Show us your boars!

3 day report on the Zenith... The tips have split two or three times in some cases, it now feels like a scrubby cloud on the face but thankfully the bloom isn't too exaggerated. In use it's been a revelation, I'm producing consistently fantastic lathers which it's being a good piggy and not eating.

So far, so good. Easily the best boar I've used, in fact it's just as good as a badger or synthetic in my book... Which is quite something considering I previously wrote them all off as useless! :rolleyes:

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Here is my latest acquisition; a Stirling boar brush. So far I am impressed.
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Pitralon forever - Real pens have a nib - If it doesn't tick, it's not a watch.
 
3 day report on the Zenith... The tips have split two or three times in some cases, it now feels like a scrubby cloud on the face but thankfully the bloom isn't too exaggerated. In use it's been a revelation, I'm producing consistently fantastic lathers which it's being a good piggy and not eating.

So far, so good. Easily the best boar I've used, in fact it's just as good as a badger or synthetic in my book... Which is quite something considering I previously wrote them all off as useless! :rolleyes:

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I would say it has a Semogue-ish bloom. You can see it's soft. Boars are useless only for those who don't take the time to understand them. In my 8 months adventure with mainly boars, i have seen that each boar model has its quirks. You have to "study" it a bit to see how much water, soap and pressure it needs.

For every foreigner i read that smears at boars, i get a good laugh. This is a video from Franco Bompieri, owner of Antica Barberia Colla, the most prestigious barber shop in Milan. Virtually every italian celebrity and politician has been his customer, with amongst his regulars italian stars of the golden age of the italian cinema, including Marcello Mastroianni, Luchino Visconti and Vittorio de Sica.

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This one is subtitled in english:

But, the translation isn't 100% faithful. Towards the middle of the video, he says:

"Il pennello giusto è quello del maiale , posteriore del maiale. Proprio la setola più bianca. L' unico pennello con il quale si può fare una saponata alla barba, è quello li. Non c'è il tasso, non c'è...Perchè gli altri diventano delle pezze. Invece quello lì, resta rigido."

Which as accurately as i can translate, says: "The right brush is the one of boar, the rear part of the boar. Precisely the whitest bristle. The only brush with which you can make a lather, is that one. There isn't the badger, there isn't... (meaning "it's not the badger or any other kind of brush). Because the others, become like wet cloths (meaning mops). On the contrary, that one, remains rigid".

Now, someone may say he is a boar zealot, but, i say, that if he is so convinced about the merit of the boar and a wetshaver today can't make the brush work, maybe the problem isn't with the brush, but with the hand that holds it. While googling, i have even stumbled upon american wetshavers that didn't soak the brush, but just pass it through the running tap water and then complain that the boar doesn't work... :rolleyes:
 
... the golden age of the italian cinema, including Marcello Mastroianni, Luchino Visconti and Vittorio de Sica.

I believe The Bicycle Thieves to be one of the most important European films of the post war era. My 'golden age' of Italian cinema is the 'Giallo' era - but that might be just me!

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I've been comparing two Omega 80265's I have, one of which has been in use for about 6 months and the other I just took out of the carton and soaked it for 2 days in cold water. Even though both brushes are the exact same model there is some differences between the two.

The one in use didn't have much of an odour but has been shedding a huge amount, which is a shame as it has quite a nice bloom to it and is quite nice to use. To begin with it's tips were very prickly and took a while to break in.

The one I have been soaking has quite a strong smell, but it has softer tips than the other one (when it was new).
 
I believe The Bicycle Thieves to be one of the most important European films of the post war era. My 'golden age' of Italian cinema is the 'Giallo' era - but that might be just me!

*****

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I've been comparing two Omega 80265's I have, one of which has been in use for about 6 months and the other I just took out of the carton and soaked it for 2 days in cold water. Even though both brushes are the exact same model there is some differences between the two.

The one in use didn't have much of an odour but has been shedding a huge amount, which is a shame as it has quite a nice bloom to it and is quite nice to use. To begin with it's tips were very prickly and took a while to break in.

The one I have been soaking has quite a strong smell, but it has softer tips than the other one (when it was new).

The Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di Biciclette), is an all time classic. I guess one can say that for the italian cinema is as famous as "Gone with the Wind" for the american cinema. Conventionally, by golden age, it is regarded the age from after WWII, to 1980 (with 1970-1980, being the beginning of the end). Then the cinema crisis begun and number of productions plummeted. One could also argue that the cinema ran out of actors of the same caliber as before.

I have also read about Omega not using the same bristle quality in different batches of brushes of the same model. Your bristles don't even look yellow, but the photo is blurry. My 80265 with green handle, has yellow type bristles.
 
The Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di Biciclette), is an all time classic. I guess one can say that for the italian cinema is as famous as "Gone with the Wind" for the american cinema. Conventionally, by golden age, it is regarded the age from after WWII, to 1980 (with 1970-1980, being the beginning of the end). Then the cinema crisis begun and number of productions plummeted. One could also argue that the cinema ran out of actors of the same caliber as before.

I have also read about Omega not using the same bristle quality in different batches of brushes of the same model. Your bristles don't even look yellow, but the photo is blurry. My 80265 with green handle, has yellow type bristles.

Yes, mine are also yellow type bristles - my camera's not the best!

Italian cinema between 1970-1990 is one of my favourite era's of film - the directors Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci etc made some truly wonderful and crazy films.
 
Yes, mine are also yellow type bristles - my camera's not the best!

Italian cinema between 1970-1990 is one of my favourite era's of film - the directors Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci etc made some truly wonderful and crazy films.

I am not much into horror films myself. From films past 1980, i prefer the silly comedies. 1950-1970 has probably the biggest amount of best films. But i rarely watch them anymore. Hollywood conquers all. But when i was a kid, i was watching the old italian films.

See, this thing about the Omega makes me crazy. I buy the 80266 and has white bristles, very soft in the outer part of the bristles, but with good backbone in the inner part. So i order a whole bunch of the 80265 in different colours, thinking they would be the same, with just a different colour. Besides, i love the ergonomy of that handle. And they all arrive with yellow bristles and are a bit stiffer. :mad: Not as stiff as the Proraso brush, that has an uncomfortably high backbone for me (as well as a non ergonomic handle and very slow break in period), but definitely not the same bristles. It's insane... :confused: Now i have put in halt the 80266 and i am continuing breaking in a 11574. Just to see how much the final difference will be.

As things are, my intention is to keep 1 white bristle and 1 yellow bristle in rotation. Because they give different feeling. For now, i have 2 white bristles boars and (too many) yellow bristle boars. When the 2 white bristle boars break or whatever, i will seek another white bristle 24x55mm model to put in the rotation.
 
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Some of the Boars.

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From the left:Rubberset #3 with a modern Zenith 24mm knot, Semogue 830, Rubberset & EverReady with original knots

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Rubberset 400, Gibbs 210, StrongSet, Rubberset travel brush, Nobility; all original knots

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Omega, Zenith, Jayaruh 400 Omega knot, Jayaruh Celtic Knot with Zenith boar knot​
 
I do not soak my brushes, boar, badger or synth, just hold 'em under tap, works for me.

As long as it works, fine. However, i have read that the if you don't soak the boar, the boar will start absorbing the water from the lather, as it's just how it works. This can have a slight effect on lather creation, depending how you build it, but depending on what else is dissolved into the lather water, it may damage the boar bristles, making the brush shed or making the bristles stiffer over time. Which given the low price of boars isn't a problem price-wise, but time to break-in a new boar brush is a whole different thing, because you can't buy a pre-broken in brush.

Fortunately i don't have 1st hand experience, just reporting what i have read googling from shaving forums. And at least theoretically, it makes sense. I mean, that the boar bristle has the propery to absorb water and only stops absorbing it when it's saturated. So if you lather it once it's alread saturated, it won't absorb components found into the lather.
 
As long as it works, fine. However, i have read that the if you don't soak the boar, the boar will start absorbing the water from the lather, as it's just how it works. This can have a slight effect on lather creation, depending how you build it, but depending on what else is dissolved into the lather water, it may damage the boar bristles, making the brush shed or making the bristles stiffer over time. Which given the low price of boars isn't a problem price-wise, but time to break-in a new boar brush is a whole different thing, because you can't buy a pre-broken in brush.

Fortunately i don't have 1st hand experience, just reporting what i have read googling from shaving forums. And at least theoretically, it makes sense. I mean, that the boar bristle has the propery to absorb water and only stops absorbing it when it's saturated. So if you lather it once it's alread saturated, it won't absorb components found into the lather.
What you say seems to make sense. I just put mine under the tap, but tomorrow will give the soaking method a shot. Thanks for the information.
 
What you say seems to make sense. I just put mine under the tap, but tomorrow will give the soaking method a shot. Thanks for the information.

There is a guy that i had found while googling, who made a quick experiment, to see how much time the brush needs soaked to get fully saturated. He did that, i think, by measuring the weight of the brush. And if i remember correctly, his results showed that 90% saturation occurs in the 1st minute. So you don't need to let it there soaking for too long. I usually give it 3-5 mins and i think they 're more than enough.
 
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