- Joined
- Saturday July 16, 2016
*(grabbed picture)
The Semogue 1305 boar shaving brush with its painted beech wood handle a 22 mm knot and loft of 55 mm has been referred to as "the boar" Semogue's "iconic brush" and "ergonomically perfect". My experience with other Semogues has been excellent so the 1305 readily found its way into my den.
Currently Semogue offers its boar bristles in five different grades - super, premium, special, extra and best. With each grade having its own characteristics the premium grade is known for the softness of its tips and the speed at which they split. The 1305 has premium grade bristles with 90% tops. This means that 90% of the bristles reach the top of the knot with 10% of the bristles ending somewhere below the top of the knot.
The 1305 gave me adequate flow through once broken-in; the tips split quickly, about a week or so and became significantly softer. The brush offers reasonable backbone, nothing like the polarising scrubby 620, but also far from floppy either. The ergonomics of the handle are excellent, it just feels right in the hand although the handle weight is lighter than many resin handles.
The retro paint job covered in what I suspect is a polyurethane lacquer looks good to my eyes. It did have a few small dust specs and a smudge - I could see this being irritating for some. Many report the handle being delicate in that the paint will chip if dropped or knocked against a hard surface. If you are prone to dropping your brushes then you may want to consider purchasing some clear nail varnish to cover any chips. I usually soak my resin handled brushes in the sink, I have taken to soaking the 1305 only in a mug as I doubt the beech handle would take kindly to repeated soakings. However the relative low cost of the brush may make it easier being less precious with it compared to any pedigree brush queens you may have in your herd.
The face feel of the brush is good rather than exceptional - yes it is soft, although many are softer, yes every bristle seems to make itself felt in a good way, yes the brush is precise when lathering or encompassing if you choose to splay it. It performs well with pucks, sticks and creams, it holds lather well, it proved good at face and bowl lathering. The brush blooms and splays wonderfully after regular use; indeed it takes on the look of a punk rocker having a bad hair day; This may offend the aesthetic sensibilities of some.
Overall the 1305 feels balanced, well judged, tailored in its characteristics. Rather like a pair of good-year welted leather soled shoes, a traditional leather bicycle saddle or a new fountain pen nib, the breaking in period makes it your own, unique to you. I find this rewarding but also understand why some may not; preferring instead a brush that performs near or at its best straight out of the box.
Additional feedback on the 1305 can be found at:
http://shavenook.com/showthread.php?tid=3694
I struggled to find many negative comments, those that were mostly concerned the brushes aesthetics and the paint chipping if dropped. A few appeared to be disappointed with the brushes flow-through or the amount of lather the brush held or its backbone. Some Omega boar fans are dismissive of Semogue boars and of course vice-a-versa.
My other brushes may have better individual performance characteristics and yet there is something about this brush that has made me smitten with it; difficult to fully articulate why, but It seems that Semogue add a little touch of magic when hand making this brush. For me the references to the 1305 being "the boar...iconic...ergonomically perfect" may prove justified.
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