Boar-Soaking Lesson Learned: Immerse the Entire Loft

This morning, I'd thought I'd be smart and soak only the bristles as usual except for about a 1/2" above the knot. I had the worse lather and brush-on-face ever. The Semogue 1250 is a sweet brush, so long as full length of its loft is properly/fully immersed in water for about 15 to 20 minutes. After not immersing the full length of the loft, it had too much backbone at the base and would not splay when I applied the lathered brush to my face. The bristles just above the knot were too stiff to allow the upper loft to splay as usual--it was horrible for bowl and face lathering. Before today, which was my fault, the 1250 always performed for me because I would immerse the brush (for at least 15 minutes) to where the knot enters the handle

This won't happen again; as I said, lesson learned. Tomorrow I'll soak the brush 'above the rim', i.e., the entire loft and part of the handle. I turned a great brush into a one-time-only poor performer. Just thought I'd pass this along.

Typically, I fill my soap cup with water, and rest my brush in there to soak, about 70% of the way up the bristles, and leave it there whilst I have a quick coffee, so 4 or 5 minutes? Works fine on either brush, Semogue 1460 or my Omega 'Bigger' Bambino.

Cash_Stronomer said:

Typically, I fill my soap cup with water, and rest my brush in there to soak, about 70% of the way up the bristles, and leave it there whilst I have a quick coffee, so 4 or 5 minutes? Works fine on either brush, Semogue 1460 or my Omega 'Bigger' Bambino.

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Yup ... 5 minutes or less works fine for me too.

DEGuy said:

Tomorrow I'll soak the brush 'above the rim', i.e., the entire loft and part of the handle. I turned a great brush into a one-time-only poor performer. Just thought I'd pass this along.

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Please don't soak above the rim. My understanding is that submerging the knot will damage it over time. And, soak-and-dry cycles for your wood handle will eventually warp/crack it.

It may be that your brush is in need of cleaning, particularly if it's not holding water like it used to.

If the handle warps/cracks then it shouldn't be a handle. I've had several fine wood handle brushes and no problems from any of them. Wood seems to be getting a bad reputation as of late and I'm sad to see it happen.

Even made a couple handles from 1 1/2" Poplar dow rod and had no problems after several uses.

I also feel like your brush is either in need of cleaning or isn't broken in yet. Or, maybe your preference is just for slightly softer brushes than the 1250.

If you are having to soak the brush for 20 minutes, or feel a need to soak the brush beyond the knot, something isn't right.

Even with my most scrubby boar brushes I can use the brush after just a quick rinse. I typically soak the brush while I shower, but if I decide to shave before showering, I am always okay with just rinsing the brush.

Maybe this is an excuse to buy another brush for the collection

plywood99 said:

I've had several fine wood handle brushes and no problems from any of them. Wood seems to be getting a bad reputation as of late and I'm sad to see it happen.

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I would love to be wrong about this. I own a wood-handled brush (SOC Boar), and have been very,very careful not to submerge the handle at all. If my concern (and by understanding) is incorrect, I'll stand happily corrected!

inspiringK said:

I also feel like your brush is either in need of cleaning or isn't broken in yet. Or, maybe your preference is just for slightly softer brushes than the 1250.

If you are having to soak the brush for 20 minutes, or feel a need to soak the brush beyond the knot, something isn't right.

Even with my most scrubby boar brushes I can use the brush after just a quick rinse. I typically soak the brush while I shower, but if I decide to shave before showering, I am always okay with just rinsing the brush.

Maybe this is an excuse to buy another brush for the collection

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A new brush? A new brush! I'll clean it first and see how that works. I actually like the brush and it has been working fine. I'll give it a good shampoo after typing this post. Who doesn't want to buy a new brush? You are a wise person inspirirngK. Truth is, it's a grand excuse/reason(?) for brush hunting--I actually have one picked out: Jagger Super Badger Large; but only if the 1250 doesn't work out. Off I go to shampoo my brush... really!

inspiringK said:

I also feel like your brush is either in need of cleaning or isn't broken in yet. Or, maybe your preference is just for slightly softer brushes than the 1250.

If you are having to soak the brush for 20 minutes, or feel a need to soak the brush beyond the knot, something isn't right.

Even with my most scrubby boar brushes I can use the brush after just a quick rinse. I typically soak the brush while I shower, but if I decide to shave before showering, I am always okay with just rinsing the brush.

Maybe this is an excuse to buy another brush for the collection

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A new brush? A new brush! I'll clean it first and see how that works. I actually like the brush and it has been working fine. I'll give it a good shampoo after typing this post. Who doesn't want to buy a new brush? You are a wise person inspirirngK. Truth is, it's a grand excuse/reason(?) for brush hunting--I actually have one picked out: Jagger Super Badger Large; but only if the 1250 doesn't work out. Off I go to shampoo my brush... really!

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Just shampooed and washed the brush with antibacterial soap; then combed through the brush. I'll see how it performs in the a.m. Something just came to mind that might have been the cause: two days ago I began using Speick stick, I had been using Arko with no brush issues. I wonder of Speick 'clogged' the base of the brush. It's the only change I've made and after two days of Speick, this happens. I may have to reconsider this stick. I'll use Arko tomorrow morning and see how it performs.

I am most likely an anomaly on the board here, but I submerge all my brushes completely while prepping. Complete submersion, as in putting them in the sink full of water. I have only two wooden-handled brushes, an SOC and a LE mistura, but those get submerged as well. So far, no problems with any of them. Admittedly I've been wet-shaving for slightly less than three years so maybe that hasn't been long enough to see damage occur?

Cleaning the brush made for more splay this morning; and face lathering went much better. My lather isn't as billowy as it was, but I may need to add a bit more water to my brush. Your advice about cleaning the brush has returned the brush's splay. Thanks for the advice.

DEGuy said:

Cleaning the brush made for more splay this morning; and face lathering went much better. My lather isn't as billowy as it was, but I may need to add a bit more water to my brush. Your advice about cleaning the brush has returned the brush's splay. Thanks for the advice.

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If you have some hard water or even soap residue buildup on the brush, also adding vinegar to the cleaning process will work even more wonders than just the shampoo.

Here's the link to the B&B wiki page that walks you through the steps: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/How_to_Clean_a_Shaving_Brush

Just make sure to get all the vinegar out again afterwards by having a few practice lathers. Pretty sure the type of vinegar doesn't matter, it's just to get a chemical reaction breaking down the calcium etc that has caked onto the brush bristles.

inspiringK said:

If you have some hard water or even soap residue buildup on the brush, also adding vinegar to the cleaning process will work even more wonders than just the shampoo.

Here's the link to the B&B wiki page that walks you through the steps: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/How_to_Clean_a_Shaving_Brush

Just make sure to get all the vinegar out again afterwards by having a few practice lathers. Pretty sure the type of vinegar doesn't matter, it's just to get a chemical reaction breaking down the calcium etc that has caked onto the brush bristles.

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Thank you. I appreciate the advice.

I have a semogue 1470 and i just throw the whole brush in a bucket of water before a shower (cold water mind you) and i've had no problems with the handle's finish. however, the 1470 has a natural wood grain handle vs. painted, so maybe that comes into play.

Just to add that I have a Semogue Barbear Classico LE Cerda and a SOC, but I am not comfortable soaking the wooden handle on either one. Plus I only get the bristles wet about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way down thus avoiding the glue. That gets the bristles soft enough for me.

Moondancer said:

I am most likely an anomaly on the board here, but I submerge all my brushes completely while prepping. Complete submersion, as in putting them in the sink full of water. I have only two wooden-handled brushes, an SOC and a LE mistura, but those get submerged as well. So far, no problems with any of them. Admittedly I've been wet-shaving for slightly less than three years so maybe that hasn't been long enough to see damage occur?

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Same technique as Moondancer, I through it in a sink of hot water and let it soak while I shower. I did notice a crack at the far end of the handle, honestly don't remember if it's always been there or is new and caused by my technique. Also I don't have a stand, so the brush stands in its base to dry rather than hanging, so perhaps I'm encouraging more water into the handle that way too? It's a no-name cheapie and my first, only started 6 weeks ago, so maybe I'll need a new one soon. Then again maybe the crack is not new and I just don't remember...

A brush that has a knot fall out, epoxy crack, or the handle deteriorate after exposure to water shouldn't be sold as a shaving brush.
Soak 'em and identify those imposters right away so you can move on to a real brush.

Do you think our grandfathers took such care to ensure their brushes weren't flicked, "swirled" or exposed to water close to the base of the knot or on the handle?
Heck, I'd wager most of the time they didn't even rinse them out after using them, and just lathered up the next day.

Granted, most of them would laugh at the very idea of someone spending hundreds of dollars on a brush, but still...
exposure to water is a part of shaving, and any manufacturer (brush OR razor) that suggests that damage can occur because of normal shaving activities (like exposure to water) ought to be shamed out of the business.

Any of my brushes that need soaking get plopped into the sink, I agree with the above posters if getting it wet will crack it it shouldn't be a shaving brush.

luvmysuper said:

A brush that has a knot fall out, epoxy crack, or the handle deteriorate after exposure to water shouldn't be sold as a shaving brush.
Soak 'em and identify those imposters right away so you can move on to a real brush.

Do you think our grandfathers took such care to ensure their brushes weren't flicked, "swirled" or exposed to water close to the base of the knot or on the handle?
Heck, I'd wager most of the time they didn't even rinse them out after using them, and just lathered up the next day.

Granted, most of them would laugh at the very idea of someone spending hundreds of dollars on a brush, but still...
exposure to water is a part of shaving, and any manufacturer (brush OR razor) that suggests that damage can occur because of normal shaving activities (like exposure to water) ought to be shamed out of the business.

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Excellent points.

I soak my boars about half way up, while I shower works great for me.