So my first boar came in the mail today...a White Omega 10049. Man, this this is big! Maiden voyage...tomorrow morning! Wish me luck, gents!
My first boar
- Thread starter elsmooth
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It's big, but it's beautiful. Feels great on the face and won't stop making lather. You going soap or cream for the inaugural shave?
Don't judge it by its performance when it's new! It will improve drastically when broken in.
+1 ... this can't be stressed enough.
In fact, when I get a new boar brush, I don't plan on putting it to my face for another 2 weeks, at least. First, it has to go through numerous wet/dry cycles to begin the break-in, then, another week or so of test-lathering, and THEN I put it to my face ... knowing full well that it still isn't finished. Only after I've had it for 2 or 3 months do I feel like it has reached its full potential.
Good luck with that 10049 ... be patient, because it will keep getting better and better the more you use it.
And don't put away your other brushes just yet ... you want a boar brush to be totally dry, so allow at least 48 hours between uses.
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- #5
RazoRock Sandalwood (I've joined up with the "3017" thread in the soap forum...this coming Wednesday will be 2 full weeks with one soap)
I've read that after 3 weeks of regular use the tips will split and it will really start showing it's character. I'm going to use it exclusive for a month and see how it goes.
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- #6
This I didn't know...thanks for the tip!
It reallly does improve with use. I use mine more that my badgers.
Sounds like you've got a good plan. Excellent advice here in this thread. For boars, every other day works best. I used to alternate my 49 and a Semogue 2000 and used that setup exclusively for quite a while.
Thanks for pointing me to the 3017 thread, btw. Good stuff.
Thanks for pointing me to the 3017 thread, btw. Good stuff.
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- #9
No problem. A good time can be had with a nice glass of wine, a little quiet time, and all 50 pages of the 3017 thread.
Indeed. I'm going beer, but you make me wish it were Cotes du Rhone instead. Recovering from ankle surgery, so I've got some time to read.
The 10049 is my daily brush. It works fantastically well with hard soaps. It will improve after about two weeks of daily use and then you will wonder why you didn't have one before.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not the split ends that really makes it "broken in". A few of my brushes have had the ends split very early (first few days), but they still weren't broken in until much later, and at that point the ends hadn't split noticeably more than they were before. The split ends makes it feel softer on the skin, but don't have much to do with water absorption and latherability. The length of the bristle being repeatedly soaked and dried completely (~2 days) is what does most of the breaking-in.
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- #13
What's the purpose of the excess drying time (2 days) during the "break-in" period?
To make sure that the brush is "completely" dry between shaves. The theory is that a completely dry bristle will absorb more water and then swell up a bit more hastening the "break in". Personally, I let my Omega 10049 dry overnight and use it the next morning. It has broken in just fine.
Its not excessive ... it takes that long to be sure the bristles are totally dry.
Drying is when the bristles split, and that's what makes the brush soft ... so soak the bristles in plain water for a few minutes, then shake it out, wipe it on a clean, dry towel, and set it aside to dry for 2 days. Repeat this for 2 weeks or so, then give it a week of test-lathers with your favorite soap or cream. Then, you can start shaving with it, and it will continue to soften up over the next month or two.
The long drying time is why I always advise anyone who is buying their first boar to buy two of them ... either two of the same model, or two different ones ... but this way, you'll always have a dry brush when it comes ready to make lather.
+1 ... I got my first boar in January (a 1305) and since then, there's no turning back. I also made the switch to face-lathering at the same time.
2011 has turned into the Year of SBAD for me ... and almost all of my purchases have been boar brushes. And most of those have been Semogues.
I don't understand why boar brush manufacturers don't offer a brush that has been broken-in at the factory ... it would require little extra effort at their end, and they could charge an extra $5 or $10 for this service. I'm sure a lot of shavers would gladly pay it so that they have a nice soft brush that is ready to use as soon as they get it in the mail.
I ordered another boar, this time a Semogue 610, and plan to give it several weeks of break in before I start to use it. My SOC took over a month to break in. Within three months, it was performing as well as my highest end badgers.
No, I don't think many would pay $5 to $10 (double the price) for an Omega that has been pre-broken in. Look at the number of Omega vs. Semogue brushes recommended... the Omega suggestions probably out-number the Omega 10 to 1, however from my own experience with the two, the Semogue is closer to "broken in" after 3 lathers than an Omega is after 3 weeks of use.
The Semogue brushes are almost devoid of funk, Omega takes several dozen lathers to get where a Semogue is after the first lather as far as funk is concerned. What ever they do at the Semogue factory to defunk (clean) the boar bristles hastens the softness/splitting process also.
Why are Omega brushes so recommended? Because they start at $10 for their least expensive models, the Semogue brushes start around $18 to $20. Both are quality products, I'm not knocking the actual QUALITY of the Omega brushes, just that Semogue brushes are, for all comparisons, that "already broken in" brush compared to an Omega brush.
After 2 months of use, they are essentially the same level, but for those first 2 months, especially the first month, the Semogue is a far better lathering brush with much nicer face feel.
Boar, is seen as a "cheap" brush, as compared to badger, and although there are now better quality boar brushes being produced than there were 5+ years ago, they still must remain in the low-price category for *most* to consider them. Yes, there are some who would buy boar over badger at any price because they PREFER the feel/performance of boar over a densely packed badger, but those people are rare. (I'm not saying they are WRONG, just in the minority.)
That's what I'm doing now. (My EJ Best Badger is feeling a bit lonely these days.) The Omega was good from Day One, no break-in necessary. My 2000 is less than a week old, and already the tips are getting softer. Omega and Semogue make a very nice rotation.
