Boar lovers rejoice.

[donnie_arko]

Zenith - The bleached one it's the only one that nice to use, a bit too dense though. The unbleached one feels like sandpaper. Used it for a few times, it will break over the time, but I don't really enjoy using it. The synthetic Euro one it's unusable, extremely stiff and springy, it's painful to use and very inefficient. It's hard to even splay the damn thing.

The Zenith Euro Synthetic you described sounds identical to the Omega S Brush I have, I imagine it is the same knot (maybe even handle!).

 

[SmurfK]

The Zenith Euro Synthetic you described sounds identical to the Omega S Brush I have, I imagine it is the same knot (maybe even handle!).

I think it's the same fiber, but the Zenith one it's larger and more densley packed. I haven't tried the Pro S-brush, I immagine it might be similar, but the smaller one it's much more usable than Zenith. The handle it's not the same with any Omega ones, but it's similar to the one used on 10066.

 

[donnie_arko]

I think it's the same fiber, but the Zenith one it's larger and more densley packed. I haven't tried the Pro S-brush, I immagine it might be similar, but the smaller one it's much more usable than Zenith. The handle it's not the same with any Omega ones, but it's similar to the one used on 10066.

Yes you're right, my mistake - the Zenith handles are different to the Omega ones for sure.

I've not tried the Zenith Euro Synthetic brush, but like my Omega S10065 it has a 24mm knot, but the the Omega has a 54mm loft, and the Zenith has a 57mm loft. It looks like they might share the same fibre for the knots.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I'm not a big fan of boar but the Omega 10065 and Vulfix Grosvenor 404 mixed badger/boar brushes I own have both been easy to use and quick to break in. The Vulfix is brilliant.

 

[Nisse]

Moved my Omega 108 knot to a barbershop handle originally made for a 30 mm badger knot but the 27 mm boar in its plastic container was a perfect fit no adjustment needed.

 

[Blademonkey]

View attachment 30469
Moved my Omega 108 knot to a barbershop handle.

A handsome looking brush. P.

 

[Eeyore68]

I bought a new boar last week; a Stirling. Not really broken in yet (after only a few shaves), but a nicely dense knot and a substantial handle.

 

[TomG]

I had two Semogue Boar brushes that I thought were close to “broken in” after being in a rotation of 6 brushes over an 8 month period.
Out of curiosity, I tried the above method, and it really did result in a significant improvement (for me, at least).

 

[jar]

My normal routine for the last half century or so has been that after you use and COMPLETELY flush a brush (all types of bristles) gently squeeze the knot in a towel and then rapidly stoke the tips of the brush 20 cycles (left then right) then 20 cycles (down then up) and repeat the sequence four times. Usually I'll do the first two repetitions on the shaving towel and the last two repetitions on a bath towel on the rack.

I've never had it take even a month to break in a brush.

 

[jar]

My normal routine for the last half century or so has been that after you use and COMPLETELY flush a brush (all types of bristles) gently squeeze the knot in a towel and then rapidly stroke the tips of the brush 20 cycles (left then right) then 20 cycles (down then up) and repeat the sequence four times. Usually I'll do the first two repetitions on the shaving towel and the last two repetitions on a bath towel on the rack.

I've never had it take even a month to break in a brush.

 

[jar]

Just as with Badger or Horse Hair brushes, the knot shape, the design, the bristles themselves and how the brush is treated will determine whether it blooms or not. Generally thicker bristles or straight shape knots will bloom less than fan or bulb shape knots. All Boar knots soften with use as the ends split.

So on to pictures.

Old & New; the two on the left are fairly new knots while the two on the right are over a half century old.

The far left is a replacement knot from TGN and most likely made by Zenith.



These are all likely at least a half century old knots.

Note that the fan shapes show more bloom than the straights.



All new and still in break in phase.

From Left:Omega, Zenith, Jayaruh with Omega Knot, Jayaruh with TGN (likely Zenith) knot.

 

[donnie_arko]

@jar

Lovely collection of boar brushes you have there. Do you have a favourite amongst the modern boars?

 

[jar]

@jar

Lovely collection of boar brushes you have there. Do you have a favourite amongst the modern boars?

I wish, maybe once they become experienced brushes, but for now my favorites are the Rubberset 400s and the Gibbs.