Looking at getting one of these brushes. Which do you prefer? I don’t love a ton of backbone so I was worried the 2 band might be too stiff.
Semogue Soc, Mistura, and 2 Band.
- Thread starter Miketorrge
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EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
I have several Semogue two band Finest brushes and find them very similar to Simpson Manchurian with good backbone, soft tips, and just the right amount of scrub - at a fraction of the price. That said, my Finest examples are lower lofted than the current Semogue brushes, having a 2 to 1 loft to knot ratio. I have not tried the Mistura but as it contains 50% boar then I would expect it to have even more backbone than the two band, certainly until the boar portion of the knot has broken in. If you do not enjoy backbone then I would avoid the Mistura and pick a 2 band with a higher loft, for example 24mm knot with 53mm loft. Good luck 
I have the Semogue SOC Finest and Mistura and I completely agree.I have several Semogue two band Finest brushes and find them very similar to Simpson Manchurian with good backbone, soft tips, and just the right amount of scrub - at a fraction of the price. That said, my Finest examples are lower lofted than the current Semogue brushes, having a 2 to 1 loft to knot ratio. I have not tried the Mistura but as it contains 50% boar then I would expect it to have even more backbone than the two band, certainly until the boar portion of the knot has broken in. If you do not enjoy backbone then I would avoid the Mistura and pick a 2 band with a higher loft, for example 24mm knot with 53mm loft. Good luck
I have several Semogue two band Finest brushes and find them very similar to Simpson Manchurian with good backbone, soft tips, and just the right amount of scrub - at a fraction of the price. That said, my Finest examples are lower lofted than the current Semogue brushes, having a 2 to 1 loft to knot ratio. I have not tried the Mistura but as it contains 50% boar then I would expect it to have even more backbone than the two band, certainly until the boar portion of the knot has broken in. If you do not enjoy backbone then I would avoid the Mistura and pick a 2 band with a higher loft, for example 24mm knot with 53mm loft. Good luck
Great comparison!!
… but when that premium boar breaks in; oh my…I have several Semogue two band Finest brushes and find them very similar to Simpson Manchurian with good backbone, soft tips, and just the right amount of scrub - at a fraction of the price. That said, my Finest examples are lower lofted than the current Semogue brushes, having a 2 to 1 loft to knot ratio. I have not tried the Mistura but as it contains 50% boar then I would expect it to have even more backbone than the two band, certainly until the boar portion of the knot has broken in. If you do not enjoy backbone then I would avoid the Mistura and pick a 2 band with a higher loft, for example 24mm knot with 53mm loft. Good luck
Truly a great all-rounder
I have both and find the 730HD feels softer, denser, and more luxurious. The SOC has more backbone.
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In the long run, definitely get both when budget permits, with the order dependent on which you value more highly, softness or backbone.
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Good luck and have fun!
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Great observations. Thank you for the help!
The SOC boar (I hope that's the one you mean) is my perfect bowl brush. Great handle and splays as it breaks in (takes quite a while) to a fairly large brush with soft tips and plenty of backbone for the bowl. Many would find it too floppy for face lathering, but others would disagree. I think there are better choices for face lathering.
My two band has quite a bit of backbone near the handle, but it's balanced by very soft tips in the upper third, which splays very easily for face lathering. One of my top choices for face lathering. It definitely has backbone, but I would never describe it as stiff. Lovely face feel.
My Mistura clearly has the impressive backbone of this trio. It's a do everything brush and would be perfect if you like backbone and some scrub. Not loving a ton of backbone, I suspect this would not be your first choice.
I have both of these with the cherry handles. They are both good.
The Two-band is pleasantly scrubby with a firm feel. The Mistura is somewhat firmer and more scrubby than the Two-band. I wouldn't consider either brush stiff or harsh, though.
What gives these brushes a firmer feel is mainly the high density of the bristles. They work particularly well with hard soaps.
There is only so much that words can convey. I hope these few have helped you.
The Two-band is pleasantly scrubby with a firm feel. The Mistura is somewhat firmer and more scrubby than the Two-band. I wouldn't consider either brush stiff or harsh, though.
What gives these brushes a firmer feel is mainly the high density of the bristles. They work particularly well with hard soaps.
There is only so much that words can convey. I hope these few have helped you.
No experience with recent Semogue product.
I have some from years ago, including SOCs in both 2-band badger and boar. Both are/were very good brushes.
The SOC 2-band was not too prickly at the tips IMHO, and was similar to other 2-band brushes I owned. It was well-filled also, though not as dense as something like an old Rooney 2-band or some of the denser Simpsons 2-band brushes. It is/was not an overly floppy brush like an old Vulfix or whatever.
The SOC boar required break-in like any boar brush. Plenty of backbone but soft tips once broken-in. I far prefer Semogue boar brushes to Omega, for example. The SOC has a larger, denser knot than some of the regular Semogue boars.
No experience with HD silvertips from Semogue. I had one of the first regular silvertips from them to make it to U.S. shores and it was a nice brush, but not enough backbone for my taste. I would have preferred a more densely-filled, shorter loft. I would imagine the HD line solves some of those problems but I am not sure of the loft height offhand.
No experience with the Mistura badger/boar mixed knots but such mixed knots from other brands were not great IME. I also don't like horsehair, even the premium one I tried years ago.
I mainly use synth brushes now, but back when badgers were my top brushes I strongly preferred 2-band silvertip or what some brands call 2-band "finest" now. None of the ones I had were scritchy from any brand. The did require a brief soak before use for optimal performance IME - unlike synth brushes which can just be rinsed under the tap quickly.
I have some from years ago, including SOCs in both 2-band badger and boar. Both are/were very good brushes.
The SOC 2-band was not too prickly at the tips IMHO, and was similar to other 2-band brushes I owned. It was well-filled also, though not as dense as something like an old Rooney 2-band or some of the denser Simpsons 2-band brushes. It is/was not an overly floppy brush like an old Vulfix or whatever.
The SOC boar required break-in like any boar brush. Plenty of backbone but soft tips once broken-in. I far prefer Semogue boar brushes to Omega, for example. The SOC has a larger, denser knot than some of the regular Semogue boars.
No experience with HD silvertips from Semogue. I had one of the first regular silvertips from them to make it to U.S. shores and it was a nice brush, but not enough backbone for my taste. I would have preferred a more densely-filled, shorter loft. I would imagine the HD line solves some of those problems but I am not sure of the loft height offhand.
No experience with the Mistura badger/boar mixed knots but such mixed knots from other brands were not great IME. I also don't like horsehair, even the premium one I tried years ago.
I mainly use synth brushes now, but back when badgers were my top brushes I strongly preferred 2-band silvertip or what some brands call 2-band "finest" now. None of the ones I had were scritchy from any brand. The did require a brief soak before use for optimal performance IME - unlike synth brushes which can just be rinsed under the tap quickly.
If you are choosing between the SOC & Mistura, don’t forget Rudy can make those for you with a custom handle
I have both the SOC Boar and the SOC Mistura with ivory taj handles. Of these two, the well broken in Premium Boar is my favorite by far. Next I would like to get the SOC Synthetic Sylver and SOC 2 Band, both with the butterscotch handle. Since I like my boar over the Mistura, I am thinking the 2 band would be my least favorite and have no idea where the SOC Synthetic would fall into place.
I have a SOC Mistura, which I have used about 20 times, but I find it to be a bit too harsh/abrasive when I splay it. I'm not sure if it is the badger hair or boar hair causing this, or possibly the overall density? I used to have a cheap boar brush, which after breaking in, the tips were unbelievably soft, so I'm more inclined to believe it's the badger hair causing this abrasiveness, but I guess it could be that the boar hair has not broken in. The brush feels like it takes a lot of pressure to splay, so the amount of the pressure I'm putting on it could be contributing to the harshness/abrasiveness I'm experiencing.
I'm considering buying a SOC boar, to see if it isn't as harsh as my Mistura (obviously it may take some break in time).
Do you have thoughts/advice regarding my situation?
Thanks
I had the Mistura and Finest SOC's. Even after some break-in I felt the Mistura was never going to soften up enough for what I consider a comfortable scrub. The Finest was soft from the get-go.
Good to know, thanks.
Do you think that was because of the boar hairs? Or for some other reason?
The boar bristles take ages to break in but for me this a rewarding process. The Mistura changed during the first 50 shaves the boar is still not fully there.
You've posted this question a couple times and I've considered responding. I haven't until now because I don't know if we appreciate the same face feel. I had the SOC Misturas in both Butterscotch and Taj... and two SOC boars, same handles. They were great brushes but it turned out, I prefer the lightly larger knot size brushes.
If I were to recommend a boar brush, I would ask the person to take a close look at the Zenith boar brushes. I have 4 of them and they are fairly soft right out of the box and continue to improve with use.... They aren't too floppy...but I can feel the bristles. I actually like that... hence my hesitation to add any advice that might be faulty.
My personal preference is Two-band Manchurian or ShaveMac Two-band Silvertips.... The brushes that I have now are a bit more expensive, so there is that.... My three SV "High Mountain Manchurians" are the brushes against which I measure all others.... For me, they are perfect. I can feel the bristles as they give me a gentle scrub... I have skin issues and they don't cause any problems for me. The same can be said for the ShaveMac Two-band Silvertips... Mine are brushes with handles I loved but whose knots I did not and Rudy Vey reknotted them for me.
You might like completely soft brushes... the Zenith boars, when fully broken in, are ultra soft, I would say.... Three of mine are bleached bristles and one has a natural bristle knot. That one is taking a bit longer to break in. If you google "Zenith boar shaving brushes", you should see "YourShaving" and "TheGentleShave" come up at or near the top, depending on your location. I've ordered from both of them and they are both excellent companies/individuals with whom to deal. They both offer Zenith brushes (boars, badgers and synths) in many handle styles. You should be able to find a handle that speaks to you if you decide to head in that direction.
My first badger was a Zenith M23 Manchurian.. that model has a 506 copper handle. I like the feel of that handle but others find it a bit too small. They offer a similar handle that is a bit taller. Again.... it might not be soft enough for your enjoyment but for me, it's a perfect marriage of soft tips and a gentle scrub when splaying or even face painting.
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