Thread: Boar brushes? (Pros and Cons)

In my newb stupidity I soaked my new boar brush in mouthwash to help tone down the stink. I worked great! I then left some soap in it and washed it out a few hours later and the stink was gone. Nice! As far as I can tell, there was no damage to the brush.

John

The brush discussion is always full of personal, anecdotal experience; and that is the way it should be!

I have synthetic, boar, best badger, silvertip badger, and others in my rotation. It is an adventure deciding which one to use each morning. This is what turns the mundane shave into an event. I usually set my preferences out the night before and here is my criteria.

1. Soaps with bowl or lathering: boar or synthetic is superior.

2. Soaps or cream in a bowl: the best badger handles both rather well.

3. Creams in a bowl: ALL work pretty well, but the new synthetics are superior.

4. Face lathering with cream: Ah, the creme de le creme, silvertip badger is a wonderful feel on the face. Anything else feels cheap and scratchy.

This is just my opinion after 38 years of wet shaving. Perhaps there are a few others on this forum that agree with my assessment?

I say enjoy them all for different reasons. You should buy more than one for many reasons, the least of which is just plain fun.

Gammaray

1305 here, and the older it gets the better I like it..

I use it for simple Soap and face lathering and it does an excellent job..

That is where it excels, but I don't use it in lathering other ways as it has many weakness's to

Badger has always been considered the premium shave brush. Like it or not that is the way it has always been probably going back to at least the 1700s. Horse was the inexpensive alternative for the masses until the Anthrax scares and then Boar replaced Horse.

Of course like anything else everyone has their own personal preferences and qualities they like. With the Boar or Horse you are more limited to handles and sizes.

Just buy what you like and can afford.

I have several five boar brushes, five badgers, a horse and a synthetic. I like em all and enjoy the variety. Ok, I'm not sold on the synthetic. I tend to use the boars with soaps and the badgers with creams. The boars handle creams just fine and the badgers do the same with soap. That's a big part of the fun with this hobby is all the variety and experimentation you can do. By the way, none of my Semogue boars had any odor at all when they were new. Now my Omega is another story! All turned out to be very nice brushes.

Horse better for me too

I am mainly a badger guy but I have SOC and enjoy it
pros: inexpensive, good backbone, gets better with time.
cons: holds less water; takes VERY (at least 20-30 latherings) long to brake in

I've just got a Semogue 1438 and it's really nice. Very soft and I've had it only a week or so (It did get a very good soaking; some of it in a watered lather). I'm a bit worried about the badgers, too, esp the Chinese ones, less so about the boars...

The break in period (during which some may smell like a hog farm) is a huge con for boar brushes, obviously. No other brush has that issue. I do love how easily they load hard soaps, though...

Originally Posted by johna2231

In my newb stupidity I soaked my new boar brush in mouthwash to help tone down the stink. I worked great! I then left some soap in it and washed it out a few hours later and the stink was gone. Nice! As far as I can tell, there was no damage to the brush.

John

I did that too, but used Scope mouthwash . . . turned the bristles BLUE . . . just made it it smell like a hog gargled with scope. Finally washed it clean with aid of some dish soap.

That said, once the smell was gone I love it. The more I use is, the better it gets. I reach for it more than any other brush I own.

I have ordered a horse hair brush just to try one, but it hasn't arrived yet so can't comment on those. For now my Omega 48 is the go to brush in my cabinet.