Semogue 620, will it get better?

[Boar Fighter]

Yes I am keeping cool and waiting out with patience.
4th shave on it and it is floppy as rice noodles. This thing doesn't know what is stiffness. Next time on going to try and soak only the tips and little beyond.
In comparison when dry, my Omega 20102 feel like it is in advance stage of rigor mortise.
620 knot still feels plasticky and set in a weird manner. On one side of knot the hair just part away from each other.
Patience, yes. I have another Omega 011829 waiting in wings and I can tell he is going to really test my patience when I get it on.
Wonder what @Boar Fighter has to say on 620.

I don't have anything to say. I have on purpose avoided Semogue's "extra" hair, because i thought that the sense of buying Semogue, is to have the more "delicate" bristles compared to Omega... The "Extra" is supposed to be the worst grade of hair that Semogue has, so just by guessing, i thought it would be the most similar to Omegas, which i already have in abundance, so why buy the Semogue too...

If you like short lofts, i wouldn't hesitate to get the Semogue 1470 (or the 820 i think? in acrilic). It has better bristles than Omega, but still maintains backbone (for a Semogue).

As for your Omega that doesn't split, it's a bit odd, but not unheard of. I would advice instead, getting banded Omegas. The bristles split very easily and they usually have insignificant boar stench too.

P.S.: Semogues in general are floppier than Omegas. Banded Omegas are also floppier than unbanded (at least slightly).

 

[Timeclo]

In my experience, I find that Semogue's in general are harder to break in than other boars. That said, keep at it and it'll turn into a wonderfully broken in boar brush. It takes time and patience.

 

[Sotiris_A]

I have another Omega 011829 waiting in wings and I can tell he is going to really test my patience when I get it on.

I have the 011842 version and the bristle ends started splitting very quickly. I didn't keep track how many shaves did it take for it to break in adequately, but it is was very enjoyable from the beginning.

My Semogue boar brushes needed a lot more use to break in. I don't have the 620 or any variant with the same bristles, though.

 

[HereticHermit]

Weather here nowadays is in high100s. Any brush gets tinder dry under 1 hour so I just went after 620 with hammer and tongs; shaving twice a day with mild razor and Voshkhods.

There are 8 total shaves on it and I think another 8 will complete the 'break up' of this brush. One thing I learned on Semogue is that if you like your boar brush to be little 'stout' with some backbone, don’t pre wet a Semogue for long time. It will just turn into dog's floppy ear.

I started with a 5 second soak and flicked all water out. There is a bowl of Franken soap made entirely of leftover scraps from Stirling samples which I loaded for about 1 minute and loaded heavy. In the end there was more than normal soap after loading. Proto leather stayed a lot longer but eventually it came around into a shavable lather.

On first 5 shaves 620 simply refused to create any lather but this improved. However 620 knot just doesn’t have enough backbone to sustain and simply wilted under heavy lather. At one point the lather simply slipped down like a ring from the knot crown. I got the lather where I wanted it to be but kept at it for this photo session. In the picture the leather is little on the dry side than I normally use but 620 finally made lather was the bottom line.

Is this a good brush? Probably it is for many many wet shavers who wear by Semogue brushes but I don’t see myself becoming a huge fan of it or of Semogue brushes in general. Treated tips feel like treated gel tips of Silvertip badgers. There is no backbone; it is not scratchy but an unfeeling mass of plastic like hair with hideous artificial color band. Boars are known for having a personality and character, but this has none.

Will I keep it in use? Yes with soft creams or croaps and someday might install a real boar knot on a DIY Sunday because the handle is bit small for my liking I do like the grippy part of the handle. I do know there are other Semogue as well who might surpass the negatives of 620 but I am happy with my Omegas. Like everything else in wet shaving and on B&B, YMMV. I just wanted to share my experience if it might help someone in any manner.

 

[naughtilus]

You are clearly of the Omega tribe. You had your fling with Semogue, now get back to enjoying proper backbone in a brush.

 

[HereticHermit]

You are clearly of the Omega tribe. You had your fling with Semogue, now get back to enjoying proper backbone in a brush.

Yup I checked and controlled my drool from dripping over Jade green 011829.

 

[TBoner]

Semogue 2000 is my pick for best Semogue, probably because it's the most Omega-like. Even still, not as much spine as an Omega. I am going to wind up with just a 24/55 Omega knot as my only boar, I think. It feels just how I want a brush to feel when lathering.

 

[mawashi]

I don't have anything to say. I have on purpose avoided Semogue's "extra" hair, because i thought that the sense of buying Semogue, is to have the more "delicate" bristles compared to Omega... The "Extra" is supposed to be the worst grade of hair that Semogue has, so just by guessing, i thought it would be the most similar to Omegas, which i already have in abundance, so why buy the Semogue too...

If you like short lofts, i wouldn't hesitate to get the Semogue 1470 (or the 820 i think? in acrilic). It has better bristles than Omega, but still maintains backbone (for a Semogue).

As for your Omega that doesn't split, it's a bit odd, but not unheard of. I would advice instead, getting banded Omegas. The bristles split very easily and they usually have insignificant boar stench too.

P.S.: Semogues in general are floppier than Omegas. Banded Omegas are also floppier than unbanded (at least slightly).

Similar tastes here to HereticHermit, floppy doesn't do it for me. So I'll choose an omega over a Sem usually.

Weather here nowadays is in high100s. Any brush gets tinder dry under 1 hour so I just went after 620 with hammer and tongs; shaving twice a day with mild razor and Voshkhods.

There are 8 total shaves on it and I think another 8 will complete the 'break up' of this brush. One thing I learned on Semogue is that if you like your boar brush to be little 'stout' with some backbone, don’t pre wet a Semogue for long time. It will just turn into dog's floppy ear.

I started with a 5 second soak and flicked all water out. There is a bowl of Franken soap made entirely of leftover scraps from Stirling samples which I loaded for about 1 minute and loaded heavy. In the end there was more than normal soap after loading. Proto leather stayed a lot longer but eventually it came around into a shavable lather.

On first 5 shaves 620 simply refused to create any lather but this improved. However 620 knot just doesn’t have enough backbone to sustain and simply wilted under heavy lather. At one point the lather simply slipped down like a ring from the knot crown. I got the lather where I wanted it to be but kept at it for this photo session. In the picture the leather is little on the dry side than I normally use but 620 finally made lather was the bottom line.

Is this a good brush? Probably it is for many many wet shavers who wear by Semogue brushes but I don’t see myself becoming a huge fan of it or of Semogue brushes in general. Treated tips feel like treated gel tips of Silvertip badgers. There is no backbone; it is not scratchy but an unfeeling mass of plastic like hair with hideous artificial color band. Boars are known for having a personality and character, but this has none.

Will I keep it in use? Yes with soft creams or croaps and someday might install a real boar knot on a DIY Sunday because the handle is bit small for my liking I do like the grippy part of the handle. I do know there are other Semogue as well who might surpass the negatives of 620 but I am happy with my Omegas. Like everything else in wet shaving and on B&B, YMMV. I just wanted to share my experience if it might help someone in any manner.
View attachment 986015

Thanks for the review, it's especially helpful as I much prefer brushes w decent backbone.

Semogue 2000 is my pick for best Semogue, probably because it's the most Omega-like. Even still, not as much spine as an Omega. I am going to wind up with just a 24/55 Omega knot as my only boar, I think. It feels just how I want a brush to feel when lathering.

TBoner, the 11137 is a very nice brush but the tips aren't as soft as a banded boar if you're looking for something with softer tips (easier to break in n lather) and a decent backbone the 81020 n 81064 25/55 knots would be great brushes.
OMEGA Shaving Brushes

Cheers,

Mawashi

 

[Bhugo]

I don’t pre soak my Semogue or any brushes anymore. Semogue are all softer and have less backbone than Omega brushes that I have had. I have found that my 610 has decent backbone, but is also very soft feeling and my 830 is spectacularly soft tips and has less backbone than my 610 by far. Neither of them are scrubby. I find the Semogue brushes to take a marginal amount of time longer to load but do not use more soap than Omega or even some badger. Both of mine are broken in well. I believe that 30-40 uses was about how long they took before they stopped getting softer tips. The 830 lost much of its original backbone and the 610 lost a noticeable amount of backbone. Hundreds of uses on each now and they have been very consistent in their performance. I also like the handles much more than my Omega brushes.