BOARing

[md1234]

Omega 011842 is my favorite as well. The only downfall is that it loses a few hairs every shave and after 500 face and head shaves, there is a doughnut hole forming in the center of the knot. Regardless this is still my favorite brush period for face lathering.

 

[Ravenonrock]

I use a wide variety of boar brushes with various lofts, knot sizes and makers. It‘s hard to pin down a favourite, they all work well for me. That being said I have been reaching for a few new Zenith’s lately and enjoying the plush knot experience.

 

[Lee Van Cleft]

Omega for me…….bargain prices and do a fine job with hard soaps and creams. Italian barbers swear by them…they know a thing or two.
Have some badger ones but hardly ever use them these days. The mini Omega is my favourite although the handle could be a bit bigger…. my perfect knot for economy, softness and lather generating.

 

[dotKomo]

I really like boar brushes. The ones with longer lofts, like the Omega 48 and the Semogue Pegasus, I hold with my fingers at the base of the bristles, not at the handle, a trick I learned from an Italian barber, and this way I avoid them getting floppy. The ones with shorter lofts, like the Semogue SOC, 1305 and 830 and the Omega Jade, I hold by the handle. Of all my brushes, my favorite is the Pegasus Mistura.

Cheers!

Beto,

Yes, I've seen that technique in barber shaving videos and am fascinated by how well they apply lather. I've tried it a few times but need to do that more often.

 

[Beto Salatini]

Beto,

Yes, I've seen that technique in barber shaving videos and am fascinated by how well they apply lather. I've tried it a few times but need to do that more often.

Thank you very much for your reply, dear @dotKomo
It's interesting how we can control the floppiness of the brush just by doing this.

 

[awk_m4]

Like @Beto Salatini I really like Boar brushes. Two of my favorites are the SOC Boar and Mistura.

Best Wishes!

 

[FullBoar]

Those 65mm boars have too high of a loft for my liking as it requires me to pinch the knot above the handle due to the floppiness. My Pro 48 sits unused though I did grab an Omega Proraso a few months ago due to the lower loft - I find 56-57mm much more preferable for both bowl and face lathering. I’ve yet to break it in fully, having only used it two or three times, but I think for the price there are better options seeing as how it’s close to twice the price of the 65mm brushes. For what the Proraso version costs there are, in my opinion, much higher quality options such as the Semogue 610/820 and the Zenith A26, which has an aluminum handle and better knot (both bleached and unbleached) imo for around the same price.

 

[gdawg55]

Just got this beauty. Used it today for the first time and frankly it sucked. Couldn’t get any lather from this thing. I know boars take some break in but I’ve never not been able to make lather. After getting Popeye arms from loading and trying to build lather I finally got enough for two passes. Had to get out my trusty STF to make more lather so I could finish my shave. Hope it gets better.

 

[ChriWilson]

I really like boar brushes. The ones with longer lofts, like the Omega 48 and the Semogue Pegasus, I hold with my fingers at the base of the bristles, not at the handle, a trick I learned from an Italian barber, and this way I avoid them getting floppy. The ones with shorter lofts, like the Semogue SOC, 1305 and 830 and the Omega Jade, I hold by the handle. Of all my brushes, my favorite is the Pegasus Mistura.

Thank you very much for your reply, dear @dotKomo
It's interesting how we can control the floppiness of the brush just by doing this.

This is my preferred method for using my boars. This video shows precisely the method.
The other thing to consider is to use more surface area of the bristles to create the lather, than just the tips...

* I would guess that to be the Omega Proraso brush being used, but could easily be the Pro48 as well

 

[MaineYooper]

Anyone interested in participating in a DecemBoar 2024? I haven't seen an announcement yet. This event has occurred 4 times so far and is always a lot of fun!

 

[J-MN]

Anyone interested in participating in a DecemBoar 2024? I haven't seen an announcement yet. This event has occurred 4 times so far and is always a lot of fun!

I'll be participating if there is a DecemBoar 2024.

 

[MaineYooper]

This is my preferred method for using my boars. This video shows precisely the method.
The other thing to consider is to use more surface area of the bristles to create the lather, than just the tips...

* I would guess that to be the Omega Proraso brush being used, but could easily be the Pro48 as well

That was impressive! The barber's loading and lathering techniques are very different from my everyday loads and lathers. I know that I want to try this loading and lathering myself, when I have the time. He (barber) must have taken five minutes to do just the lathering. I need to watch this again and take notes!

 

[Mr Konrad Dundee]

This is my preferred method for using my boars. This video shows precisely the method.
The other thing to consider is to use more surface area of the bristles to create the lather, than just the tips...

* I would guess that to be the Omega Proraso brush being used, but could easily be the Pro48 as well

That's Barberia Scapicchio, I shaved there
Like most Italian barbers they use Omega 48

 

[Mr Konrad Dundee]

This is my preferred method for using my boars. This video shows precisely the method.
The other thing to consider is to use more surface area of the bristles to create the lather, than just the tips...

* I would guess that to be the Omega Proraso brush being used, but could easily be the Pro48 as well

There is also Paolo Barrasso, one of the best barbers in Italy

 

[AlphaFrank75]

Just got this beauty. Used it today for the first time and frankly it sucked. Couldn’t get any lather from this thing. I know boars take some break in but I’ve never not been able to make lather. After getting Popeye arms from loading and trying to build lather I finally got enough for two passes. Had to get out my trusty STF to make more lather so I could finish my shave. Hope it gets better.

View attachment 1945953

I had the same experience. This brush when new was a real lather eater. After reading up on boar brushes, what works for me is to give it a long soak, let only what water out that drips out when you take it out of the soaking and load from a hard puck like you hate it. TBH, when I first got my Pegasus boar I was thinking I wasted money on it. Now I don't really like boar that much, but I do like my Pegasus enough and over time we'll see how it goes.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Just got this beauty. Used it today for the first time and frankly it sucked. Couldn’t get any lather from this thing. I know boars take some break in but I’ve never not been able to make lather. After getting Popeye arms from loading and trying to build lather I finally got enough for two passes. Had to get out my trusty STF to make more lather so I could finish my shave. Hope it gets better.

First time using one of the big boar brushes can be like that. Two problems are 1) the tips have not split, it's the split tips that help generate lather quickly 2) a huge knot, the larger the knot, the more soap it takes to build a lather. A certain amount of soap just sits in the bristles. If you don't load enough soap, the brush won't develop good lather. It needs a certain amount of soap before it will even do anything (this is one reason for using medium sized and smaller boars).

Semogues can be really slow to break in for some reason. I'd say soak it for 10 minutes or so before using, and give it 30+ shaves to see it's true colors. Also, make sure to let the bristles dry out completely after use since this encourages the splitting of the tips.

 

[NorthernSoul]

...He (barber) must have taken five minutes to do just the lathering...

This is partly to let the whiskers soak up water to get softer (also to pamper the client!).

 

[gdawg55]

First time using one of the big boar brushes can be like that. Two problems are 1) the tips have not split, it's the split tips that help generate lather quickly 2) a huge knot, the larger the knot, the more soap it takes to build a lather. A certain amount of soap just sits in the bristles. If you don't load enough soap, the brush won't develop good lather. It needs a certain amount of soap before it will even do anything (this is one reason for using medium sized and smaller boars).

Semogues can be really slow to break in for some reason. I'd say soak it for 10 minutes or so before using, and give it 30+ shaves to see it's true colors. Also, make sure to let the bristles dry out completely after use since this encourages the splitting of the tips.

This thing wouldn’t even grab the soap off the puck. I must have loaded for 2-3 mins and hardly any soap in the brush. I have many boar brushes and this one is in a league all by itself in the hard to lather category. I know it will get better, but I’ve never experienced this amount of poor loading and lather making in any brush.

 

[ChriWilson]

This thing wouldn’t even grab the soap off the puck. I must have loaded for 2-3 mins and hardly any soap in the brush. I have many boar brushes and this one is in a league all by itself in the hard to lather category. I know it will get better, but I’ve never experienced this amount of poor loading and lather making in any brush.

Personally never had a brush that wouldn’t pickup soap; but this is precisely what I keep MWF for.

During break-in, I’ll make huge loads of lather and either let the brush tips sit in it for a bit or rest the brush upright with a head that drips in, for the same.

 

[htownmmm]

On my 2nd use of the Stirling 31mm boar (Zenith), I used the Marco Method for generating lather and it was the 1st time in my history of using boars that I had gobs of lather. In the brush, on my face, in the bowl, and on the puck. Suffice it to say, it will be my only boar-lathering method. I know the brush is nowhere near broken in but if that's the results, I'm all in.

marty