Thread: Badger or Boar

How do you decide weather to use a Badger or a Boar?

You don't.

Boar is that cheap that there is no reason not to have one. Badger on the other hand is the brush you save up for and get the very best, I still haven't picked up a badger but when I do it'll be a top tier model. For the minute I can't see anything beating my well broken boar brush, I love the thing!

The reason for this is simple.

Boar gets better with age. It splits and keeps splitting. So what starts off as a quite scratchy brush after a couple of months is very comfortable, After a year it's incredible, a well broken in boar has a lot of backbone, but also a lot of softness. It's a good all round brush, great for face lathering, Great for bowl lathering. The only downside is it likes a few minutes soak before you shave in hot water. Boar should never be expensive. The cheap omega and semogue brushes are as good as you will find.

Badger on the other hand never splits. You have to get the brush right from the start. If it's scratchy it will always be that way. You are better to research them, and pick a brush you want having narrowed down the variables as much as possible.

My travel brush is boar. My every day brush is badger. Two brushes is all I have and need.

My only brush is boars hair. I shudder to think how they acquire badger hair.

For me there is not much to choose from between my well broken in boar brushes, note the well broken bit, and my 2 band badger knots set to the loft that I like for the size knot. I do not soak either variety of brush, just swirl them in cold water, shake excess water out, load brush and face lather.

Boar brushes like my Omega boar brushes are inexpensive unlike my 2 band badgers which were much more costly. To get to the point of knowing which type of badger knot, what size and loft I like I had to go through a few badger brushes to get there. That increases the cost of getting to the badger brush that you like even more. You can research badger brushes all you want but until you try a few you won't really know what is the best for you.

Both types make an excellent lather for me regardless if I am using a hard puck or a shaving cream.

Bob

If you do some homework you will find that either can be had for a very reasonable price.
Why not try both....but don't forget synthetic too.
A brush is a very personal thing and all are very different. No two are quite alike.
You have to find what works for you and your style, whether it be bowl or face lathering.

Pete <:-}

Badger is and has been considered the premium brush throughout history. Boar has been considered the common mans brush. Of course that's just history.

Plenty of folks have their own opinions. Unfortunately brushes are one of those things that are very personal and the only way to know is try them all. Boars are pretty inexpensive so why not just pick one up and use. Down the road you can invest in a pricier badger and then compare. of course there are many grades of badger and all are quite different.

read the primer at the top of this thread if you haven't already.

I have several brushes, 3 badger 1 boar 1 synthetic. They all do the job for me. Some days I want a brush with more backbone other days I want a small soft brush. I have noticed that my favorite brushes are not my most expensive ones.
I would recommend getting a small inexpensive brush and use it for several months than you may decide you want a bigger, stiffer or softer brush. It is a personal thing and will probably change over time.

Brush selection is a personal choice. I have badgers and boars, both have their merits.

Semouge and Omega make great, affordable boar brushes. You will hear guys say that they take a while to come into their own...to break in. This time can be vastly reduced by making a lather in the palm of your hand several times a day. Within a couple of weeks, it will be 90% broken in. Boar brushes will really exfoliate your skin.

Badger brushes usually come in larger knots, so they will make lather quicker, and usually make more of it. They come in varying degrees of stiffness(as do boar brushes), but tend to have less backbone than boars.

You will have to experiment to find out which you prefer. I am currently a boar guy, but that is subject to change!

I used boar for a while and was happy. I had a few badgers and they always seamed to get floppy after some time. Then i bought a top of the line badger crossing my fingers (thanks TC and Bob) and now i have a hard time picking up any other brush. The D01 i have is my best brush and i love how well it works. Thinking i might try a fan shape some day in the same D01 but thats another 200 bucks.