Thread: Thoughts On Badger vs. Boar

Hmmmm, I suppose I'll just have to buy one of each and figure it out for myself. If anyone has any other input please feel free to help solve the mystery!

I'll just test the waters a bit... this thread is something that's been on my mind for a while...

I have become a big fan of boar brushes, but I also like badger... so me it has lots less to do with the lather making ability, and much more to do with the feel of the brush on my face. I find that badger is very soft, and boar is a bit stiffer.

That being said, sometimes I feel like the badger is too soft (if you can believe that), even when I set it deep into a brush to make it more dense. All things considered I think boar brushes, specifically Omega, are great.

I would be really hesitant to recommend one over the other... It would boil down to what feel you like in my mind.

Where do you guys get your Semogue brushes from? Somewhere with a good price

As far as I know they get them from vintagescent run by Leon. The downside is that he operates out of Portugal (I think) so all the prices are in Euros and it costs more to have it shipped.

I was actually considering starting a thread to see if anyone (US) was interested in a group buy to cut down on shipping costs. Alternately maybe finding some people to go in on a box of Omega brushes (they come in dozens I think)

These guy's Fendrihan.com | Merkur Safety Razors Shaving Creams Shave Brushes or www.vintagescents.com are the only places I know.

Omega boar brushes are excellent. Semogues just have the edge for me.

Get one of each They take longer to dry, so use them every other day.

So then where is the best place to get an Omega brush?

Shoeboxshaveshop has a great selection at good prices, at least in my opinion. I don't know how much shipping is though since I haven't bought anything from them before. They have a good selection of brushes in general, particularly boar since most places ignore it all together.

all this boar talk got me searching and interested again!

I had one but gave it to my brother as an introduction to wetshaving, I never heard him complain...

Looking at the 'other' fora on the net, I noticed that there is a huge interest in boar brushes. There's one particular thread on one of these where a guy has a 3 page essay about the boar brush, very interesting.

The one thing I still wonder is, why would people for 200 years have considered the badger brush as 'better'?

I understand a boar brush never has a fancy handle like the ones you find on a badger brush, but still, even just the knot of a badger brush is more expensive than an entire boar brush...

Why is it, that the best of the best badger will cost you 10 times more than the very best of boar? I just assumed it was better all this time, but the guy in that thread truly goes in-depth with close up picks etc... making it a very interesting read..

I honestly have no idea, but I know what you mean about that post. If I'm not mistaken, it is on Shave My Face. When it was time for me to get my second brush, I just automatically upgraded to a badger brush, thinking they were better. I'm not sure why that seems to be the common opinion, but I would guess it has something to do with the lack of breaking in period. A badger brush is about as good as it is ever going to get straight out of the box.

I'm okay with poor handle selection really, because as JimR pointed out, you can always have a custom handle made, and the best boar brush with a custom handle will STILL be less than a mid range badger brush.

Originally Posted by Jantjeuh

all this boar talk got me searching and interested again!

I had one but gave it to my brother as an introduction to wetshaving, I never heard him complain...

Looking at the 'other' fora on the net, I noticed that there is a huge interest in boar brushes. There's one particular thread on one of these where a guy has a 3 page essay about the boar brush, very interesting.

The one thing I still wonder is, why would people for 200 years have considered the badger brush as 'better'?

I understand a boar brush never has a fancy handle like the ones you find on a badger brush, but still, even just the knot of a badger brush is more expensive than an entire boar brush...

Why is it, that the best of the best badger will cost you 10 times more than the very best of boar? I just assumed it was better all this time, but the guy in that thread truly goes in-depth with close up picks etc... making it a very interesting read..

Who says they did?

There were those who viewed them as a luxury because, face it, pigs are dirty. And their hair is stiffer and not as pretty as badger. That's enough for lots of folks...Not to mention that pigs, being domesticated, were a much readier source of hair than wild badgers--supply would have made pig hair cheaper, and for the folks who were using badger hair brushes, cheaper meant worse.

There is NO reason other than esthetics and softness that badger is better than boar. I, who don't care for soft brushes and find the blonde boars quite nice looking, do not feel that badger is in any way better.