Boar brushes popularity

Our boar is the #1 seller and have had no complaints on performance.

I can verify that one particular boar brush I bought (Stirling) did include the roots of the hair in its knot. The way I could tell is that a large number of the bristles were upside down in the knot, making for a somewhat uncomfortable face lathering experience. Those ones would never break in and develop split ends. I went ahead and swapped it out with a different knot.

I like my Omega and Semouge brushes and was thinking of buying one of those. Guess not.

Lots of people seem to like them according to what you read on the internets so maybe mine was just a dud. I really like the handle though, so that's why I chose to reknot it.

I can verify that one particular boar brush I bought (Stirling) did include the roots of the hair in its knot. The way I could tell is that a large number of the bristles were upside down in the knot, making for a somewhat uncomfortable face lathering experience. Those ones would never break in and develop split ends. I went ahead and swapped it out with a different knot.

I like my Omega and Semouge brushes and was thinking of buying one of those.  Guess not.

Lots of people seem to like them according to what you read on the internets so maybe mine was just a dud. I really like the handle though, so that's why I chose to reknot it.

I may take a chance on one with my next order of bath soaps from them. It isn't like it will break the bank if it is a dud.

Love my Omega 830 it's about 2 years old.

Today was the first actual shave with my new Thater Beehive Premium Natural White Boar and so all I have are initial impressions.

First the Boring Details. It looks great, a light butterscotch color. The unbleached natural white bristles look much like the Zenith bleached white bristles. The knot is a 26mm one while loft is said to be 59mm.  The weight is a whopping 89.2g.

Thater on far right next to a RazoRock (Zenith) and three from 999Shave:
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But how does it work?  PDG I must say. Even after just a single Spa day the first shave feels like one of my oft used experienced boar brushes. It even made copious piles of lather from an old Surrey No-Scent puck I decided to open. There was just a hint of scritch during the first pass but the second past felt like I had been using the brush for years. There were four bristles that came loose during the Spa day but none during the actual shave.

The verdict?  It ain't your typical boar.  It ain't cheap. It is pretty, feels great, works well and if my other Thaters are a guide will just keep getting better.

BUT; and it's a BIG but; it is certainly not a great value. My Zenith knot boars all cost less than half the price of this Thater, some were about a tenth the price of this brush. Will I buy another one?  Probably not but I will enjoy this one.

With it's siblings:
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I have the Stirling Boar with the Eagle type handle. Experienced maybe 5 lost hairs. The handle is very comfortable. After the recommended cold soaking for 48 hours and another soak in very diluted hair conditioner water and a month of use...it has no odors, broken in and is very soft. No lathering problems with a 1 minute soak prior to loading. I think it is one of the better value brushes and I love it.

Today was an old Kent V80 boar.

I have a semogue boar brush and a pair of synthetics. I use the boar when I want to exfoliate and it works well, but for me synthetics build a better lather cushion.

I have a semogue boar brush and a pair of synthetics. I use the boar when I want to exfoliate and it works well, but for me synthetics build a better lather cushion.

For me, synthetics build a quality lather just quicker, not that the lather itself is any better. Boars usually take a bit longer to build that lather you like. I have, however, the feeling that if they are used very regularly, they are as quick as a badger brush, although I'd agree that nothing beats a good synthetic in terms of quickness. It's just that artificial feel to them that they have, that makes me prefer natural bristles, unless I'm on travel or running short of time, in which case I'd reach for the synthetics.

Wild West Brushworks - 30mm Tuxedo knot