The Semogue 610 and 820 share the same quality of hairs; Best 90% tops, so I thought (once again) it could be fun to compare those two very similar looking brushes to each other head-to-head.
And here we go:
I soaked the brushes while showering and then lathered up with Nanny's Eucalyptus & Tea Tree shaving soap.
First pass: I couldn't tell the two brushes apart, they felt equal in both backbone, splay and prickliness.
Second pass: I still couldn't tell them apart from backbone - both brushes felt really firm, and although I think the 610 splayed just a little bit more, neither brush had much of a splay, and I could very well be mistaken about the 610.
Third pass: In my mind I was pretty sure that the 820 would be a little more soft than the 610 due to the higher loft, so in an attempt to get an unbiased feel I closed my eyes and twirled the handles in my hands so the only thing I knew was, which side was up
Trying to apply the same amount of pressure with each brush (one in each hand) I first made circular motions and then painting strokes and then had a guess from the feel which brush was in which hand.
The left felt very slightly softer and from the feel it splayed a little more, and my guess was the 820 - but I was wrong, and I must admit this came as quite a surprise to me, as I would have thought the 820 would be softer.
Fourth pass: To be sure, I took good time to lather up and review the behaviour of the brushes, and it was as experienced in the third pass, the 610 had a little more splay and felt like it had a little less backbone, but we are talking very small differences here.
Data
Result
This was really a comparison that surprised me.
Looking at the weights of the brushes, I would say that they have the same amount of hair in the knot (although I can't be sure), and I would have thought the 4 mm difference in loft would have been noticeable, but it wasn't.
Now, this can maybe be because the 820 haven't seen as much action as the 610, and I will at some point repeat this comparison when both brushes have been used some more, to see if the result will be the same.
Other than that, I can only once again say that Semogue does manufacture some really nice brushes. These two have a good backbone with a firm knot that doesn't splay much (which I like) and with fairly soft tips - there is a slight prickly feel, but by no means uncomfortable for a soft loving guy like me
Furthermore I really like that the hairs are un-dyed. Boar hair is beautiful like it is, there is no reason to fake it, they can easily hold their own.
And here we go:
I soaked the brushes while showering and then lathered up with Nanny's Eucalyptus & Tea Tree shaving soap.
First pass: I couldn't tell the two brushes apart, they felt equal in both backbone, splay and prickliness.
Second pass: I still couldn't tell them apart from backbone - both brushes felt really firm, and although I think the 610 splayed just a little bit more, neither brush had much of a splay, and I could very well be mistaken about the 610.
Third pass: In my mind I was pretty sure that the 820 would be a little more soft than the 610 due to the higher loft, so in an attempt to get an unbiased feel I closed my eyes and twirled the handles in my hands so the only thing I knew was, which side was up
Trying to apply the same amount of pressure with each brush (one in each hand) I first made circular motions and then painting strokes and then had a guess from the feel which brush was in which hand.
The left felt very slightly softer and from the feel it splayed a little more, and my guess was the 820 - but I was wrong, and I must admit this came as quite a surprise to me, as I would have thought the 820 would be softer.
Fourth pass: To be sure, I took good time to lather up and review the behaviour of the brushes, and it was as experienced in the third pass, the 610 had a little more splay and felt like it had a little less backbone, but we are talking very small differences here.
Data
| 610 | 820 | |
| Hair type | Boar, Best 90% tops | Boar, Best 90% tops |
| Handle | Acrylic, clear/red | Acrylic, clear/red |
| Weight [gram] | 62.4 | 64.1 |
| Knot diameter [mm] | 21.0 | 21.4 |
| Loft height [mm] | 50.0 | 54.4 |
| Total height [mm] | 95.8 | 100.7 |
Result
This was really a comparison that surprised me.
Looking at the weights of the brushes, I would say that they have the same amount of hair in the knot (although I can't be sure), and I would have thought the 4 mm difference in loft would have been noticeable, but it wasn't.
Now, this can maybe be because the 820 haven't seen as much action as the 610, and I will at some point repeat this comparison when both brushes have been used some more, to see if the result will be the same.
Other than that, I can only once again say that Semogue does manufacture some really nice brushes. These two have a good backbone with a firm knot that doesn't splay much (which I like) and with fairly soft tips - there is a slight prickly feel, but by no means uncomfortable for a soft loving guy like me
Furthermore I really like that the hairs are un-dyed. Boar hair is beautiful like it is, there is no reason to fake it, they can easily hold their own.
