Semogue boar brushes deteriorate

Batou said:
I'm thankful for every advice as long as it makes any sense to me. I have a degree in Engineering and therefore quite some knowledge about technical and chemical things. If you could explain me in a comprehensible way, how boar bristles of those brushes that are now floppy like a cleaning mop when wet, can be restored to their original stiffness just by soaking them in a solution of water with vinegar and some kind of detergent, I will try this process again. But to be honest, I have strong doubts about the validity of this procedure. This has nothing to do with impoliteness.
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Yes you are probably correct, your brush is unserviceable, bin and buy an Omega .
 
Batou said:
I'm thankful for every advice as long as it makes any sense to me. I have a degree in Engineering and therefore quite some knowledge about technical and chemical things. If you could explain me in a comprehensible way, how boar bristles of those brushes that are now floppy like a cleaning mop when wet, can be restored to their original stiffness just by soaking them in a solution of water with vinegar and some kind of detergent, I will try this process again. But to be honest, I have strong doubts about the validity of this procedure. This has nothing to do with impoliteness.
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...you may just need to cut your losses with your current brush choices and accept the way Semogues perform is not for you. I have both Semogues and Omegas and they do perform differently. Boars change with use. Finding a brush that meets your own exact preferences can take time and money and the more brushes you use the better you will know your exact preferences. You now know what you want from a boar brush. Choose another and consider securing member feedback...
 
Ok, for the sake of peace, I will try to repeat this procedure two more times. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong and you are right. There is only one way to find out. I will report the results.
 
Batou said:
Ok, for the sake of peace, I will try to repeat this procedure two more times. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong and you are right. There is only one way to find out. I will report the results.
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It's your brush. However for the sake of a little vinegar you have little to loose and maybe it will work maybe it won't but at least you will have tried.
 
I've just picked up on this thread & I'm inclined to agree with the OP.
My Semogue 820 seems to be suffering from the same fate.
I used it a while ago & noticed a difference while I was lathering up. It had lost some of it's backbone & wasn't holding the lather well at all(I keep it clean).
I know Omega make good brushes but I've never used one because I prefer the look of the Semogues. I did decide a while ago to use only badgers, overall I think they probably do a better job(YMMV). One other off putting thing about my Semogue brushes(I have four) is that the knots are working loose on three of them.
 
Yeap my friends, you are not alone.. I suffered the same issues of lack of backbone and foam hunger with a semogue 830 and a 2000...both became useless in fact...

Fortunately, my other Semogue (1470) hasn't developed that behaviour, so I wonder if it was related with the boar mix blend hair, which is different...

In the other hand, I'm happy with the Omega and Zenith bleached boar hair that I own...

Regards

Enviado desde mi MI 5 mediante Tapatalk
 
I can find instructions for shaving brush cleaning by using either vinegar or alternatively sodium borate (borax). It would be interesting which of those means work better and produce better results.

I used vinegar so far but maybe borax will work more efficiently for this purpose.

Could someone give an advice about this?
 
This is just a stab in the dark but if all else fails, maybe try pet shampoo?? After all, boars and badgers are both (albeit dead) animals. I've never tried it so I may be talking total tosh but for the sake of a couple of quid may be worth a bash?
 
This is just a stab in the dark but if all else fails, maybe try pet shampoo?? After all, boars and badgers are both (albeit dead) animals. I've never tried it so I may be talking total tosh but for the sake of a couple of quid may be worth a bash?
 
Batou said:
I can find instructions for shaving brush cleaning by using either vinegar or alternatively sodium borate (borax). It would be interesting which of those means work better and produce better results.

I used vinegar so far but maybe borax will work more efficiently for this purpose.

Could someone give an advice about this?
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Borax certainly smells better.
 
Blademonkey said:
I'm not angry, you have the right to hold your opinion but I have to say that I love my SOC boar's and I also love my 2000 and my 1305. I also love my omega's and my Zenith boar, I think it is a little harsh to say that Smogs are only good for looking at but as I said at the beginning you do have the right to hold your opinion. :) P.
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All this makes me glad I switched to a high quality synthetic a couple of years ago. Its performance after 2 years is identical to the first time I used it. My Boars & Badgers are consigned to dustbin of history!
 
Hourwerk said:
All this makes me glad I switched to a high quality synthetic a couple of years ago. Its performance after 2 years is identical to the first time I used it. My Boars & Badgers are consigned to dustbin of history!
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Good, there can be nothing better than a glad shaver and I'm glad that I enjoy boar, badger and synthitic.........we are both glad! :)
 
I have tried now different things and today is the day to make some conclusions.

First of all I must admit that I was wrong (sometimes I can be very stubborn) and I want to thank those members, who kicked my ass and showed me the right way (maybe I need this from time to time).

I tried different methods with three Semogue shaving brushes that have been more or less unusable due to the described effect. In fact, it was only some kind of stain like lime soap, lanoline etc. First I tried cleaning with a solution of vinegar and a drop of dishwashing detergent, which showed no effect at the first step. I read later that even small remains of vinegar are a real foam killer, maybe that was one of the reasons.

Then I tried repeating this process while omitting the vinegar at the last step. This showed already some results but the result was not as good as desired. Until now I tried this with two Semogue brushes, a 620 and a 830.

Then I contacted my brother, who is a professional goldsmith because I know that he uses Borax (sodium borate) as a soldering aid. He gave me some of this for my cleaning experiments. For my next try, again I used a small bowl with warm water and added a tablespoon Borax and a drip dishwashing solution. Every of the three brushes has been left for half an hour within this solution and was squeezed and dispersed every few minutes. After this I cleaned the brushes thoroughly and let them dry over night.

And now they all work really well again! For my opinion the cleaning with Borax was the most efficient way and showed the best results. Maybe I should think about cleaning my brushes at a regular basis to prevent this kind of pollution.

Anyway, many thanks to all the forum members that helped me. I am happy that I can share my experiences for anyone.

Batou
 
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Batou said:
I have tried now different things and today is the day to make some conclusions.

First of all I must admit that I was wrong (sometimes I can be very stubborn) and I want to thank those members, who kicked my ass and showed me the right way (maybe I need this from time to time).

I tried different methods with three Semogue shaving brushes that have been more or less unusable due to the described effect. In fact, it was only some kind of stain like lime soap, lanoline etc. First I tried cleaning with a solution of vinegar and a drop of dishwashing detergent, which showed no effect at the first step. I read later that even small remains of vinegar are a real foam killer, maybe that was one of the reasons.

Then I tried repeating this process while omitting the vinegar at the last step. This showed already some results but the result was not as good as desired. Until now I tried this with two Semogue brushes, a 620 and a 830.

Then I contacted my brother, who is a professional goldsmith because I know that he uses Borax (boric acid) as a soldering aid. He gave me some of this for my cleaning experiments. For my next try, again I used a small bowl with warm water and added a tablespoon Borax and a drip dishwashing solution. Every of the three brushes has been left for half an hour within this solution and was squeezed and dispersed every few minutes. After this I cleaned the brushes thoroughly and let them dry over night.

And now they all work really well again! For my opinion the cleaning with Borax was the most efficient way and showed the best results. Maybe I should think about cleaning my brushes at a regular basis to prevent this kind of pollution.

Anyway, many thanks to all the forum members that helped me. I am happy that I can share my experiences for anyone.

Batou
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I am pleased you found your answer in the end. P.
 
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