Semogue 2000 Boar Brush

I've just returned to wet/de shaving after about twenty years first use multi-blade systems and then electrics. Started to develop very sensitive skin on the neck. What a pleasure. Years ago used Old Spice shaving soap and an Everyready badger brush. I liked it a lot. I still used the brush when I returned to the pleasurable shame, but I believe with age it has gotten too soft.
The 2000 is perfect for me it's invigoratingly stiff, yet also soft. It makes a great face lather that refreshes my face while I lather.

Great brush for bowl lathering. A bit floppy for face lathering. This is a large brush, very soft and a med backbone. Excellent quality.

I got this brush for bowl lathering hard soaps and it met all my expectations. What I really like that now that it has had a chance to be broken in, it is as comfortable on my face as most of my badgers but with enough body to work the lather. Great brush at a great price. With brushes like this, who needs badgers.

I love all the semogue boars I own, so here is my review on the 2000:

Price: 10 - I bought this when Leon was having a 20% off sale, so I think it was around $18 shipped. You cannot beat that price.

Quality: 9 - I should clarify my slight dinging of this rating. The knot itself deserves a 10. This is the best quality of boar knot that semogue offers and it very well could be the best quality of any boar knot. The brush came really broke in with many of the bristles already split. The only thing I worry about is the wooden handle, which admitably has held up just fine, but I worry about long term durability.

Density: 8 - This brush is quite dense for a 25mm knot, but not as dense as the 830.

Stiffness of tips: 7 - This brush has plenty of backbone and is great for soaps and creams alike. The 830 has a little more backbone with the 620 having the most backbone of the semogue line that I've tried.

Softness of Tips: 9 - This brush comes quite broken in and gets better with each use. It most be mistaken for a silvertip for softness, but it is quite soft enough.

Ergonomic: 10 - the handle of this brush feels great and is just the right size. No problems or awkwardness handling this thing.

Latherability: 6 - maybe it just isn't broken in enough or it is just me, but I can't get a great lather out of this brush when face lathering. I seem to only get enough for 2 passes, while the 620 and 830 I have no problems. For bowl lathering though, this brush works great. I can always get enough for 4 passes.

Overall Impressions: Another great one in the line of semogues and has really become my bowl lathering boar. It just has too much loft for me to face lather and seems too big for me to do that. I much prefer the shorter, denser 620 and 830 for face lathering. But for the value and overall aspects of this brush, it is a great bowl lathering brush.

I'm a big fan of this brush. This is my only boar brush. I'm a soap-using face-latherer, so I thought a boar might be in order. Semogue was getting a lot of talk this summer, so I ordered this guy from Leon's shop Vintage Scent.

I was ready to commit to a lengthy break-in period. Good thing, because I'd say it took a couple months of near-daily use for the brush to hit its stride. It had quite the boar aroma for the first dozen or so shaves as well.

Now, the 2000 stands firmly at the front of my rotation. I love this brush! Great lathering, soft, but firm - particularly for such a high loft.

I keep more water for the initial lathering in the bristles than I would a badger - in about three minutes I can build a large supply of slick, creamy lather from any soap. Works great with shave sticks too - I give the bristles a few licks with the stick after I'm done coating my face and before lathering.

The only minus I would mention is that the finish on the handle developed a blister that popped leaving a spot of unprotected wood- but, nothing in the shave is affected and I understand this is not the priciest of brushes on the market. I've dropped it a time or two; it's entirely possible this was a 'bruised' spot from that.

I'm glad I bought this brush, I would highly recommend picking one up from Leon. Worth every penny of the approximately twenty bucks including shipping to CONUS.

I bought this brush to lather some some of my soft soaps like Cella. Well all I have to say is wow, does this brush make some mean lather and it even isn't even broken in yet! I tried it with a grated and pressed stick of Arko shaving soap and I got loads of lather with this brush! I tried it with Cella and I got way better results than with my badger hair brush. The brush feels good in my hand and is easy to hold which is a plus for me. I do have to admit that I wasn't sure that I was going to like a boar hair brush but I have to say that I quite enjoy feeling the scrubbier bristles on my face. It feels nice and it seems the boar hair spreads the lather better on my face than my best badger brush.

As the for the price, you can't beat it. You can get it for about 13 euros over at the Vintage Scent. This brush is made very well and I highly recommend this brush to anyone looking for a workhorse of a brush.