Thread: Resurgence of the Boar

There seems to be a wave of interest in boar brushes in the different boards recently. Even our own Xman is now a pork-o-phile.

My Omega Prof 10098 has been seeing a lot of use lately, and I have to say, used correctly and properly broken in, the lowly boar is second to none. The tips are very soft, the bristles have a lot of backbone, and they whip up lots of lather very quickly. But the key is patience in breaking it in, and learning to use it.

For about $15, a good boar brush is definitely worth a try. I have been having so much fun with my Omega, that I have a Semogue 1305 on the way. I was lucky enough to get one since Leon is always sold out!

I'm another boar convert. I've had and sold my C&E BBB, a Rooney 3/1, a Savile Row, and a Vulfix 2234. My Omega 31064 is my go to brush, my 10049 is the relief. I have a badger travel brush (the black T&H turnback), but otherwise boar has been the way to go. Mine work quite well on creams as well.

It's funny you should mention it. I rarely browse the other boards, but i've been pondering the pig recently.

Give it a shot, Ben. It's fun to mix it up at least.

Shoot the pig! I'd like to try one. Just have to get one for the right money at the moment!

try here ...

Shaving Brushes : The Vintage Scent Co., Rare and Antique Products for Men

reading some reviews i've found that the semogue 2000 is getting positive feedback.

Boar brushes are great but no more Omega for me: mine has been shedding hairs for 7 months: about 10 a day this week! It has a very nice briar handle so I am looking for a replacement not.

Originally Posted by Kees

Boar brushes are great but no more Omega for me: mine has been shedding hairs for 7 months: about 10 a day this week! It has a very nice briar handle so I am looking for a replacement not.

Wow, that's sad to hear. I've had about 4 Omega brushes and none of them shed more than the occasional hair (occasional being about 1 every month or two).

I myself am a big ol' boar lover. So much so that I've had two custom brushes made with Omega boar knots...nothing else comes close, in my experience (limited, but not non-existent).

I've heard good things about the Semogue brushes too...enough to tempt me, indeed. Vulfix makes good ones too, apparently. You can get them from connaughtshaving.
I can recommend Paul's shop without reservation. A great guy, with great service.

Originally Posted by JimR

Vulfix makes good ones too, apparently. You can get them from connaughtshaving.
I can recommend Paul's shop without reservation. A great guy, with great service.

Same here. Paul is great to deal with. Those brushes don't look like the Vulfix brushes Zach posted about on SMF (the #18, etc). Do you know if those are available?

I think badger brushes have become popular when wetshaving became more of a hobby than a necessity.

Pretty much all the old-timers that I know were using boar brushes. My dad used one in the 50's and 60's, and that is what I used when I started shaving in the late 70's. So did my grandfather, etc. Many of the barbers I talk to don't even know about badger. Pretty much all the vintage brushes on ebay (rubberset, etc) were boar.

I am sure the old English brush companies were around, and it may have been an issue of cost, but it seems that boar was more common back then.