Tweezerman to SOC (boar)

[chuckg]

Hey everyone. Been lurking for a while but decided it's time to get involved!

I started DE shaving only a month ago, but already love it and am never going back to a cartridge.

I bought a Fatboy and Astra blades along with a Tweezerman brush, using Proraso (old formula) cream in a bowl. The Tweezerman brush works quite well for me - so I must have gotten a rare "good" one, but it's so limp (lack of backbone?) that it's just brushing the lather on, not massaging the facial hair. Time to upgrade.

Last night, I decided to order an SOC in boar. It seems to get rave reviews here and appears to have a strong backbone, which would help with the massage part of the lather application, as well as being good for bowl lathering.

Is my logic sound on this? (I feel like I've gone cross-eyed from reading so many posts about brushes here!)

Thanks for your insight.

[Absolute Mustard]

Those two brushes are quite the different ends of the spectrum

The SOC is a very good brush and will give you backbone

[chuckg]

I'm glad that it's such a different brush. I figure it's wise to try a few different styles and types to find what's best for me. I'm pretty sure backbone is a plus for me at this point though.

[dom1357]

The SOC will definitely give you backbone. I used to have a Tweezerman and currently have an SOC. The tips on the Tweeze are more scritchy than the SOC because they are cut. The SOC has softer tips out of the box, and will eventually get even better. But it still has a lot of backbone. I'm only 3 weeks into breaking mine in, but I've noticed a difference. The SOC takes some time to sort of fan out though. At the beginning it took some effort to get it to open up on the face, but after a week or so it started to be less stiff. At the beginning you might think it's a little rough, but stick with it and it will break in nicely.

[chuckg]

Thanks for the reply dom. That's exactly what I was thinking here. Glad to know I'm not totally lost .. yet. Break-in I can handle and am looking forward to seeing the differences, no matter how minute they might be.

[Champion of Capua]

Good job, the SOC is a wonderful brush. I prefer using it on Italian soaps in a Pyrex dish using Marcos method. It's a wonderful combination

[chuckg]

I'll have to look up Marcos Method. Thanks for the tip!

[Predict]

You'll love the soc. a very dense knot.

[BigBull]

I love my SOC boar, hope you do too! IMO, you'll find there is still a place for your tweezerman but when it comes to soaps there is no comparison.

Take a look at this article. It was shared with me, so I'm sharing it with you. Remember, it will only get better over time. Enjoy it!

[chuckg]

Decided to post a quick follow-up to my original post. I've had the SOC for a week and a half and love it. Bristles are soft - far more than the Tweezerman ever was, the backbone is excellent. I'm actually starting to face lather a bit, just because it does it so well! I'm getting *much* better shaves (probably due to better exfoliation from the brush) and best of all, mine doesn't stink ... at all. For $30, it's stellar.

Thanks again to those who posted with experience and advice.