Underwhelmed by new boar... patience/techniqe required?

[poppa]

I took delivery of a Semogue 1305 yesterday, chosen because it looks good, gets good reviews and I thought it might match well to hard soap. As I am fairly new to 'real' shaving, the only brush I have for comparison is an old Tweezerman badger.

First impressions were good; the Semogue is stiffer and less scratchy than the Tweezerman. Unfortunately I found it very tricky to brush up a lather (in a bowl). The Semogue seemed a lot more fussy with regard to how much water I needed, and I seemed to be only able to make either a thin, weak lather or else an incredibly thick lather (almost pure soap!).

So what am I doing wrong? Should I be face lathering instead with this brush? Some of the tips are already split, but do I need to 'break in' the brush more before it will perform correctly? Or else do I need to simply experiment with how much water to use?

Apologies if the questions are too 'newbie'...

 

[Yellow Jim]

In my experience it takes a few lathers before a boar brush can create a decent lather. How long did you soak the brush for? You need to make sure it is well soaked before you start, a good 5 minutes at least in warm water (I soak my boar brushes whilst I shower), then squeeze/shake out most of the water and see how you get on from there.

 

[n1vlo]

i have very similar result with mine...only 7 days old

it is fine with tabac soap...but struggles a bit with mama bears...seems to thin out 2nd pass...but fine with tabac

my 830 took quite a few weeks to get "useable"...so time and patience i think...till we get ratio right

 

[poppa]

I did make sure to soak the brush for a good five minutes. What's the best way to break in a boar brush, just lather with it like normal?

 

[Adam D]

i have very similar result with mine...only 7 days old

it is fine with tabac soap...but struggles a bit with mama bears...seems to thin out 2nd pass...but fine with tabac

my 830 took quite a few weeks to get "useable"...so time and patience i think...till we get ratio right

Patience and practice seems to be the key with boars plus I find them quite finicky things as well.

I still face lather with my boars but I have given up bowl lathering as the knot seems to store too much water and when you leave it in the bowl between passes it dumps all of the water in the bowl and spoils the lather

Life's too short for things like that IMO.

 

[Pig Cat]

I did make sure to soak the brush for a good five minutes. What's the best way to break in a boar brush, just lather with it like normal?

Soaking before use is important. I know this sounds a bit silly but when I got my 1305 I would sit with it while watching TV and squash the bristles about. There I said it. I just wanted to try and break it in quickly and thought that this might help. It was quite therapeutic. Anyway, if you don't want to do that you should give it a couple of weeks of shaves and hopefully you'll see the difference!

 

[antdad]

I'm almost always underwhelmed by boar brushes but bowl lathering cream doesn't make the best use of it's properties especially compared to badger hair, it's a better tool for scrubbing soap off a puck, it'll still need breaking in and practice though.

Edit:That's a bit harsh, having had a session with a 1305 and a bowl and a few creams, give it a soak, a quick shake and use more product.

 

[Smell The Glove]

So what am I doing wrong? Should I be face lathering instead with this brush? Some of the tips are already split, but do I need to 'break in' the brush more before it will perform correctly? Or else do I need to simply experiment with how much water to use?

.

I face lather with boar daily, so that is my recommendation.

Breaking in time? I don't know about your particular brush, but any boar that I have owned has been a bit crap at first. Keep at it for a couple of weeks. After a month of continuous use you will have a different brush.

 

[moodymick]

Apologies if the questions are too 'newbie'...

No need to apologise at all Squire, we learn more from the questions of others, than from those we ask ourselves

 

[poppa]

Update: Got my first succesful lather out of it. Hurrah!

Two important changes:
1. I made sure I really loaded the brush with soap
2. I started with a drier brush than normal, and added water

But really I think it was loading the brush more that sorted it. Tips are starting to split already, so hopefully things can only get better...

 

[Pig Cat]

Nice one poppa! I must admit to only recently loading my brush with a decent amount of soap/cream. It's much better to have too much than too little. Plus it gets used up faster so you have an excuse to buy more!!

 

[N_Architect]

...It's much better to have too much than too little. Plus it gets used up faster so you have an excuse to buy more!!

+1

 

[SirPrize]

Clearly you and Boars are incompatible.
Contact me and I will relieve you of this annoyance for a purely nominal fee. :lol:

 

[hunnymonster]

... an excuse to buy more!!

What is this "excuse" of which you speak? :lol:

 

[Arrowhead]

My limited experience suggests that boars need more running in time than badgers. The bristles should split in due course (sometimes in two, other times into three) which is when the brush comes into its own. That was the case with a cheap Omega, and as for the Semogue 2009 LE, that's a completely different animal now - feels like a Persian kitten.

 

[Naked Ape]

Great brush, the 1305. It's the only boar I've enjoyed using.

Mine didn't take too long to break in -- if you've a few minutes to spare, go lather up some soaps with it to speed up the hair-splitting process. And as others have already suggested, give it a decent soak prior to use, then squeeze and shake the brush til it's fairly dry.