This comparison is inspired by the discussion after my previous brush shootout. After some pondering I decided to take on the challenge and do a comparison between the Semogue 2000 boar brush and the Shavemac line of badger brushes that I use. The reason I chose the Shavemac line is that it’s generally available and highly consistent. They are also considered to be of a very good quality by many experienced shavers, me included.
These are the three Shavemacs and the Semogue and how they measure. Please note that the Shavemacs measure a few mm wider than they were ordered. This is because Bernd (of Shavemac) measures the knot at the base and I measure the knot coming out at the end of the handle. Plus the fact that neither my calipers nor my eyes are of the best quality…
Method and background
I have been DE shaving for just short of 8 years (and part time since 1980) and have evaluated quite a few brushes along the way, mostly ad hoc. I have finally arrived at this check list on brush properties (which I have shamelessly copied from an ancient B&B post!). This is my strategy for brush comparisons and it is highly subjective. Your preferences and methods will vary!
My way of shaving consists of a shower, face wash to exfoliate, brush soaking in cold water during shower, cold water shaving with 2+ passes (XTG, ATG + clean up), cold water rinse and an AS. I pick up the soap from a puck or apply the puck or stick directly to my face. I apply extra moisturizer once a week or daily during cold/dry season. I shave every day and all my shaves for the last five years have been BBS.
For a brush to qualify into my den I have to consider it my desert island brush and furthermore it has to add something unique to the existing mix.
It is up to the reader to decide which features of a brush are the most important. Here are mine:
Face feeling
of the brush on my face is the most important property to me. I don’t want any scritch, prickliness or unpleasantness at all! The face feeling of the brush is a determined by its knot, loft (hi – low), profile (fan – bulb), bristles (boar – badger), backbone and density. The density is the most elusive characteristic of the knot and commonly not specified in any consistent way from manufacturers and vendors.
The face feeling of the Semogue is rough with noticeable scritch. I can feel the individual bristles of the knot. The focus of the brush is undefined in use and the high loft and the splaying character of the knot makes it hard to control the building of the lather on the face. The profile of the loft does look like a semi bulb but it does not behave like a bulb in a badger brush.
The face feeling of the Shavemac bulbs is soft and focused, I can easily control the building of the lather. The silvertip is softer than the finest but none of them has any scritch at all. Both of them have the exact right amount of backbone and density for face lathering both pucks and sticks the way I do. This is no surprise; they are custom built for me and the result of using a lot of borrowed and own Shavemac brushes. There is no way of knowing what you want without trying a brushes out! Just make sure that the production is consistent.
The fan D01 is a different beast altogether. The face feeling is firm and soft. It is a true ‘wall of badger’ and the result of trying out several variants. Because of the density and the fan shape of the knot I get a distinct feeling of an endless brush. The control of the lather building lies in the low loft and the density of the knot. This is an extremely dense knot!
Face feeling, softness: Silvertip, finest, D01 and Semogue
Face feeling, focus: D01, silvertip (pointier bulb!), finest and Semogue
Lathering
For me the lather building and release are the second most important characteristics of a brush. The size, loft, material and density of the knot are important properties in this respect.
The Semogue produces large volumes of airy lather. I want wet and slick lather. I have problems steering the Semogue in that direction, in spite of trying both wet and dry loading of several different soaps (MdC, PdP and Haslinger Schafmilch). I can’t build lather from a stick directly on my face because of the scritch, so I can’t judge if that would be a possible route to wetter lather. This is a serious lack of performance for me. On the other hand the lather release is very good for the Semogue.
Lather building of the bulbs is the best possible. This is hardly surprising as they are custom made for my usage. I can very easily control the consistency and progress of the lather making, be it on my face, in my palm or in a bowl (which I seldom use with these brushes). The finest is slightly better at building and releasing lather, probably due to the better flow through of the 40% pure bristles in the knot.
The D01 is again different. It hasn’t got the flow through of the bulbs because of the density of the knot. It hogs some lather also. It does easily produce an astonishing amount of very dense and wet lather and the quality of the lather is easy to control. The feeling of extreme luxury is present in every use of this brush.
Lather making: D01, finest, silvertip and Semogue
Lather release: Semogue, finest, silvertip and D01
Backbone
is dependent on what material the knot is made of and how the loft is set, in height and density. The backbone of a brush is important in assisting to pick up the soap from the puck and spreading it on the face. A weak backbone will result in unintended splaying and potential harming of the brush while building lather.
The backbone of the Semogue is overwhelming. Unfortunately the combination of very strong backbone and harsh tips makes the brush uncomfortable for me to use. It is however very easy to load from a puck.
The backbone in combination with the density and loft of the bulbs is exactly as I want it to be. They easily pick up soap from any puck or from my face. I have taken lately to use pucks as sticks and the bulbs excel in this usage.
The D01 has a lot more backbone because of its density. This extra backbone I use to load more water and soap from pucks. Pure luxury! However this huge brush hogs soap so lathering from sticks on the face is not very easy.
Backbone and usability of it: D01, silvertip, finest and Semogue.
Knot
is responsible for the bloom, and for the amount of water and soap a brush holds.
The Semogue has obvious problems holding water for me and because of this I have difficulties in controlling the wetness of the lather. This is especially evident in using Mystic Water soaps. Michele’s masterpieces need a dryish start and very controlled amounts of water to perform at the world class level they are made to. The Semogue boar makes this very hard for me. I have no problem at all with my other brushes in this, be it badger, horse or synthetic.
The Shavemac brushes are extremely easy to load with adequate amounts of water and soap in all conditions I use them in. The control of the water to soap ratio is very easy to maintain.
Water and soap capacity: D01, silvertip, finest and Semogue
Handle
aesthetics and comfort is a very personal choice. I use all my brushes for face lathering and this usage calls for a rather compact handle. The total height of the brush should not be too tall or it will be uncomfortable to hold to the face.
I have to admit that I am partial to the octagonal handle by Shavemac. I have my doubts about the longevity of the wooden handle of the Semogue, although it is surprisingly comfortable in use. The quality is not on par with the others.
Handle comfort and quality: D01, silvertip, finest and Semogue
Price
This is the feature of the brushes I have been neglecting in all my previous write ups. I consider this a binary variable. Either you are willing to pay what a brush costs or you don’t, for whatever reasons of your own. This is after all shaving, not feeding your family or sending your kids to the university.
Conclusion
I did this comparison because I didn’t remember why I skipped boar brushes from my rotation. Now I know that I don’t like the Semogue 2000.
For a brush to make it into my rotation I have to consider it a ‘desert island’ brush and it has to bring something new to the rotation. The Semogue falls short on both points. To the best of my knowledge the Semogue is in practice fully broken in after 20+ lathers and thorough drying in between. It will simply not get significantly better than this.
If you look at it from another direction I must say that this boar would have failed even in comparison with my more ordinary badger brushes, my white horse Vie-Long (which also is custom made for me) or my synthetics. This is because I value the face feeling most and the Semogue will not suit me because of this.
Of course a shaver with heavy boar experience will ask if the price for a nice badger brush is worth it. This is a very good question that everybody needs to ponder upon and reach a personal conclusion. I would recommend a comparison to good badgers in that case. I do believe that the Semogue 2000 is a good quality boar brush.
I can only tell you that my Shavemac brushes are no ordinary run of the mill badgers. They are custom made by Bernd (including the knot!) for me and my usage after years of comparing different brushes. For me they are the best brush line I am able to get hold of. So I am certainly comparing apples to oranges here as the Semogue is a standard brush without any modifications.
Shavemac brushes can be configured and ordered here: http://www.shavemac.com/products/Experts/Shaving-Brush-EXPERTS-SELECT.html?currency=USD
My other brush comparisons can be read here:
small brushes: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...ushes-shootout
synthetic brushes: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...brush-shootout
big brushes: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/397957-Big-brushes-shootout-(pic-heavy)
These are the three Shavemacs and the Semogue and how they measure. Please note that the Shavemacs measure a few mm wider than they were ordered. This is because Bernd (of Shavemac) measures the knot at the base and I measure the knot coming out at the end of the handle. Plus the fact that neither my calipers nor my eyes are of the best quality…
Shavemac 24/54 mm finest bulb, 25/53 mm silvertip bulb, 27/50 mm silvertip D01 fan and Semogue 2000 28/62 mm boar
Method and background
I have been DE shaving for just short of 8 years (and part time since 1980) and have evaluated quite a few brushes along the way, mostly ad hoc. I have finally arrived at this check list on brush properties (which I have shamelessly copied from an ancient B&B post!). This is my strategy for brush comparisons and it is highly subjective. Your preferences and methods will vary!
My way of shaving consists of a shower, face wash to exfoliate, brush soaking in cold water during shower, cold water shaving with 2+ passes (XTG, ATG + clean up), cold water rinse and an AS. I pick up the soap from a puck or apply the puck or stick directly to my face. I apply extra moisturizer once a week or daily during cold/dry season. I shave every day and all my shaves for the last five years have been BBS.
For a brush to qualify into my den I have to consider it my desert island brush and furthermore it has to add something unique to the existing mix.
It is up to the reader to decide which features of a brush are the most important. Here are mine:
Face feeling
of the brush on my face is the most important property to me. I don’t want any scritch, prickliness or unpleasantness at all! The face feeling of the brush is a determined by its knot, loft (hi – low), profile (fan – bulb), bristles (boar – badger), backbone and density. The density is the most elusive characteristic of the knot and commonly not specified in any consistent way from manufacturers and vendors.
The face feeling of the Semogue is rough with noticeable scritch. I can feel the individual bristles of the knot. The focus of the brush is undefined in use and the high loft and the splaying character of the knot makes it hard to control the building of the lather on the face. The profile of the loft does look like a semi bulb but it does not behave like a bulb in a badger brush.
The face feeling of the Shavemac bulbs is soft and focused, I can easily control the building of the lather. The silvertip is softer than the finest but none of them has any scritch at all. Both of them have the exact right amount of backbone and density for face lathering both pucks and sticks the way I do. This is no surprise; they are custom built for me and the result of using a lot of borrowed and own Shavemac brushes. There is no way of knowing what you want without trying a brushes out! Just make sure that the production is consistent.
The fan D01 is a different beast altogether. The face feeling is firm and soft. It is a true ‘wall of badger’ and the result of trying out several variants. Because of the density and the fan shape of the knot I get a distinct feeling of an endless brush. The control of the lather building lies in the low loft and the density of the knot. This is an extremely dense knot!
Face feeling, softness: Silvertip, finest, D01 and Semogue
Face feeling, focus: D01, silvertip (pointier bulb!), finest and Semogue
Lathering
For me the lather building and release are the second most important characteristics of a brush. The size, loft, material and density of the knot are important properties in this respect.
The Semogue produces large volumes of airy lather. I want wet and slick lather. I have problems steering the Semogue in that direction, in spite of trying both wet and dry loading of several different soaps (MdC, PdP and Haslinger Schafmilch). I can’t build lather from a stick directly on my face because of the scritch, so I can’t judge if that would be a possible route to wetter lather. This is a serious lack of performance for me. On the other hand the lather release is very good for the Semogue.
Lather building of the bulbs is the best possible. This is hardly surprising as they are custom made for my usage. I can very easily control the consistency and progress of the lather making, be it on my face, in my palm or in a bowl (which I seldom use with these brushes). The finest is slightly better at building and releasing lather, probably due to the better flow through of the 40% pure bristles in the knot.
The D01 is again different. It hasn’t got the flow through of the bulbs because of the density of the knot. It hogs some lather also. It does easily produce an astonishing amount of very dense and wet lather and the quality of the lather is easy to control. The feeling of extreme luxury is present in every use of this brush.
Lather making: D01, finest, silvertip and Semogue
Lather release: Semogue, finest, silvertip and D01
Backbone
is dependent on what material the knot is made of and how the loft is set, in height and density. The backbone of a brush is important in assisting to pick up the soap from the puck and spreading it on the face. A weak backbone will result in unintended splaying and potential harming of the brush while building lather.
The backbone of the Semogue is overwhelming. Unfortunately the combination of very strong backbone and harsh tips makes the brush uncomfortable for me to use. It is however very easy to load from a puck.
The backbone in combination with the density and loft of the bulbs is exactly as I want it to be. They easily pick up soap from any puck or from my face. I have taken lately to use pucks as sticks and the bulbs excel in this usage.
The D01 has a lot more backbone because of its density. This extra backbone I use to load more water and soap from pucks. Pure luxury! However this huge brush hogs soap so lathering from sticks on the face is not very easy.
Backbone and usability of it: D01, silvertip, finest and Semogue.
Knot
is responsible for the bloom, and for the amount of water and soap a brush holds.
The Semogue has obvious problems holding water for me and because of this I have difficulties in controlling the wetness of the lather. This is especially evident in using Mystic Water soaps. Michele’s masterpieces need a dryish start and very controlled amounts of water to perform at the world class level they are made to. The Semogue boar makes this very hard for me. I have no problem at all with my other brushes in this, be it badger, horse or synthetic.
The Shavemac brushes are extremely easy to load with adequate amounts of water and soap in all conditions I use them in. The control of the water to soap ratio is very easy to maintain.
Water and soap capacity: D01, silvertip, finest and Semogue
Handle
aesthetics and comfort is a very personal choice. I use all my brushes for face lathering and this usage calls for a rather compact handle. The total height of the brush should not be too tall or it will be uncomfortable to hold to the face.
I have to admit that I am partial to the octagonal handle by Shavemac. I have my doubts about the longevity of the wooden handle of the Semogue, although it is surprisingly comfortable in use. The quality is not on par with the others.
Handle comfort and quality: D01, silvertip, finest and Semogue
Price
This is the feature of the brushes I have been neglecting in all my previous write ups. I consider this a binary variable. Either you are willing to pay what a brush costs or you don’t, for whatever reasons of your own. This is after all shaving, not feeding your family or sending your kids to the university.
Conclusion
I did this comparison because I didn’t remember why I skipped boar brushes from my rotation. Now I know that I don’t like the Semogue 2000.
For a brush to make it into my rotation I have to consider it a ‘desert island’ brush and it has to bring something new to the rotation. The Semogue falls short on both points. To the best of my knowledge the Semogue is in practice fully broken in after 20+ lathers and thorough drying in between. It will simply not get significantly better than this.
If you look at it from another direction I must say that this boar would have failed even in comparison with my more ordinary badger brushes, my white horse Vie-Long (which also is custom made for me) or my synthetics. This is because I value the face feeling most and the Semogue will not suit me because of this.
Of course a shaver with heavy boar experience will ask if the price for a nice badger brush is worth it. This is a very good question that everybody needs to ponder upon and reach a personal conclusion. I would recommend a comparison to good badgers in that case. I do believe that the Semogue 2000 is a good quality boar brush.
I can only tell you that my Shavemac brushes are no ordinary run of the mill badgers. They are custom made by Bernd (including the knot!) for me and my usage after years of comparing different brushes. For me they are the best brush line I am able to get hold of. So I am certainly comparing apples to oranges here as the Semogue is a standard brush without any modifications.
Shavemac brushes can be configured and ordered here: http://www.shavemac.com/products/Experts/Shaving-Brush-EXPERTS-SELECT.html?currency=USD
My other brush comparisons can be read here:
small brushes: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...ushes-shootout
synthetic brushes: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...brush-shootout
big brushes: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/397957-Big-brushes-shootout-(pic-heavy)
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