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.
From the way it sounds boar brushes aren’t a good candidate for a first brush recommendation.
James
2 November 2009 at 10:29 am
I agree on the whole. But the Omega 10048 (the Pro 48) at $16.50 is an excellent buy. BUT before buying a boar brush: the beginner should be fully informed about the nature of the brush, that it should be soaked prior to use, and that it requires some weeks of use to break it in. Obviously, a good badger silvertip is much easier to use, requiring no break-in and having excellent capacity from the git-go—but will cost 5 or 10 times as much.
So a boar brush is not a bad choice for a fully informed beginner.
LeisureGuy
2 November 2009 at 10:39 am