Comparison brush

I wondered how my two boar brushes—the Omega Pro 48 and the Semogue 2000—were coming along, so this morning I used the Boreal boar brush, which I’ve used only once or twice. I wanted to see what difference I could detect in a brush definitely not broken in.

I wanted to give the Boreal every chance to shine, so it soaked in hot water while I showered, and I worked it vigorously on the Institut Karité shaving soap, including a fair amount of pumping. I did get copious—and very nice—lather for the first pass, but this newish brush has very little capacity so far. For the second pass, I had to reload the brush a bit, and for the third pass, I put a big splash of hot water on the brush and worked up the lather again, much as for the first pass. I again got a copious, good lather for that last pass.

The Slant Bar with its newish Astra Keramik blade did a fine job, and Pashana is a distinctive finish.

Clearly the Boreal doesn’t match the boar brushes that have been broken in, but now I’m determined to bring this one along, so I’ll be using it a fair amount in the days to come. It’s clear that boar brushes require some commitment to the break-in process before they can really do well.