Omega 31064 Boar Brush

I’m writing this review after ten years of using this brush. So after this long a period, you can imagine I don’t quite remember exactly how stiff it was in the beginning.

It’s been an excellent brush. I’ve used it primarily with soaps, especially Mitchell‘s Wool Fat (for most of its life) but also Williams and Proraso. I was fairly rough on it. I would push it down on the soap when loading or in the bowl while building lather. These days I don’t, because it’s become very floppy after all that abuse. After ten years, it now splays easily when lathering up for a shave.

The brush very rarely sheds a hair. It feels good on the face. It was well worth the price.

A nice brush, good value for money. Pretty long loft, could do with just a bit shorter one. It does not compare to the performance of very expensive badger brushes, but for what you pay there should be one of these in your den. A tool that should last for many good shaves.

Recommended.

I've been using two 31064's for close to four months now. Some may think it's strange to only have one kind of brush but that's how much I like the 31064. The main reason for buying two is because of the extra drying time boars need between uses. Some say the brush is too floppy but I've found if I just run the brush under a stream of hot water for about 15 seconds, that keeps it from soaking up so much water and in turn becoming floppy. The handle is the best I've used on a shaving brush, very easy to hold and has a nice weight to it. I face lather with soap 100% of the time and this brush does everything I need it to do. If you have been curious about boar, then this is the one to try and for around $23 shipped from WCS I don't you'll find a better brush for that price.

This is hands down a must own boar brush. Luxuriously soft and whips up great lather.

PRICE: I paid 25 USD at WCS which is about the ballpark. I would willingly pay much more for it.

QUALITY: Shed a hair or two during the first couple shaves which is expected for a boar. The hair shaft is quite thick and uniform and the lucite handle is lovely and flawless.

DENSITY: The brush is reasonably dense. Packed well though and holds the lather towards the tips.

STIFFNESS: I believe this is set at about 58-59mm which produces a slight floppiness. However this boar still has the backbone to throw down on tough soaps.

SOFTNESS: Luxuriously soft, quite surprising as it was ultra soft from the get go. It has only gotten softer and is definitely not a scrubby brush.

ERGONOMICS: The handle is solid, hefty, and made to be comfortably held. It maneuvers the face well, the tips splay slightly which applies lather very well.

LATHERABILITY: This brush consistently makes dense and rich lather quickly. This brush doesn't hog all that luxury, its sets it free to do it's job.

Bottom Line: You should own this brush.

Dam good brush here. This was my first ever boar brush and I couldn't be happier. I usually stick with silvertip but I am rather impressed with this omega brush and don't think I would ever purchase another badger brush. Brush is VERY soft after a few uses and will only get softer with time. It is also the most comfortable handle I have ever seen on a brush. This brush is a big boy, possibly double the size of my rooney 1/1. Great brush over all and a great value for 24 shipped to my door from west coast shaving. I have used this brush to face lather and it works like a charm but also bow lathered and it worked like a true work horse. Is also a beast on soaps or harder creams! Great beginner or vet brush all around.

What is the loft of this brush? Some people are listing it as 60mm, some at 55mm? If it's 55mm I'm interested!

John

brush burn?! good lord man, how hard you pushing down with the brush??

As of late I had been on the search for a great performing brush with some backbone and soft tips for facelathering. My CE BBB, Art of Shaving Pure Badger, and VDH Boar were all WAY to hard on my face, giving me brush burn before a blade even hit my mug. I always liked my Omega Pro, but found the loft to be way to high, and it seemed to not hold as much lather as I wanted it to.

After much forum reading, soul searching, and bank account reviewing, I made my decision to go with the Omega 31064.....I couldn't be happier.

Price- at roughly 24 USD shipped from West Coast Shaving you can't beat this brush, it looks great with an acrylic/black handle and banded bristles, and it is Omega, so most of you already know that it will be quality.

Quality - it's an Omega, lost a few hairs on first use, but if it's like my 49, it will hold up and last long

Density - This brush isn't the most dense brush I've seen, but it is a good balance. I would say its on par with the 49, and less dense than my CE or my AOS badger....but in a good way.

Stiffness of tips - the boar hair in this knot has some firmness to it, but it is also springy and very forgiving. It is stiff enough to take on Tabac, but also goes great with facelathering my AOS Sandalwood cream.

Softness of tips - Here is where the brush really shines, a quality boar brush will have softer tips and this brush has almost zero scratch. My CE BBB and AOS Pure are very scratchy, and give me serious burn before I even shave. This Omega, even on first use, was soft on the face and luxurious.

Latherability - The Omega is fantastic making lather. On first use I got more lather out of my VDH puck than I ever have, and the same with Tabac too. It also seems to hold much more heat and lather than the Omega Pro does. I never had enough lather from a soap for 3 or 4 passes until I used this brush.

Overall, I am immensely impressed with the Omega 31064 brush. It is stylish, quality, and performs better than any brush I own. My opinion to many beginners and vets alike is that this brush hands down is better than most low level, mid level, and possibly even high end badger brushes. I plan on getting a badger brush, but when I do it will have to be a silvertip Plisson, Simpson, or Kent because this Omega has replaced all other brushes.