Printable View
i have the two...i alternate between them often,,,,,,,BUT,,im starting to use the Professional Boar Bristle way more.........my hand just reaches for it btw i love my badger....what's happening ?? :):)
am i the only one out there,,,,will the badger - omega war go on forever? :)
Well, i perfectly understand what you mean, i also have a Mühle Silvertip and a Semogue boar 830.... Frequently i realize i prefer use my boar brush , just to get a better grit on my face.
lately i've been a fan of the chinese badger :)
all kidding aside.. everyone has their own idea of what good is.. i just choose to have both available to me... i currently rotate between a simpson wee scot with best badger and an omega 11047 that is a mix of both badger and boar.
I have been using my omega boar for two years, daily. I have 100.00 badgers that are just sitting in a display cabinet in my bedroom lol.
I have a tough beard, I like the boar a lot for scrubbing in lather although the tips are very soft now...
You are not alone!
For me bristle brushes are superior to badger brushes as long as you use soaps and not creams.
I personally use on daily basis two Omega bristle brushes, the Omega 48, and the Omega 102. They are both excellent!
Attachment 58551 Attachment 58552
great brush,,,super massaging and huge,,,just love it
I have the Omega faux ivory boar bristle brush. It was cheap like 10 bucks.
Is it considered a crap brush? Some things I noticed from using it, dunno if it's normal I only have one brush can't A/B compare etc.
- hair ends splitting a little after use(seems to make it bushier dunno if thats good)
- builds good lather (Proraso Green tub soap) but when I apply it seems to all go away, it only looks good when I'm building it in my mug.
- hairs are quite spiky, not the most comfortable. Got softer with use.
- smelt like shit when I first bought it. went away after 2 shaves.
I'm aware of where boar bristles stand in the hierarchy of brushes, just wondering if there's variation within different brands of boar bristle brushes.
- hair ends splitting a little after use(seems to make it bushier dunno if thats good)
The splitting made mine lather even better :rock:
Quote:
Originally Posted by drgreen
Boar bristles stand first in my hierarchy followed by the badger and then the horse.Quote:
Originally Posted by drgreen
I have not tried yet synthetic brushes, which are the only ones that may take the first place from boars.
The smell is bad, you are right. Every time I buy a new boar brush I sink it in a mug with water and lather for 2-3 days to get rid of the smell.
The hairs may not be comfortable in the beginning, but a boar brush is changing properties with the use. After 2-3 months of daily use it is really comfortable imo.
Boar brushes build better lather than badger when used with soaps, the contrary when using creams (imo always).
Hair end splitting makes the brush better and softer to the face.
Boar brushes are considered to be the cheaper alternative to badger so you don't have the range you would in a badger. So you probably won't see a multitude of grades and fancy handles and huge size ranges. yes there are quality differences but in the end would you want to pay say $60 for a boar when you can get a good badger for that price?Quote:
Originally Posted by drgreen
There are some who no doubt would pay big bucks for a boar because they like them so much but in general they are in the minority. So price is really the determining factor.
Yea it makes sense, I wouldn't pay for boar if it was $60.Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigspendur
Which brings me to this link: Classic Silvertip Shaving Brush, Faux Ivory Handle | Fendrihan Shaving Store
I've never seen a silvertip brush for such reasonable prices. I'm sure there are compromises, but to what extent? anyone care to comment?
I know they are not as famous, and hence lack the 'marketing/reputation/hand made' premium price compared to simpsons etc/(input your favourite brush you cant afford) etc. But, if I decompose the price and judge it by the actual quality of the hair, how does it stack?
Thanks for everyone's contribution thus far, great community and I feel welcome.
Smell? Dude, that's what bleach is for. I have a Van Der Hagen boar and it works great (as others have noticed, it seems to get softer over time)
Interestingly, the Badger - Boar debate isn't limited to shaving. The two kinds of bristles used to make artists' paintbrushes are also badger and boar. Badger tends to get used by watercolorists because of its superior absorbance, but boar is preferred by those working with acrylics because the bristles' rigidity gives the artist more control over where the tip goes. Just FYI.
That Fendrihan is really freakin' nice! And for $55! That's insane!
Any thoughts on those?? Anyone use one?
Yes, I also have Omega pro with long handle. And I also use it more often than my good 28 mm knot badger.Quote:
Originally Posted by ri7ani
Try Chinese silvertip badger, it is only 40$ for 28 mm knot. They started with supply of badger knots to the world, now they've learnt how to make brushes. Their brushes do not lose hair anymore.Quote:
Originally Posted by drgreen
Wow, I feel totally different. Personally, I find Horsehair to be the best for me, followed by boar then badger. I love to face lather and think horsehair gives the best bang for the buck. A well broken boar second followed by a huge knot silvertip. The silvertip has to be 28mm or better and densely packed to provide the backbone I desire. IMHO the only badgers worth using are the high end ones (more than $100 dollars). Of coarse in shaving YMMV.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slur
I wouldn’t say we feel much different.Quote:
Originally Posted by newb
We agree in many things. Both we know that the badger brushes cannot be superior to boar brushes, and both we prefer only the highly dense silvertip brushes.
Regarding the horse brushes, I have only used one which was not a good brush at all.
But if you say they are such good brushes, I am willing to try another.
Could you please indicate a website where I can find the biggest an highest quality horse brushes ?
Thank you.
Bienvenido | Gifts And Care has the Best selection of Vie-Long horsehair. I though have found that the Vie Long barber professional horsehair to be too small knot and a too tall loft, way too floppy. I'd recommend a 13061 (silvertip soft, but with almost a boar backbone) Any Vie Long 22-23mm knots are good but I've found the 20mm and less knots to be floppy. Also of a lot lesser quality than the Vie Long, but great backbone I'd say go to Bestshave.net and try any of their brushes. (all are horsehair, even though not listed on the website as such,but all are horsehair per the owner ) To me the Bestshave brushes are more similar to boar but the prices are insanely cheap. Worth a try. Really it's the Best brush in the world for less than 3$. Can't beat it. The Bestshave #6 is better than any less than $100 badger I've used. Imho.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slur
Thank you very much.
I think I will order this one whitch is a 23-60 knot in a beautiful olive wood handle.
I'm sure you will be very pleased with that brush.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slur
I just ordered the above mentioned Vie Long and the Bestshave #8.
Can't wait to try them :rock:
This is a very interesting thread, as a newbie i took that badger was better and boar was the next down in terms of quality, i never realised there were opinions on this and pro's and cons.Very informative, thanks!
I fell into the badger was better scene when I was new. Imho I've wasted money on expensive badger brushes that gave sub par performance. The business end of a brush is what matters to me. Badgers give nice results when new, boars and horsehair give awesome results once broken in . Of coarse YMMV.Quote:
Originally Posted by tekbow
I ordered the biggest Vie Long and the biggest Bestshave horse brush.
These two horse brushes are very different.
The Spanish one in smaller, and the bristles are smoother.
The Turkish one is much bigger and the bristles are harder, with more backbone effect.
The Spanish brush has a very nice wood handle, while the Turkish one a cheap plastic handle.
The Spanish has no bad smell and can be used right away. The Turkish stinks and needs to be washed and treated before using it.
The Spanish is much more costly than the Turkish.
In terms of functionality, the Turkish is much better than the Spanish in my opinion. The basic difference is the size. I love big brushes, and the Spanish one is too small for me.
