- Messages
- 127
- Location
- West Country
I've been wet shaving since the 1960's and had a few brushes including decent badger ones like a Simpson's Duke which sits redundant.
My current brush is an Omega Boar Bristle No.49 cost £7.80 from Connaught. Good for soaps and creams and has some body,
Best of the lot.
My Simpson Eagle 2 badger brush started shedding really badly one day so I pulled out my unused Omega No 49 from the box and I could not believe how great brush it is.I've been wet shaving since the 1960's and had a few brushes including decent badger ones like a Simpson's Duke which sits redundant.
My current brush is an Omega Boar Bristle No.49 cost £7.80 from Connaught. Good for soaps and creams and has some body,
Best of the lot.
As a relatively new safety razor shaver I admit I struggle to understand people's obsession with brushes. I have a Yaqi rainbow synthetic and it works brilliantly with creams and soaps.
Omega... I've tried many from the entry level 10066 & 49 right up to the high end (for a boar) 011829, They were all stiff and scratchy apart from the most expensive one which was also floppy due to a severe lack of density lol. If you like thick bristles which provide an aggressive massage and don't mind massive glue bumps and cheap hollow plastic handles they may be acceptable.
For boars I much prefer Zenith and Semogue, who are just as inexpensive as Omega yet offer much higher quality brushes IMO.
I suppose that is the peculiarities of personal preference. I find the Semogues suffer from disappearing lather and they become floppier much quicker than other boars - that and the construction of their knots which are glued into a conical cup to make them splay - excessively so. The face feel though is excellent from the fatter bristle that they seem to source. Zenith bleached boars use a much finer hair but are lofted too high and feel like a mop - their unbleached boars are very good though. Now a short-lofted Omega's on the other hand hits the goldilocks spot. In any event I find boars are a disposable brush in that they hit their peak for about 6-12 months after being broken in and then become increasingly mushy there after. But when a boar is at its peak and being the best it can be- just tremendous.
I suppose that is the peculiarities of personal preference. I find the Semogues suffer from disappearing lather and they become floppier much quicker than other boars - that and the construction of their knots which are glued into a conical cup to make them splay - excessively so. The face feel though is excellent from the fatter bristle that they seem to source. Zenith bleached boars use a much finer hair but are lofted too high and feel like a mop - their unbleached boars are very good though. Now a short-lofted Omega's on the other hand hits the goldilocks spot. In any event I find boars are a disposable brush in that they hit their peak for about 6-12 months after being broken in and then become increasingly mushy there after. But when a boar is at its peak and being the best it can be- just tremendous.
I've not used any Semogues but your observations of bleached and unbleached Zeniths fits with mine, I really wish their unbleached ones were a little easier to get hold off as they are truly delightful to use.
I've owned quite a few Omega boars and they are incredibly variable for consistency. Even though I have enjoyed using them all at times, I don't think I'd buy another one.
I have 4 omegas... They are "Brushes" they do the job!, No regrets with any of them, how long do you use a brush for..1 minute..2 ?...they are not imo a make or break of a shave. I have a couple of nice best badger that I feel are too soft, I like a scritchy brush and a big omega does that, also lathers any soap no problem while the softer brushes take a lot longer to create a lather on a triple milled soap, I have around 10 or 12 brushes ( waiting on a Simpson ) and I keep going back to the big "O", maybe it just suits me coz I tend to shave with a 3 day growth, but if i'm shaving after one or two days then I do prefer a softer brush, with numerous razors and soaps and brushes...I like to mix it up.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?