Thread: A question for those who use a boar brush

After hearing great things about boar brushes I bought myself a boar hair knot from The Golden Nib. I fitted it into a handle and eagerly awaited the first opportunity to use it. It was very stiff and not a bit scratchy. I loved the feel of the boar hair on my face. It was like a face massage.

The only problem I have with this brush is that it seems to eat the lather. It didn't lather anywhere near as well as a badger brush, but it lathered adequately. Then for the second pass there was bearly enough lather for a full pass and for the third pass I had to use more cream.

So the question is, do all boar brushes eat lather? Do they get better after a number of uses?

I know there is nothing wrong with this knot as I have the up most confidence in the knots that Tony sells at The Golden Nib.

From what I've heard, boars hair is thicker than badger hair so it tends to soak up more water than badgers hair, thereby drying your lather out.

I think its just one of those things..! :-)

That sounds perfectly normal for the first run with a brush. not only are you trying to get the hang of it, it still has to break in. It will undoubdtedly get better over time.

What size of knot did you get?

Good luck.

I got the 24mm boar bristle knot. I really love this brush, but I just wish I could get it to lather as well as my badger brushes.

My understanding is that boar bristles are hollow (unlike badger hair), so it's important to make sure the brush has soaked for several minutes in water to full saturation before using it to lather up. Otherwise, it does suck water out of the lather (probably soap, too, which you don't want caught inside the bristles).

How long do you soak your brush for? Remember this is a new brush. You cannot compare it to your other brush(s) until you have masterred this brush. They are all a little different.

Originally Posted by ndw76

So the question is, do all boar brushes eat lather? Do they get better after a number of uses?

I have some experience with boar brushes. They do need to break in. The theory is that with use the bristles split at the ends, in effect doubling or tripling their effective number. This would lead them to generate lather better (more and easier). If that "scientific" explanation is true or not, I don't know but I do know that my Omega took (I think) about two weeks to reach its full potential.

Give it time and practice and I' sure it will come good.

Originally Posted by ndw76

It was very stiff and not a bit scratchy. I loved the feel of the boar hair on my face. It was like a face massage.

I haven't tried a boar yet. I had thought they would be prickly or scratchy and that is a quality that I like in a brush. Any boar users out there find a brand of boar brush that is prickly or are they all typically as described above, stiff but not scratchy ?

I have heard that some boar brushes are clipped on the business ends of the bristles. This apparently stops the ends from splitting ( breaking in ) and as a result of that they remain scratchy. I am not sure which brands they are.


I know that Omega, Vulfix, Semogue, Koh-I-Noor make very good boar brushes using good quality bristle.