Thread: Boar Hair vs Badger Hair

I am still a novice to all things wetshaving, but I have found a horsehair brush far superior to boar hair; after that said though, my favorite is a badger hair brush made for me by Rudy Vey using a Shavemac ultimate flattop knot, the best yet for face lathering.

Great thread, and I was thinking about this last night, after I'd finished using by Semogue LE boar brush...

Here's my take. Boars make 'better' lather and quicker, than badger. But badger hair produces a lather that lasts more passes.

I can't back any of that up with hard facts, but I honestly believe it to be true

I noticed last night, when I lathered up with Arlington Soap, my boar just destroyed it. The lather just erupted from the sexy wooden bowl in seconds. And the shave was great for two passes, but poor on the third. The lather just seemed to lose all its consistency.

With any of my badgers, be they 2 band or finest, or silvertip or best, I have to put more effort into actually making the lather than with the boar. More swirls in the bowl, more swirls on the face, and just more 'elbow work' in general. But, I'll have enough lather for at least three solid passes with very good lather.

To any new man to wet shaving, I'd say steer clear of badger brushes, just buy two boars and away you go. A good Semogue, 1305 for instance, will easily match a top of the line badger brush in every department, and for a fraction of the price. And the price is important when it comes to comparing badger and boar brushes. I do think 'snobbery' plays a part here chaps. Well, I'm guilty of it.

But would I give up on badgers personally? No. I've invested too much money, and, sad as this sounds, I think I'm a brush collector in the making. I like, no, LOVE, shaving brushes

And whilst I do believe boars are very good, i do actually love using badger brushes too.

So actually, looking back on my post, the advice would be, buy a Semogue 1305 and a Simpsons Chubby 2 in 'best'. You can't go wrong

With any of my badgers, be they 2 band or finest, or silvertip or best, I have to put more effort into actually making the lather than with the boar. More swirls in the bowl, more swirls on the face, and just more 'elbow work' in general. But, I'll have enough lather for at least three solid passes with very good lather.

To any new man to wet shaving, I'd say steer clear of badger brushes, just buy two boars and away you go. A good Semogue, 1305 for instance, will easily match a top of the line badger brush in every department, and for a fraction of the price.

Words of wisdom. And experience. With which I concur totally.

the boar is easier to use, and it can get more lather in less time, but the feeling of the quality badger is outstanding. Anyaway quality boar is better than entry level badger brushes.

Today I have tried a new soap from an spanish soapmaker, I've used a Plisson #10 in black badger and a Semogue 1800 boar. The Semogue loads faster the soap but the quality of the lather is simmilar

Originally Posted by Perished

To any new man to wet shaving, I'd say steer clear of badger brushes, just buy two boars and away you go. A good Semogue, 1305 for instance, will easily match a top of the line badger brush in every department, and for a fraction of the price. And the price is important when it comes to comparing badger and boar brushes. I do think 'snobbery' plays a part here chaps. Well, I'm guilty of it.

Horsehair brush. :P

None of the snobbery. All of the lather.

I never thought I'd say this, but I have to support the boar brush fans here. I started with a big Vulfix super badger, and loved it, but it didn't have enough backbone. Whether bowl or face lathering, I like the massage of a brush with a bit of a backbone. I then picked up a much shorter Rooney super badger that had a lot more backbone, and immediately loved it. I returned from a recent trip to Italy with a new Omega boar hair brush (just for fun), and although it was cheap ($30), I actually really like it. The boar hair is by far the best for soaps - great lather, very quickly, and stays wet easily for 3 passes. I also started rotating between soaps/creams, and brushes more though, and found that each brush has its place. I love the boar hair for soaps (usually MWF), but also like the badgers. I realized that the big, fluffy Vulfix is awesome for mixing up a lather from creams, especially if I want to slap that floppy thing across my face in a painting stroke fashion. The stubby Rooney is a good 'in between' brush for face lathering soaps or creams, and the boar brush is my 'go-to' for soaps. At the end of the day, I've been having a lot of fun matching the right brush with different soaps, creams, oils, DE/straight, and that seems to be the whole point of this hobby. If there was one 'best' brush, we'd all spend whatever it took to get it. This isn't the case, so we'll have to keep finding that 'perfect match' of brush, soap/cream, DE/straight, that is best suited for the given day. For me this comes down to preference, how much time I have, how much stubble I have to deal with, etc. I'll also say that the more I've experimented, the more I've figured out how to get the best result. Changing brushes, soaps, etc. on a regular basis has helped me figure out exactly how much water to add, how much glycerin, etc., and what the result is - slippery, good cushion, good smell, etc. Every time I think I'm figuring this out for good, I try something new and realize why everyone has their own opinion!

Happy shaving gents.

As a small hint. I'll usually stir up a good lather, then strop the razor a few minutes, then swirl the lather a second time before using it on my face. Letting it sit after the first stir, then swirling it a second time definitely thickens the lather, whether you're using boar or badger.

What you're experiencing is that the boar brush is able to pick more soap because the bristles are stiffer and their tips are harder, so they dig deeper into the soap surface (diamond hones remove metal from a razor faster in the exact same way). Badger brushes hold more water and release it into the lather at a slower slower than a boar brush does, so in many cases they are more efficient than boar ones in making lather.

I have seven quality badgers and a couple of good boars. I rotate through all of them. Kind of like having nine girlfriends. Each one has its own secrets, delights, and idiosyncrasies. I have discovered no trend in creams v. soaps, stiffness v. floppiness, abundance or longevity of lather, etc.

I've learned how to handle each of them according to its nature. None is better than the others. I give it what it needs. Each satisfies me in its own unique way.

Originally Posted by pcb01

I've learned how to handle each of them according to its nature. None is better than the others.

This is what I have learned in my 18 years of wet shaving. All quality brushes work great, be it a boar, badger, horse or raccoon. It just takes time and lots of practice making lather. After that you can start picking your favorites by how they feel.