Semogue Brushes

I am not experienced much with Omega knots but have tried a good handful of Semogue boar brushes. The preferred boar I had and used the most with good latherings was the 830. I can tell you that I did not like to use the 620 as it did not develop a lather efficiently. Maybe it was the shape or the lack of loft but I had a lot more success with the taller and floppier (mop like) 830.

The other nice brush is the size 2 Finest Bristle black handled 2011 limited edition. I was soft but I don’t think it lathered as well as it felt. As much as I liked it, maybe I thought it wasn’t the best loft or backbone. I’m not knocking on it much but honestly, I think I would like to use a SOC boar bristle more that the 2011. The SOC boar is a bit big but I remember having pretty good results with it for face lathering.

Does anyone know what the dyeing of the bristle will do? I am not sure of why they offer it. I have tried all the different boars and I really don’t have a preference. They all perform in similar ways and have quite a bit of range in feel. Semogue is probably my favorite brand of boar though since I have had pretty good success using them over the years. These new ones look nice but I probably wouldn’t purchase one soon because I would prefer to use a synthetic over a boar.

Lovely brushes and I really like the Owners Club but I sure wish Semogue would build a 27mm or bigger knot.  Because of boars big splay a 22 acts bigger than a comparable badger but I’d really like more mm’s. The natural hair is sold out but the dyed still shows in stock.  Thanks for the heads up!

You might want to try Semogue model 2000. If has more loft at 60mm and a 25mm knot. It’s the biggest Semogue knot in my collection and a great brush. I’ll post some pictures.

The problem with the 2000 is that due to the high loft, the splay is exaggerated, quite a bit. If they would only lower that loft to 52-54mm, then it would eliminate this issue. 
This is the only reason why I don't have any Semogue boar brushes in my collection as they all have too much splay. 
What a shame, really , as I am Portuguese and would love to have a number of them for my SOTD pics. Oh, well, such is life. 

YMMV as they say     personally, I like the splay.  Thats the beauty of wet shaving, there really is something for everybody.

From the left, 1305, Galahad C3, 2000, OC Cherry, 620, 820. They’re all great brushes and you can see why celestino  doesn’t like the 2000. It has the same diameter knot as the OC but more loft which means more splay. The 620 and the 820 have smaller knots and less loft so they have more backbone. The Galahad will bloom more once it’s properly broken in and should look similar to the 1305. 

Here’s some closeups of the bristles.  You can see the split ends that happen as the boar bristles break in and become softer. The last picture is the 1305 and its bristles don't seem to be splitting as much as the blond bristles although its well broken in and beautifully soft.

 

That’s a great and informative post Marko. Any tips for lathering up with the boar? I may have picked up a SOC boar to try out.

That’s a great and informative post Marko.  Any tips for lathering up with the boar? I may have picked up a SOC boar to try out.

The SOC boar will take a bit of breaking in but stick to it and you'll be rewarded with a beautiful brush.  First of all wash the new knot with soap - I use sunlight then rinse it well and towel strop it and let it dry.  When you use it be sure to soak the knot in warm water (not too hot because that can damage the bristles) for at least 10-15 minutes then shake it out and load it.  I bowl lather so I just slowly load and add water until I have enough soap on the brush and then build the lather in the bowl.  I use the Captain's Choice bowl - I like the heavy copper but when breaking in a new brush I use the ceramic bowl because it has more aggressive ridges that help in break in.  Then I lather my face and shave.  Its a good idea to stick with the same brush for every shave for a couple of weeks so it will be 75-80% broken after two weeks.  If you only use it once a week or so it will take months.  Risne the brush thoroughly when you're done and towel strop and let it dry 

In my experience, if you soak your knot before you shave the brush is going to perform well.  It shouldn't be giving you crappy lathers and scrubby feel during the break in period.  If that's happening then there is something else going on.  If the lather isn't building or its thin and runny then load more soap.  If it feels scrubby then you haven't soaked it long enough or the water was cold.  Semogue brushes break in very easily in my experience, not like the Omega 10098.  That brush takes forever to break in and it has the most foul, nauseating  chemical odour for months.  I don't know how Omega treats those knots but its an unpleasant break-in period.  I picked up one of them only because its the knot that Heitage brushes uses because it has treated tips that gel easier.  Good thing its so cheap - if you really want one buy it and ask a friend to break it in for you

Marko, where did you find them for $29 CDN?

Italian Barber.

Thanks. 

Just an FYI Semogue also has a store on Ebay that offers free shipping.

You might want to try Semogue model 2000. If has more loft at 60mm and a 25mm knot. It’s the biggest Semogue knot in my collection and a great brush. I’ll post some pictures.

The problem with the 2000 is that due to the high loft, the splay is exaggerated, quite a bit. If they would only lower that loft to 52-54mm, then it would eliminate this issue. 
This is the only reason why I don't have any Semogue boar brushes in my collection as they all have too much splay. 
What a shame, really , as I am Portuguese and would love to have a number of them for my SOTD pics. Oh, well, such is life. 

YMMV as they say     personally, I like the splay.  Thats the beauty of wet shaving, there really is something for everybody.

On a boar it’s all about the splay!  Love that huge face feel.

Celestino,
I have 3 very nice Zenith boar bristle brushes.  2 of them are much shorter loft and do not have as much splay.  I like all the Zenith brushes that I own, more than the Semogues.  I find that the shorter loft makes for great face lathering.  Once they are broken in, they are not too stiff and not too soft.

Does anyone know what the dyeing of the bristle will do? I am not sure of why they offer it.

I believe it is purely aesthetic. The vast majority are bleached (the white ones) or bleached and then dyed (to mimic badger appearance). Rarely you'll see undyed ones, which look kind of brown. I like the white ones, though my latest purchase of a Semogue C3 IT was the banded just because that was the only one offered.

I have read on other forums people speculating that this bleaching (not sure about the dying) may weaken the bristles, which in turn has an impact backbone / floppiness. Seems logical, but not sure in practice.