A beginner's guide to boar brushes / the science of the boar

[Zach]

[gotsumoves]

[Basset_Hound]

The problem for me, Zach, is that I can't find a way to buy a 31064, since Gio's on hiatus.

[Bedros]

Harry ,from Perfect Beauty can order it but he wants $39.95 and takes 10 days .....You're better off waiting on Giovanni .

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Bedros

[Flash G]

Sorry about the delay on the pics of my old Gillette boar brush. I had misplaced my upload/connect cable to the camera due to putting it a safe place...



The brush is 10 cm tall, handle 5 cm and loft 5 cm. Knot size is 25mm.
This is a real scrubber. I have been using it for some weeks and it is just to much for me. It does not bloom. The bristle seems to be a mix of thin and thick hairs, the thicker ones split. I think the hairs are clipped.
I like the handle and the weight a lot. I´m not sure what its made of, but I guess its some kind of plastic or acrylic.

bottom

The bottom: Gillette -Extra Large -Made in England

trim

This is the black bristle that only goes halfway up the loft and seem to contol the blooming. The outer trim of the bristle are also cut in different lengths. As you can see there is some soap residue.

loft

During the weeks I used this brush it kept loosing 3-5 hairs pr shave. It´s been assigned to the shelf again mostly due to its i scrubbyness, but i guess I´ll use it once in a while. It really is a killer with hard soaps.

I´ll be waiting for some of the new soft and luxurious boars to shortly come out

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Eric

[Zach]

Wow, Eric, what a beauty; thanks so very much for posting this!
Although I can see a few split ends, this is a clipped brush and therefore likely to be extremely scrubby; save this one for when you skip a day and have a dense growth, and you'll notice it less irritating to your skin.
I'm sure even the most badger hearted amongst us will look at this brush fondly, and recall the "Golden Age of Wet Shaving"!
(I think I should copyright this one, you know it's based on the "Golden Age of Greece" which was about 500-300BC)

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Boar can do more!®
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[Zach]

Still looking at your pics.
Wow.
You know, back during the GAOWS,
Back then, these things were tools and built that way. And they felt that way!
Today, people seem to describe the best possible shave as the one with zero experience; we want our brushes so soft that we don't feel a thing; we don't want to feel the razor on our skin, we want it all effortless and somewhat anesthetized, we want to be distracted from the ardours of shaving! Why? Because we actually are scraping a sharp blade across our skin, and we want it transformed into some sort of a spa experience?
I know this is an extreme point of view, but that's the bill of goods that's being marketed and sold to us. Slicker, softer, smoother, comfort...

Not for me!
BOAR, BOAR, BOAR!!
And I want to HEAR the sound of that blade scything through my beard!
ALCOHOL based aftershave!!

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Boar can do more!®
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[TBoner]

Oh, no, Zach. Don't make everyone think this boar myth is true. Most of my boars are truly softer on the face than all but a couple of my badgers.

Nonetheless, I do know what you're saying. And I agree that there is a sensory experience that existed for the average wetshaver in America say, 50 years ago, that we don't often replicate: scrubby, clipped boar; soap with just-adequate cushion; alcoholic zing to finish. Now, the sound of hairs being slaughtered, well, I think this is most prevalent with a SE or straight (and, some say, the Futur), neither of which has seen much popular use in a very, very long time, but both of which are used regularly by the addicted wetshaver. I do hear gents talk about enjoying this sound here on the forum. For me, it is often the best part of the shave, and one of the best reasons to shave in silence.

Regards,

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Tim

He shaved evenly and with care, in silence, seriously. - James Joyce

What is possessed is devalued by what is coveted. - John Updike

[Squire]

The sound of shaving is the Futur.

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Regards,
Squire

[Zach]

[Zach]

[Big Ren]

[Squire]

Zach I believe we are in the Golden Age of shaving now.

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Regards,
Squire

[Zach]

[Squire]

Zach, 'back then' is a relative term. My Grandfather was born before the turn of the prior century and began shaving before WW1. The men who taught him to shave were reared in the Victorian era and he and the family barber taught me.

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Regards,
Squire

[GA Russell]

[Flash G]

My pleasure, Zach.

I used the brush again today, breaking from my intended Marlborough week, with Coates Almond cream and it whipped up a nice thick lather in a bowl in no time. It holds on to the lather, but I guess that's to be expected due to the density of the brush. Any way, the brush works lovely with creams, too

I realized that I have only used the brush for face lathering, never in a bowl. Well, off course the scrubbyness isn't much of an issue when I can apply the lather to my face with paint strokes. I think it will get a bit more use now

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Eric

[brothers]

Zach, I have located a couple of NIB Omega 30005 brushes on the shelf at a little mom & pop barber supply store in the city where I live, at a very competitive price. I am wondering if this is as desirable a brush as the 31064, which I have been kind of planning to get one of these days when Giovanni eventually reopens his store. It's so seldom that we are able to buy nice shaving products off the shelf, as opposed to the internet. In your opinion, and hopefully the opinions of others who may be reading this, what are the positives/negatives about this pretty little boar brush? Looking forward to your response, even though you and I know I'm about 99% ready to buy it anyway! (PS, she's got a couple of 48s too! I already have one of those monsters.)

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Gary aka The One-Eyed Pirate
I've got what I need. For one year, beginning 9-1-2010 and ending 8-31-2011 I will not be purchasing any new soap, shaving cream, brush or razor for my own use. I'm going to be using up what I've got. Wish me luck!

[Zach]

Gary, buy that brush!

The 30005 is smaller and lighter, with a 24 vs. 27 mm knot and a similar loft; its got a very classy look, IMHO and is great with both creams and soaps, firm and scrubby yet soft on the skin; it has a similar fan shaped head and a similary luxurious feel, just a tad smaller. It eats less lather if you're of the load once but lather 3 times set; I guarantee that it will make you happy. Use it in good health!


Best,

Zach

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Boar can do more!®
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[Zach]

Since Gary revived the thread I decided to update the OP with an additional paragraph about brush care; just so that you don't need to go looking for it I paste it here:


New addition: boar brushes absorb water, and badger does not. It's very important to not let your boar brush dry with a load of lather in it; this soap will be absorbed into the bristle and subsequently when the brush dries after rinsing it will feel stiff and inflexible; also, after years of service, if you don't rinse them well after use, a boar brush will eventually become dryer and inflexible. It's important that you soak this brush before use, then rinse well and let dry, soaking before each use for at least a month in an effort to try to remedy the damage. If you use a brush in this condition, you stand a very good chance of breaking bristles, and possibly even cracking the knot.

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Boar can do more!®
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