like they snapped off. I posted a thread asking if snapped bristles will split because I read somewhere that boar hairs don't split below a certain length. I asked it before I lathered it 30 times because it was a limited color and I wanted to know if I needed to just buy another one later before the color ran out.

As for the boar brush I'm referring to here, I'm asking because I never had a boar brush shed 1-3ish hairs consistently after 40 lathers and if it's normal for the SOC Boar.

I have 9 or more boar brushes and 4 different badger brushes and I never had another boar shed consistently for this long. I also bought the SOC Boar with three other boar brushes at the same time (semogue 620, 830, 1250) and the other ones don't pose the same concern. Off the top of my head, the other boars that I own are the Semogue 620, 830, two 1250's, 1800, Omega 10065, 10066, 10049 and B&B Essential. (My favorite boars hands down right now are the 10066 and the 10049).

The short answer is no. I have 2 SOC boar brushes which shed some when new, but don't now...probably stopped after 5 shaves....BUT, I never press hard on soap, and I never store a brush standing up. I would guess that the pressure is/was the issue, but I'd still contact the vendor or Semogue.

Thanks. Just for the record though, I don't really press hard on my soaps (Arko right now is my soap of choice). It was just that time with the B&B Essential that I lathered too hard because I was too exited to use it. =]

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No issues with mine.

As many brushes as you have, if you rotate them, losing one or two bristles every now and then shouldn't be a big deal.

I am in no way claiming that this is the answer to your shedding issue, but
- you can get an acrylic brush stand with shipping for $3 on Ebay.
That is a small investment to potentially protect the health of a cherished brush.

I'm thinking...
A). You are just unlucky. Kind of "born under a bad sign" unfortunate. Not much one can do about that malady...or...
B). You are somehow mishandling your brushes.

I (honestly) have had dozens of brushes over the past few decades. At present I still have my first brush (a silvertip made by some unknown brushmaker..think it came from a Hoffritz shop back in the 80s). Only one brush has had a shedding issue; that was a TGN knot which was replaced (once).

I disagree with the storing upside down/rightside up concept that is a common precept in the wetshaving world. I do hang a freshly used brush bristles down for a day or so after I use it...most times. Big boar brushes (i.e. The Omega 10098) never get hung upside down; won't fit any of the three stands I have. It really does not seem to make a difference.

You may wish to give a synthetic brush a try. They (in my experience) NEVER shed, dry super quickly and (if you get a quality knot like Muhle STF V.2 or maybe a Plissoft) do as fine a job as any badger....or boar. If you are a tad skeptical and dont want to spend a lot, Italian Barber sells some great synthetics for $10 +/- and the Omega S-Brush gets a lot of love for even less cash.

I really like my 10098, though when new they stink something furious. It gets stored base down and i don't think it sheds particularly. It did a bit when new but that stopped. I may lose the odd bristle but not enough to be noteworthy.
I also have a semogue 1250? (Can't remember exactly) which gets stored bristles down. It doesn't get used much due to the fact it is my home brush and I am only there 1 week in 3 and shave about twice during that time. I don't think that is a shedder particularly either.
So the short version is that I don't know why you are having such bad luck.
I should add that i am not particularly gentle or careful with either of them, a wring out, rinse out, wring out and shake are about it. In fact i pulled the knot section off of the omega once while wringing it out.

Originally Posted by IndependenceRazor1

I am in no way claiming that this is the answer to your shedding issue, but
- you can get an acrylic brush stand with shipping for $3 on Ebay.
That is a small investment to potentially protect the health of a cherished brush.

You can also just bend something up out of a wire coat hanger if you want to be even cheaper, i have also seen them hung with string/dental floss from hooks

I think I have 4 Semogue brushes--an Owner's club, a Mistura, and a couple I don't remember how to identify. I have never noticed any of them shed anything ever. I consider them to be very good brushes.