Badger is better than boar

[Captain Coconut]

So first shave with the Semogue 620. It's a nice brush, and may actually be nicer than the Omega's. Got three good passes, and had to go back to the puck for the final pass and reload. That's just the first shave though, will have to see what happens as it breaks in. I was pretty surprised that with a short loft like this it did not have more scrub to it. Maybe as the hairs split more it will feel more dense? Not scratchy at all, in fact, some of the hairs are already splitting.

I'm glad to see you're giving it a fair run. After it's fully broken in, I think you'll be impressed, although I don't imagine it'll completely change your preferences or anything radical like that.

[BigBull]

After many thought filled hours I,ve got the answer!!!

Boar is better than Badger
Horse is better than Boar
Badger is better than Horse

So do we all have a consensus here?!?!

[Blondie]

So shave three with the Semogue was today. Used MWF. while it is a stiff brush, I do not find the tips to be prickly at all. I like the brush, and finally got enough lather for four passes - by bowl lathering. Maybe that is the difference. Are there any Semogue 620 face latherers out there that get four passes without going back to the puck?

[craig87c]

I do a max of three passes, but I'd always have enough for four with my 1438 (same knot).

[Den]

In my experience, I'm not sure if any brush with a loft similar to the 620 (21/50mm) could hold enough lather for four passes, without going back to the puck or dipping into the extra lather in the bowl if bowl lathering. The lather on my third pass is quite thin when using a small brush if I don't take one of the steps I mentioned.

I never saw it as a problem, but I get the feeling we're going to see replies of others using 10/25mm knots and being able to generate enough lather for 8 passes...with so much extra they could shave their cat.

[Blondie]

In my experience, I'm not sure if any brush with a loft similar to the 620 (21/50mm) could hold enough lather for four passes, without going back to the puck or dipping into the extra lather in the bowl if bowl lathering. The lather on my third pass is quite thin when using a small brush if I don't take one of the steps I mentioned.

I never saw it as a problem, but I get the feeling we're going to see replies of others using 10/25mm knots and being able to generate enough lather for 8 passes...with so much extra they could shave their cat.

I can get 4 passes out of all my badger when face lathering. The smallest I have is 20MM with a loft of 48MM. I don't think the badgers create more lather per se, they just do not release as much as the boars, if that makes sense...

[Krona Kruiser]

I can get 4 passes out of all my badger when face lathering. The smallest I have is 20MM with a loft of 48MM. I don't think the badgers create more lather per se, they just do not release as much as the boars, if that makes sense...

That makes complete sense. In fact, I just made that realization when I was shaving today. Badger also keeps the temperature steady and doesn't "cool off" like boars. I love boars but love badgers a wee more.....

[Den]

I can get 4 passes out of all my badger when face lathering. The smallest I have is 20MM with a loft of 48MM. I don't think the badgers create more lather per se, they just do not release as much as the boars, if that makes sense...

Makes total sense, and I agree with it. Boars just give up the lather, almost an all or nothing type of thing. Most times I have to wring out my boars on the side of my bowl before applying to my face because there's just way too much in the knot. Don't want to use it all on my first pass.

I can't get four passes out of my badger, but I suspect it's because I load it for about the same amount of time as my boars. (too impatient I guess)

This raises another question, how much lather is considered enough for one pass? I've seen pics of guys on these boards with their faces lathered up and it's so thinly applied, you can see the color of their skin and even some stubble through it. I wouldn't consider something like that enough lather for one pass, since I'd need 2 to 3 times that thickness for enough cushion. So their three passes would basically equal one of mine.

[Arcadies]

So shave three with the Semogue was today. Used MWF. while it is a stiff brush, I do not find the tips to be prickly at all. I like the brush, and finally got enough lather for four passes - by bowl lathering. Maybe that is the difference. Are there any Semogue 620 face latherers out there that get four passes without going back to the puck?

I don't see how you could possibly expect much from a barely used boar, they need to be broken in fully for maximum potential. I know it's a tired old "excuse" but is true none the less and one definite advantage badger has over boar. Your 620 may have a few broken in hairs but it's not going to be anywhere near full glory for at least 30 days of consistent use, you can speed that up by face lathering (the stubble helps with hair splitting) or you can gently palm lather it on some medium grit sandpaper, which is something I've done with the occasional ornery boar to speed up break in tremendously.

[Blondie]

I don't see how you could possibly expect much from a barely used boar, they need to be broken in fully for maximum potential. I know it's a tired old "excuse" but is true none the less and one definite advantage badger has over boar. Your 620 may have a few broken in hairs but it's not going to be anywhere near full glory for at least 30 days of consistent use, you can speed that up by face lathering (the stubble helps with hair splitting) or you can gently palm lather it on some medium grit sandpaper, which is something I've done with the occasional ornery boar to speed up break in tremendously.

Just chronicling the experience, no big expectations, and not trying to "dis" the boar brush. My first brush was an Omega Pro 48/49 I've had for several years, so I'm aware of the break in period for boars, and I'm in no hurry to break it in. I just bought it to see if it will change my initial impression of brushes I stated in the title of the thread, which is "badger is better than boar".

[Captain Coconut]

you can gently palm lather it on some medium grit sandpaper

[Arcadies]

It works! I mean real palm lathering of course, with soap/cream for lubrication, I prefer Arko since it's cheap and super slick. My first Semogue 830 took 2 months to fully break in, my 2nd one took about 3 weeks and all I did was palm lather it on sandpaper 3-4 times per week and let it dry between sessions. I've since used this method on 2 other boars and all seemed to break in half the time.

[jwilock]

So shave three with the Semogue was today. Used MWF. while it is a stiff brush, I do not find the tips to be prickly at all. I like the brush, and finally got enough lather for four passes - by bowl lathering. Maybe that is the difference. Are there any Semogue 620 face latherers out there that get four passes without going back to the puck?

Just recently finished four shaves with my new 610. The first three were on hard soaps where the 610 made great lather quickly, but I had to reload to finish my third pass. For my fourth shave I decided to use my old standby Proraso cream in the tube in my scuttle. The lather practically overflowed the scuttle. I probably had enough for at least two full 3-pass shaves. Right now I'm re-doing that experiment with the new SOC that I bought at the same time. I hoped that because the knot was bigger and denser I'd have more luck getting in three full passes. But not on the first two attempts. I'm off to try a third time tomorrow and then, just like with the 610, I'm going it give it a try in my scuttle with Proraso. I'm expecting it to excel at that.

I should add that I love the feel of both of these brushes on my face, even new as they are not yet broken in.

[AirForceMX]

So shave three with the Semogue was today. Used MWF. while it is a stiff brush, I do not find the tips to be prickly at all. I like the brush, and finally got enough lather for four passes - by bowl lathering. Maybe that is the difference. Are there any Semogue 620 face latherers out there that get four passes without going back to the puck?

I've been trying VDH luxury. Face lathering two passes after loading, then re-pucking it a little just for the heck of it. Could prolly go a full three, but why not get some extra juice for that last pass!

[shm]

Are there any Semogue 620 face latherers out there that get four passes without going back to the puck?

Yes, I face lathered yesterday with the 620 and a Derby stick and got enough for 4 passes and just enough for some small touch ups, I couldn't have covered the face again - I normally bowl lather, but once in a while I face lather.
I'm going on a 14 day vacation on Saturday and the brush I'm bringing with me will be the 620 along with an Arko stick, this should keep my technique up to date

[Blondie]

Yes, I face lathered yesterday with the 620 and a Derby stick and got enough for 4 passes and just enough for some small touch ups, I couldn't have covered the face again - I normally bowl lather, but once in a while I face lather.
I'm going on a 14 day vacation on Saturday and the brush I'm bringing with me will be the 620 along with an Arko stick, this should keep my technique up to date

So we will have to see what happens after some more breakin of the 620. How old is yours?

[shm]

So we will have to see what happens after some more breakin of the 620. How old is yours?

I got it in late March.
I broke it in by hand lathering once or twice a day for about two weeks, and it worked out perfectly. The bristles split quite fast but the flow through took longer to get good.
I've got a warm and well ventilated bathroom, so the brush was dry even with a lathering twice a day.

I don't have anything but my perception of it, but it seems to me that the brushes I have hand lathered vigorously for two weeks, like the 620, gets softer tips and a slightly better flow through than the ones I have broken in by using them every other day for around a month.

And just to be fair; I don't always get four passes worth of lather when I face lather. Especially if the brush have been quite wet the water thins the lather after about two passes.

[lt114]

For me the diffrence is the soap. I can get 4 passes out of my 620 with some soaps but not others.
The key for me is to really load up the brush with soap and not release all of the lather on the first pass. I will redip the tips of the brush on subsequent passes to generate more lather. From time to time, I might have to hit the puck for a couple of seconds before the 3rd or 4th pass (I rarely see the need for more than 3 passes). I don't see a problem with reloading the brush, but I know some folks are hung up about how many passes they can get out of a brush while face lathering wihtout relaoding the brush.

[Blondie]

I got it in late March.
I broke it in by hand lathering once or twice a day for about two weeks, and it worked out perfectly. The bristles split quite fast but the flow through took longer to get good.
I've got a warm and well ventilated bathroom, so the brush was dry even with a lathering twice a day.

I don't have anything but my perception of it, but it seems to me that the brushes I have hand lathered vigorously for two weeks, like the 620, gets softer tips and a slightly better flow through than the ones I have broken in by using them every other day for around a month.

And just to be fair; I don't always get four passes worth of lather when I face lather. Especially if the brush have been quite wet the water thins the lather after about two passes.

Just to be sure we are talking about the same thing when we say flow-through, to me it is a knots ability to release lather to the face for application and subsequent shaving. I have no problem with boars doing this. My problem is that they seem to let go fo too much lather, whereas a badger tends to be a bit more stingy, hence having enough lather to make four passes. I think they both make equal amounts of lather.

For me the diffrence is the soap. I can get 4 passes out of my 620 with some soaps but not others.
The key for me is to really load up the brush with soap and not release all of the lather on the first pass. I will redip the tips of the brush on subsequent passes to generate more lather. From time to time, I might have to hit the puck for a couple of seconds before the 3rd or 4th pass (I rarely see the need for more than 3 passes). I don't see a problem with reloading the brush, but I know some folks are hung up about how many passes they can get out of a brush while face lathering wihtout relaoding the brush.

For me, it is not really a hang up on the four passes per se. It is that I typically do four passes when I want a really close shave. If I got that closeness out of two passes, that is what I would want out of a brush. My real hang up is the belief that when I stop to go back to the puck, my skin and beard come a bit out of the "zone of hydration". For me, the longer between the rinse, reapplication of lather, and subsequent pass results in more irritation, therefore, if I can just rinse and immediately apply lather for the next pass, I get a more comfortable shave. I hope that makes sense...

[shm]

Yes, it can release a lot of lather on the first application, but if I think it has released too much, I just pick some of it up in the brush again.

If you feel you loose too much hydration you could load the brush before you put it down instead of when you pick it up. The lather should keep your beard hydrated meanwhile (if I make sense here ).