Item Description
Picked this little number up from Gary at Shoebox Shaving last week, finally gave it a go tonight. Truthfully, I was having a little SBAD last week, and I bought this one purely for the sexy little handle. That and I did not have a banded boar. The handle is great, just long enough, and feels right with my grip style, which is near the end. I wanted a boar with a shorter loft than my Omega Pro, and this one fits the bill. I also picked up a 10066, but will save that for another review.
Price - A definite 10. For about 23.00 shipped, you can't beat it, like most boars out there.
Quality - It's an Omega, what more can I say?
Density - While not as important as density in a Badger, there are an adequate number of bristles in their. Controlled enough that it let's go of the lather you build.
Stiffness of tips - It's Boar, so you are gonna have an abundance of stiffness, great for soaps. Will have to try creams and update.
Softness of tips - This is what surprised me. Usually boars take a while for the tips to split, and get the great softness from them, but this one had softness right out of the gate. I marked it an 8 as I am sure it has not reached it's full potential in this area, but there is not as much room for improvement as say an Omega Pro, or the 10066.
Ergonomic - The handle is just about perfect, and the loft to knot ration lets you put the lather where you want it without making a mess. I am really digging these shorter lofted Boars. I don't want as short as a VDH, but not as long as the Pro. I'll still use the Pro, but only when I have more cleanup time.
Latherability - It made copious amounts of lather with L'Occitane. I loaded the brush, and proceeded to face lather rather than bowl lather, my usual method. I had enough thick creamy lather for the 4 pass shave, with some left over. I'm sure if I had bowl lathered, I would have had even more. Prior to the shave, I ran a test lather with VDH, in a bowl, and got enough lather I wanted to take a picture for all the Boar naysayers, but I was too eager to get a shower and try it out for real.
To summarize, this is about the most I would ever pay for a Boar, and I am really happy with my purchase. One other note, it does not seem to have as much "animal smell" as my other brushes. After just two latherings, the odor has diminished alot. I worked the 10066 more thoroughly, and it still has a stronger smell. If you are looking for a boar brush that will give you 60% of it's potential right out of the box, I highly recommend this brush.
Price - A definite 10. For about 23.00 shipped, you can't beat it, like most boars out there.
Quality - It's an Omega, what more can I say?
Density - While not as important as density in a Badger, there are an adequate number of bristles in their. Controlled enough that it let's go of the lather you build.
Stiffness of tips - It's Boar, so you are gonna have an abundance of stiffness, great for soaps. Will have to try creams and update.
Softness of tips - This is what surprised me. Usually boars take a while for the tips to split, and get the great softness from them, but this one had softness right out of the gate. I marked it an 8 as I am sure it has not reached it's full potential in this area, but there is not as much room for improvement as say an Omega Pro, or the 10066.
Ergonomic - The handle is just about perfect, and the loft to knot ration lets you put the lather where you want it without making a mess. I am really digging these shorter lofted Boars. I don't want as short as a VDH, but not as long as the Pro. I'll still use the Pro, but only when I have more cleanup time.
Latherability - It made copious amounts of lather with L'Occitane. I loaded the brush, and proceeded to face lather rather than bowl lather, my usual method. I had enough thick creamy lather for the 4 pass shave, with some left over. I'm sure if I had bowl lathered, I would have had even more. Prior to the shave, I ran a test lather with VDH, in a bowl, and got enough lather I wanted to take a picture for all the Boar naysayers, but I was too eager to get a shower and try it out for real.
To summarize, this is about the most I would ever pay for a Boar, and I am really happy with my purchase. One other note, it does not seem to have as much "animal smell" as my other brushes. After just two latherings, the odor has diminished alot. I worked the 10066 more thoroughly, and it still has a stronger smell. If you are looking for a boar brush that will give you 60% of it's potential right out of the box, I highly recommend this brush.
