Thread: Boar Bed-Head?

Boar Renaissance: Resistance is futile

Wow, Ivan, you really seem like the right person to ask about boars... So, what's your take on my prior question? Do boars get better with creams over time and breakin, or do they always take a lot of aggressive pumping and whipping... ?

I'm not Ivan but I do use boars exclusively after dalliances with assorted well-regarded badgers. I would say that it took me some time to figure out how to use a boar with cream. For one thing, yes, they do take some time to break in to the point that their capacity for holding water and lather is optimal for cream use. But beyond that, it takes some time to let go of the fear of starting with a wet brush. With badger, you have to shake out the brush before lathering soap or (especially) cream. This isn't so with boar. I face-lather, but this holds true with boar lathering as well. Let the brush drip, but don't shake any water out. Your lather will start off a bit runny but will thicken up without lots of air getting whipped in. As time goes on and the brush tips split more, you'll find that the cream-lathering ability of the brush improves greatly. If I use a badger now (rare, and usually only when traveling), it's with soap, as I prefer boar with creams. That said, I favor thick and slick lather with minimal air (meringue does me no good), and boar delivers this to me most effectively. If you're looking for fluffy, airy lather, boar won't do the job. It isn't built for that. But I find that air gets in the way of my blade. I just want something protective that allows the blade to glide. So I like what boar gives me.

Regards,
Tim

Thanks, TBoner... I don't specifically want it to be fluffy, I just can't get anything but a VERY thin paste... Guess I'll break it in on some soaps, and then give it another whirl with more water at the start... see where that gets me...

I also want to get a top end badger, just because I'm in the mood for them sometimes

I had the same trouble for a while: very thin paste. I started with the cream deep in my brush and, as I said, more water, and wound up with voluminous, well-moistened lather. I did and do have to dip the brush in the basin lightly at the tips before the second and third passes to have dense lather. I think there are two factors. One is the breaking in of the brush, which will result in continually improving lather. The second is that, even broken in, boar bristles absorb a lot of water (as opposed to badger hairs, which trap water but don't soak much in), and continue to do so throughout the shave. So a well-soaked brush is imperative, and lots of water to start will help, but ultimately, sometimes, your lather will still look like a thin paste. Then you just have to dip in the basin once to add more water, and it will usually erupt into good lather on the face. This is counterintuitive when you're used to badger, as adding more water will often result in think, airy, bubbly lather that doesn't protect and dries out quickly.

Good luck with the continued breaking-in of the brush!

Regards,
Tim

Thanks Tim. I was having a few problems with creams when using my Semogue 1305 and Omega 31064. The lather just seemed to dry out for my second pass. I guess I need more water to start with.

Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

Wow, Ivan, you really seem like the right person to ask about boars... So, what's your take on my prior question? Do boars get better with creams over time and breakin, or do they always take a lot of aggressive pumping and whipping... ?

Since I haven't really face lathered much I can't give you definitive answer. However after face lathering for few times now, I can say that for me it's best route with cream. What I do with mine is I dump out the water after having soaked it 10 minutes and then re-load with hot water again and soak it. After few seconds, I squeeze the water out ( not entirely but enough water remaining to saturate the cream. You want the bristles to be bit dry-I haven't done this with badger yet )

I wasn't aggressive with pumping and swirling. Just light swirls within seconds you've a nicelather but to get the full whipped cream effect you've to be within confines of 3 minutes ( maybe less ). If you want to have moister lather just dip the bristle in the mug and work on face again.

After 3-4 uses of this method with Alraz's the Atom Bomb it's been consistent thus far ( I had problems with lathering cream in bowl but never again ).

I got carried away with the cream but a pea-size will most definately last you at least 4 passes if not more. Here it's larger dab of cream:

Click for larger image





Couple days ago:





The cocobolo thus far has about 9 uses ( I don't have my notes but that's about right ).