All I can say is wow.... I first started off with a VDH Boar Brush from a set that came with a puck of VDH soap and shaving bowl. Since I was new to DE, I decided to learn with this brush before going down the deep road of any AD.
The VDH Boar Brush started to break in nicely, however, the inner knot started to become loose and huge chunks of the inner hair came out. Now it has a small hole in the middle of the knot. Although the hairs have split and bloomed beautifully, it was time for a new brush. I will keep this on the shelf as a backup when needed. I have briefly used a L'Occitane Plisson brush but sold it off since I didn't think I needed it at the time. Sometimes I regret parting with it, but I sold it for 2x the amount I paid via eBay. I tested out a smaller Omega Boar Brush which was already broken in, but wanted to try something different.
After months of research, I decided that I wanted something with a little bit more backbone and settled on the Semogue 1800. You can feel the backbone of the brush and it definitely felt like a quality brush. The wooden finish makes it a gorgeous display. I am sure I have to break this thing in quite a bit before I get the full Semogue experience. I can't wait for that to happen.
Reading through all the forums, I did the typically break in process with dish soap and making a few practice lathers. Even during the practice lathers, it was night and day compared to the VDH and Omega brush. It worked the lather quicker and held very firm. When I used it for the first time on Saturday, it wasn't as prickly as I thought it would be. And I can just imagine how a broken in Semogue would feel in a few weeks/months. I read somewhere that you can help speed up the break in process by using the dry brush on a towel. I actually did that for ~30 minutes last night while watching TV. Did it help? I think so since it looked like some of the hairs started to split. When I shaved this morning, I did my usual 2 passes with touchups. I had plenty of lather left for probably 3 more passes. The brush held up wonderfully and didn't splay like the VDH boar used to do.
The combination of hairs (
We'll see how things go in the next several months. Hopefully, my collection will remain relatively small. The SWMBO may go nuts if my shave den becomes as extensive as some of the other members.
I do hope this helps any newbies in their DE journey. And for $15 via Amazon prime, you really can't go wrong. I just wish I made the purchase sooner.
The VDH Boar Brush started to break in nicely, however, the inner knot started to become loose and huge chunks of the inner hair came out. Now it has a small hole in the middle of the knot. Although the hairs have split and bloomed beautifully, it was time for a new brush. I will keep this on the shelf as a backup when needed. I have briefly used a L'Occitane Plisson brush but sold it off since I didn't think I needed it at the time. Sometimes I regret parting with it, but I sold it for 2x the amount I paid via eBay. I tested out a smaller Omega Boar Brush which was already broken in, but wanted to try something different.
After months of research, I decided that I wanted something with a little bit more backbone and settled on the Semogue 1800. You can feel the backbone of the brush and it definitely felt like a quality brush. The wooden finish makes it a gorgeous display. I am sure I have to break this thing in quite a bit before I get the full Semogue experience. I can't wait for that to happen.
Reading through all the forums, I did the typically break in process with dish soap and making a few practice lathers. Even during the practice lathers, it was night and day compared to the VDH and Omega brush. It worked the lather quicker and held very firm. When I used it for the first time on Saturday, it wasn't as prickly as I thought it would be. And I can just imagine how a broken in Semogue would feel in a few weeks/months. I read somewhere that you can help speed up the break in process by using the dry brush on a towel. I actually did that for ~30 minutes last night while watching TV. Did it help? I think so since it looked like some of the hairs started to split. When I shaved this morning, I did my usual 2 passes with touchups. I had plenty of lather left for probably 3 more passes. The brush held up wonderfully and didn't splay like the VDH boar used to do.
The combination of hairs (
Extra 75% + Premium 90% tops) is a great combo IMHO. Unfortunately, I do not have a comparison of just a brush made of Extra 75% or a brush made of Premium 90%. I decided to go with the combo since it would "give me the best of both worlds." I do want to thank the following thread for my discussion:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/292985-Semogue-620-vs-Semogue-1800We'll see how things go in the next several months. Hopefully, my collection will remain relatively small. The SWMBO may go nuts if my shave den becomes as extensive as some of the other members.
I do hope this helps any newbies in their DE journey. And for $15 via Amazon prime, you really can't go wrong. I just wish I made the purchase sooner.
