What is your Favourite Boar Brush?

jankdc, by chance would you be able to confirm whether or not the Antica Barbieria Colla boar brush is a rebranded Zenith?

This is easily my favorite boar brush, and I've heard that claim before. Just from the look and the high quality of hair, it looks like a Zenith.

I have not been able to. At the same time, my contact at Zenith has not denied it. By the looks of it, I'm pretty sure that it's a 26 x 70. Antica Barbieria are big proponents of holding the brush by the knot rather than the handle to give the barber precise control with the lathering. This technique works best with longer loft brushes.

Thanks much jankdc! It looks pretty close to me, but definitely also seems different in some ways, particularly (as you point out) in the loft.

Either way, it's a fantastic brush .

Omega 49. Now, I've never tried a Semogue, but the Omega is so good I just don't see any reason to buy anything else.

I have always favoured badgers over boars and even last year tried to like 3 boars, but sold them and gave up.

Perhaps it takes time to understand and appreciate how great a cheap rather ugly looking knot of hair can perform and now I also enjoy the way they look.

I have 4 boars on their way to me as we speak, and own these 6, which I'm breaking in slowly during 2016.

I take my time and will most like use them for bowl lathering first, until they start to brak better in, then start face lathering with them.

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Freddy thats a good selection of boars you have there.  I agree with you, notwithstanding listing the brushes numerically I pretty much love them all equally.  I note that you have a Semogue 830 and like it - what got me going off on boar brushes generally and Semogue specifically was a recent trashing (literally) of the Semogue 830 by a noted shaving blogger.  Apparently he's had no luck generating a lather with it after numerous attempts.  Several other posters weighed in against the 830 as well and they ultimately decided that all Semogue brushes were inferior.  I couldn't understand it as I've had great experiences with all of the Semogue brushes I have.  Great performance from the get go that improves over time and a fantastic face feel.  I just can't say enough about how much I enjoy these brushes and they're very reasonably priced to boot.  Oh well, YMMV right?
Marko "

Marko, after reading this I thought maybe I didn't remember correctly so instead of using my intended brush for this morning's shave (ironically, the 2009 Semogue Cherry Wood L.E.), I switched it out for the 830.  I used it with Barrister & Mann Vetyver Santal and the lather I generated whipped up in short order, did not break down, and I had enough in the brush for more than my 2-pass shave.  I honestly don't know what's going on with the whole Semogue is inferior thing.  In fact, I hadn't even known about it.

Yeah Freddy I was surprised too go here:

https://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2016/03...dlc-slant/

I'm the comments defending Semogue.

BTW I love B&M Vetyver Santal.

Freddy thats a good selection of boars you have there.  I agree with you, notwithstanding listing the brushes numerically I pretty much love them all equally.  I note that you have a Semogue 830 and like it - what got me going off on boar brushes generally and Semogue specifically was a recent trashing (literally) of the Semogue 830 by a noted shaving blogger.  Apparently he's had no luck generating a lather with it after numerous attempts.  Several other posters weighed in against the 830 as well and they ultimately decided that all Semogue brushes were inferior.  I couldn't understand it as I've had great experiences with all of the Semogue brushes I have.  Great performance from the get go that improves over time and a fantastic face feel.  I just can't say enough about how much I enjoy these brushes and they're very reasonably priced to boot.  Oh well, YMMV right?
Marko "

Marko, after reading this I thought maybe I didn't remember correctly so instead of using my intended brush for this morning's shave (ironically, the 2009 Semogue Cherry Wood L.E.), I switched it out for the 830.  I used it with Barrister & Mann Vetyver Santal and the lather I generated whipped up in short order, did not break down, and I had enough in the brush for more than my 2-pass shave.  I honestly don't know what's going on with the whole Semogue is inferior thing.  In fact, I hadn't even known about it.

Yeah Freddy I was surprised too go here:

https://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2016/03...dlc-slant/

I'm the comments defending Semogue.

BTW I love B&M Vetyver Santal.

Personally, I have never been a big fan of this person so would not necessarily put a whole lot of stock in what he has to say.

jankdc, by chance would you be able to confirm whether or not the Antica Barbieria Colla boar brush is a rebranded Zenith?

This is easily my favorite boar brush, and I've heard that claim before. Just from the look and the high quality of hair, it looks like a Zenith.

I have not been able to. At the same time, my contact at Zenith has not denied it. By the looks of it, I'm pretty sure that it's a 26 x 70. Antica Barbieria are big proponents of holding the brush by the knot rather than the handle to give the barber precise control with the lathering. This technique works best with longer loft brushes.

Interesting. Its sad that there is so little quality info (tutorials, lather pics, videos) on proper lathering with boar. To me only a couple of videos featuring Italian barbers were helpful and they hold the brushes by the knot, like you said. IMO while lathering should be similar to badger there are some differences. For example a well loaded boar knot looks and feels very different from a well loaded badger knot.

jankdc, by chance would you be able to confirm whether or not the Antica Barbieria Colla boar brush is a rebranded Zenith?

This is easily my favorite boar brush, and I've heard that claim before. Just from the look and the high quality of hair, it looks like a Zenith.

I have not been able to. At the same time, my contact at Zenith has not denied it. By the looks of it, I'm pretty sure that it's a 26 x 70. Antica Barbieria are big proponents of holding the brush by the knot rather than the handle to give the barber precise control with the lathering. This technique works best with longer loft brushes.

Interesting. Its sad that there is so little quality info (tutorials, lather pics, videos) on proper lathering with boar. To me only a couple of videos featuring Italian barbers were helpful and they hold the brushes by the knot, like you said. IMO while lathering should be similar to badger there are some differences. For example a well loaded boar knot looks and feels very different from a well loaded badger knot.

If you do a search on youtube for "Italian Barber" and ASMR", you'll find a bunch. I did a post on my site regarding it. (Is it OK to link to it?). As for the badger vs boar lathering, I find that I shake out more water from my badgers than my boars before lathering. What do you notice in the differences?

Those are exactly the videos I was talking about. "Old school" is great.
On the differences, like I said, the loading process looks and feels different. I have very little experience with boars (less than a year since the first one and I alternate with badger, sometimes synth), and my first impression was that while you would think that boar loads faster than badger it might be the opposite. You can easily notice that badger gets fatter and fatter as you load. Boar not so much.
With badger you need to be careful not to whip too much or it'll get too frothy. Boar is more sensitive to excess water.