Semogue 830 vs 620

[KarlMaldensNose]

The main thing that has me unsure of what to choose is the 90% tops of the 830 vs the 75% tops of the 620. I'm leaning toward the 620 mostly because of the shorter loft height (50mm vs 55mm). I face and bowl lather equally and find shorter lofts can handle both better than higher lofts. But my experience and conjecture are both based on my history with badgers. I've heard the 830 can get floppy once broken in and isn't the greatest face latherer. But those 90% tops seem so appealing. Just how much of a difference does that extra 15% make regarding face feel?

[OldGreyGuy]

Have you thought about a 610?

Seems to be the same size as the 620 but with 90% tops.

[JeffJ]

I use and face lather with the 620 and the 830 regularly. Both work great. The size and loft of the 620 is fantastic for face lathering. The 830 feels a lot larger. I wouldn't worry too much about the hair composition. My take is that the difference has more to do with the loft. These Semogues are inexpensive enough that it isn't unreasonable to buy and keep both or sell the one that comes in second after break-in.

[KarlMaldensNose]

Have you thought about a 610?

Seems to be the same size as the 620 but with 90% tops.

I would choose the 610 if the place I'm buying from carried them. Italian Barber is the only online store in Canada that carries Semogue brushes. I like to keep my purchases as local as possible. IB offers the following Semogues: 620, 830, 1250, 1305, 1438, 1460, 1520, 1800, 2000, and a bunch of Owners Club brushes

As to what Jeff reports about the minor actual difference bewteen 90% and 75% tops, I suspected as much and am glad to have it confirmed. I'm leaning toward the 620, however, I might contact Joseph (the owner) to see if the 610 can be special ordered.

[JeffJ]

If you have your heart set on a 610, you might consider vintagescent.com (the brushes are coming from Portugal regardless). black handle 610 or red handle 610

I bought a 1305 from Leon last year. Prices are good and shipping was very reasonable. It took about 2 weeks to ship from Portugal to the west coast of the US.

I like that the 610 has natural bristle (no coloring/dye).

[celestino]

Both are very nice and i would not say the 830 feel much larger. Regarding the tops, the 830 is the only one with Premium tops as opposed to the 620 with Best tops and the rest of the line which all carry the Best 90 tops. Once you feel the difference between these tops you will be very surprised. i would not say a vast difference, but quite distinguishable, in my opinion. Why not get both and compare as they are quite cheap and as has been stated, Vintagescent in Portugal is a great place to order these brushes as it ItalianBarber, but if you really want the 620, then you will have to go to Vintagescent. Good luck and enjoy.

[Vivasanti]

I just brought a 620 from vintage scent, paid 4 days ago and havent had a shipping notification?

is this normal?

[KarlMaldensNose]

I just brought a 620 from vintage scent, paid 4 days ago and havent had a shipping notification?

is this normal?

I find that outside of North America, things are very different. People (and by extention their businesses) don't operate with the same sense of urgency that's tighly bound to clocks and calendars. Of course there are exceptions, but in general I have found this to be the case, especially where I lived in Central America and where I've vacationed in the tropics. The Portuguese are renowned for their siesta-esque approach to business and life in general. And for the record, that is a compliment in my books, not an insult.

[Harvitz81]

I've owned both of these brushes, sold both, and yet again own the 620. The 830 has softer tips, but once broken in (and I used mine a lot, 60+ times) it loses quite a bit of backbone and really became a bit floppy to me. The 620 will probably never break in to the point that all bristles get split ends (I used this one a lot as well), but retains backbone. Not as soft of tips as the 830, but certainly softer than many badgers out there. A little scritch, but definitely no scratch.

Upon getting the 620 again, I can't believe I ever sold it. It is a great little brush, especially for the price.

If soft tips are what you are after, go the 830 but you will sacrifice some backbone once broken in.
If backbone and scrubby is what you are after go the 620. I find the tips perfectly fine on this one as well, but I'm not that sensitive to a little scritch.

[Alejandro1969]

Semogue 830

I was drawn to this brush for a number of reasons. Firstly I love the handle and the colour, but as we all know, all that glitters isn't gold. I wanted a good boar brush because earlier this year I bought a very cheap bristle brush and liked it. I took it out of the box and soaked it in warm water for 5 minutes, shook it and slapped it into a tub of Proraso green. My oh my, the lather appeared as if by magic. The brush felt thick and smooth on the face, smothering me with thick cream and making me look like Santa Claus in seconds! I can honestly say this is a great brush, you can really feel the quality. I now prefer boar to badger! Honestly, this is a great boar brush that I can see myself using for years to come.

[BigBull]

I find that outside of North America, things are very different. People (and by extention their businesses) don't operate with the same sense of urgency that's tighly bound to clocks and calendars. Of course there are exceptions, but in general I have found this to be the case, especially where I lived in Central America and where I've vacationed in the tropics. The Portuguese are renowned for their siesta-esque approach to business and life in general. And for the record, that is a compliment in my books, not an insult.

I can speak to this directly. I ordered a Semogue Owners Club from VintageScent.com and paid by PayPal. Usually, you recieve an immediate response from the store confirming that order, and giving you an update. That didn't happen from VintageScent. Well, actually it did! He immediately responded and subsequently responded to my inquiries on his website. I ended up sending a CC: message to my inbox and his store, and he once again immediately responded. Turned out, everything he sent me went to my JUNK MAIL and didn't replicate to my phone or home computer. Point being, I had to log onto the server's website to confirm that he had been responding all along. I worried for nothing.

I recieved my SOC brush yesterday and am totally stoked on it! Overall, it took less than 10 days to Florida...

Enjoy it when you get it!

[Vivasanti]

got an Email today, hes been sick, 8 days and it still hadn't shipped, he's gona send it today or tomorrow.

be glad when it arrives.