Omega 81052 Banded Boar

I didn't think very much of boar brushes but I found a no name boar under the sink that my wife got in a shave set at work. We were going to toss it out but I decided to try it first and I'm glad I did. That brush changed the way I looked at boars. It quickly became my favorite brush and before long I wanted to get another boar for the rotation.
I read as many reviews as I could and looked at what was available at all the vendors until I fanally settled on the Omega 81052. I really like the look of the handle and for $14 I had little to lose.
As has been said before, this brush was very nice right out of the box. It works great on soaps and works very nice with creams as well.
My only complaint was the edge of the handle had a very sharp edge making it uncomfortable to use. Notice I said had. I simply went to the tool box, grabbed a mill bastard file and proceeded to file the sharp edge making this very comfortable to use. A simple modification that made all the difference in the world. I gave the brush a 5 for ergonomics since I had to file the sharp edge to make it comfortable.
I absolutely love this brush and use it more often than any of my other brushes. I have a Semogue 830 that I've haven't even used yet. It looks almost the same as the 81052 but a little bigger. I bought the Semogue because I thought it would be nice to try a higher end boar and I've read many good reports for the 830, but again I keep reaching for the 81052 and have yet to try the 830.
I know I'll be trying the Semogue 830 eventually, but in the mean time I'm having a blast of a time using the Omega 81052.
I almost forgot to mention, it shed maybe 2 or 3 bristles at the most in the first week of use and hasn't shed any more in almost a year of use.
I highly recommend this workhorse of a brush. Currently my favorite!

I had been wanting a quality boar for some time now, the only ones I had owned previously were the VDH/Surrey drugstore brushes. I had purchased this from West Coast Shaving on the 9th of September and recieved it on the 13th along with a puck of Muhle Sea Buckthorn soap. Great service. I wrote a review at WCS on this but wanted to comment here also.
I have given it high marks overall mostly 9s and 10s but for ergonomics I had to give it a 7. The handle could be better. Even a little larger. This brush will lather soaps far better than most badgers. It does fine with creams but I'm a soap guy and save the creams for the badgers. I do have three badgers, an Omega, AoS and my beloved B&B LE 2008. While the LE is better this boar will hold its own against the others hands down. I'm using it far more to give my LE a deserved rest. And it is becoming my favorite. It feels good on my face and has good backbone. Both stiff and soft at the same time. If you have a good boar you know what I mean. It did have that bad funky smell when I first used it but that quieted down after about a week. It also shed for a short while also but that too is finished. If you're on limited funds and needing a brush this would a good choice. Both for novice and expert.

I'd already tried the Omega 48, then, the Boar Illuminati's choice-of-weapon, the 31064, I couldn't pass on this worthy complementary brush according to Zack. Pleasingly soft right out of the box. I lather cream in bowls and face lather soap and this brush performed magnificently!

cnnc97;2482202 said:

This is my first boar brush, and I am not much of a brush expert at this point, but I will share my thoughts anyway.

I was very impressed with the softness of the tips right out of the box. From all the posts I had ever read about boar brushes I expected this to be rather prickly for the first few weeks. That was far from the case however. I dinged the quality just a little because the handle does feel like cheap plastic and you can see through the red part and see gaps in the glue. It does look fantastic though and it quite comfortable in the hand. I got mine for only $17 shipped from WCS, which I think is a rather good deal for a brush that performs as this one does.

I am a bowl latherer and find that this does great on my soaps. Better then the $20 EJ Pure Badger that I have. I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for an entry level boar, especially if you are a soap fan, although it does fine with creams as well.

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This is my first boar brush, and I am not much of a brush expert at this point, but I will share my thoughts anyway.

I was very impressed with the softness of the tips right out of the box. From all the posts I had ever read about boar brushes I expected this to be rather prickly for the first few weeks. That was far from the case however. I dinged the quality just a little because the handle does feel like cheap plastic and you can see through the red part and see gaps in the glue. It does look fantastic though and it quite comfortable in the hand. I got mine for only $17 shipped from WCS, which I think is a rather good deal for a brush that performs as this one does.

I am a bowl latherer and find that this does great on my soaps. Better then the $20 EJ Pure Badger that I have. I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for an entry level boar, especially if you are a soap fan, although it does fine with creams as well.

I own four different Boar brushes, including the 81052 reviewed here, and this is my favorite. I've never used it with shave cremes, but build a soap lather in my palm with the brush, then face lather. It is outstanding with soaps. Costs a little more than the low end brushes, but worth it.

Good value, soft but stiff knot, superlative with soaps. Recommended.

-- John Gehman

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 a 3 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.