Omega has nice price point brushes that do job under $10.00USD.
Recommend a boar bristle brush
- Thread starter doctordial
- Start date
I would start with a Semogue 610 or 2000 either should be under $20
Next levels up would be a 620/830 or 1305/SOC respectively.
Next levels up would be a 620/830 or 1305/SOC respectively.
No idea what else is below this, but…
I don’t have bigger than 24mm. the Omega 10065 or 10066 are really good. Good backbone, comfortable scrub, and soft tips once broken in. You can pick one up for about or less than $10. If you want a bigger knot, one of the Omega pros, 48/49 or other pro. I’ve never used one, so I can’t say either way.
Semogues tend to be more floppy and splayable than the denser Omegas, as a general rule in my experience. SOC is the exception to that and the only Semogue I’ve kept in rotation. It was considered one of the very best and still well regarded with a longer than average break in period but because of that I wouldn’t recommend it as your first. It’s super softly tipped and splays more readily than an Omega. Its handle design is the most ergonomic I’ve seen. I prefer the weight of the cherry over the resins.
I also have a Zenith 2000 CXE-something. It’s unbleached and is a better performing, similar in characteristic to the SOC for me. It broke in usably within 3 shaves. Best plastic handle I’ve ever touched, clean lines, good weight, and comfortable in hand. I bought it from Your Shaving for just under €9, and €5-ish shipping from Spain to the US. At my door in about a week. My favorite boar.
Those three are the ones I’ve kept in rotation and don’t want others.
And fyi, they take some period of time to break in, and hungry loaders and lather hugs and will need less after break in. It’s just different from badgers until well broken in.
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And don’t buy a Semogue with a painted handle. They will crack, get wet, and flake off.
Every.
Single.
One.
Ever.
I also bought an Omega 10005 thinking wood handle for a 10065 knot, perfect. It was not. It wasn’t as dense, floppy and splayed like a Semogue. I passed it on. That’s a sample size of 1:1, so…
My 10065, SOC, Zenith 2000
Every.
Single.
One.
Ever.
I also bought an Omega 10005 thinking wood handle for a 10065 knot, perfect. It was not. It wasn’t as dense, floppy and splayed like a Semogue. I passed it on. That’s a sample size of 1:1, so…
My 10065, SOC, Zenith 2000
For backbone I say Omega Premium Jade if you don’t mind breaking it in, as it is natural. Zenith Chubby Scrubby is great out of the box as it is bleached. AP Shave has a great 24mm Semogue 1305, but it runs more $$. For first time boar owner, I would lean towards the Zenith.
... and on "backbone":
although people agree on what that concept means in general terms, there seems to be great variance in judgements as to whether particular brushes "have it" (backbone). This can be very confusing when inquiring about "backbone".
Generally speaking (in case you don't already know), backbone is affected by factors such as type of hair&bristle, and ratio of knot diameter to loft. A low loft relative to knot diameter will give you more backbone, especially with stiffer hair (e.g. natural bristle boar as opposed to silvertip badger).
Most boar brushes have some level of tangible backbone (compared to synthetics and badgers), though I know of some that have very little (e.g. the Omega 31064). If you really enjoy, and want to seek out a lot of backbone in a boar, I'd recommend two specific brushes for you to try (again, for the price of boars, buying a few to try out is not unreasonable).
One is the already mentioned "Proraso" brush, made by Omega, and widely available. This brush resembles the Omega "Professional" brushes (like the 10048, the 10049, and 10098) in knot size, but the Proraso has shorter loft, giving it more backbone. For several years the Proraso boar was one of my favourite brushes for this reason, so I know this knot very well. Once it is well broken in (and super dense), that level of backbone is very nice. These days that level of backbone is not my priority any more, so the Proraso has slipped out of my rotation (I just find it too big for daily use, and I never really got along with the handle on the Proraso).
The other boar with loads of backbone that I would recommend, is the Omega 10029, also known colloquially as the "baby Pro". this is a rather small knot, but it has a crazy amount of backbone, even more than the Proraso. For a couple of years, the 10029 was among my favourite brushes for this reason too. I don't think I would ever want more backbone than that of the 10029. These days I have "archived" the 10029 too, simply because that level of backbone is not my priority, though if I have been out camping for a week and need a good scrub, I might still reach for it.. ;-)
More than just backbone, I also prioritize splay, knot and loft size in combination with a level of backbone, and so I have ended up with a variety of smaller (22-24 mm knot) natural bristle boar as some of my top picks (along with 2 band and silvertip badgers). As said above, if I was to single out just one of them for recommendation, it would be the Omega 10066.
Final comment on natural bristle versus other kinds of boar (bleached and coloured bristle):
I own several of the latter too, and especially Semogue makes some very nice specimens of these. I am on my second Semogue 620 now (coloured), which is really an excellent brush, and has been among my top picks
Overall though, I have come to develop a clear preference for natural bristle, because I find that over time, they are more tangibly affected (positively so) by being broken in. I'd say, people who think a natural bristle boar is "broken in" after ten shaves or so, don't know what they are talking about. It's not at all a bad brush after ten shaves, and indeed bristles start to split already after a single use. But natural bristle have a way (which coloured and bleached bristle do not) of building into a forever more dense knot as hair keep splitting, so that after daily use for 6 + months or so, the density of a natural bristle boar is comparable to high end 2 band badgers. In my experience at least, coloured and bleached bristle don't not quite achieve that. And of course, natural bristle brushes is where Omega truly shines, no company offers a wider selection of natural bristle brushes than Omega.
Enjoy...!
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If you like bigger brushes, I’d recommend an Omega Pro Boar.
My favorite Omega Pro is the 20102 pictured below.
Full disclosure: I’m an Omega Fan Boy and have lots of them.
My favorite Omega Pro is the 20102 pictured below.
Full disclosure: I’m an Omega Fan Boy and have lots of them.
This!
I agree, if you'd like something compact with wooden handle, the Omega 11137 would be a good and suitable choice for you. Within the EU they retail for as little as 5 € plus shipping. Sorry I didn't see your more specific requirements sooner.
Omega with some backbone:
I would second the above suggestion for the 81052 and 11137.
Semogue with some backbone:
610 and C5 torga.
Semogue with less backbone but awesome feel: 830.
This is my personal favorite boar brush!
A mention goes to boti boar knots (bleached and unbleached), which are getting a lot of love in shaving communities these days!
I learned early on to use my boars in this manner; for me it's a pinch of the knot using my thumb and most of my index finger to create a broad fan. Using this technique, there is no such thing as a floppy boar. An Omega '49 is superb in this fashion j/s.
My only exceptions are with my shorter knots: Zenith B34, Zenith Stirling, and Omega Jade
My experience with boar brushes is a Semogue 820, Omega 10066 and 20102 and recently I bought an Omega 10049. I did not like the Semogue, even after 20/30 uses it was still not comfortable to use and I ended up reknotting it with a 22mm finest badger knot from Maggards. The 10066 had a too short knot and it was difficult to splay so I just ditched it somewhere. Then I bought the 20102 which was soft right out of the box but had an unpleasant smell which was difficult to get rid of. Nevertheless it was the best I had used but somehow a bit too big. It works great with soft soaps like Razorock. The 10049 has a shorter loft and is also soft right out of the box. It is also not that stinky
I bought a ds cosmetic handle and reknotted it. It fits 26mm brush handle.
I bought a ds cosmetic handle and reknotted it. It fits 26mm brush handle.Attachments
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Try the Mondial boar, you will not regret it
I have the same brush. It took me a week to break it in and the hair tips to split. But 20 shaves into it, it still won't lather anything other than the Proraso soap or a couple of cream tubes. How long before it stops eating into lather? I had a smaller Omega 10077, which took a month to break in. I am a patient man really, but the suspense of when the lather eating stops, and I can really start enjoying this brush is killing me me a bit. It's a nice brush, but since I am not able to enjoy it fully is a bummer
Proraso Pro
$20 for an outstanding boar brush
$20 for an outstanding boar brush
