Boar versus synthetic ?

Now that we see really good performing synthetics in the boar price range, I ask you former or present boar users, how you feel about the synthetics.

Are you using both for variation or have you dumped the boars and gone the synthetic way ?
Or are you staying with your trusty boars and don't really like any of the synthetics ?

(06-21-2016, 09:47 PM)CHSeifert Wrote: Now that we see really good performing synthetics in the boar price range, I ask you former or present boar users, how you feel about the synthetics.

Are you using both for variation or have you dumped the boars and gone the synthetic way ?
Or are you staying with your trusty boars and don't really like any of the synthetics ?

I have recently taken to wet shaving. Lucky to have joined TSN as it has given me a lot of info on the products, techniques and so on and so forth.

I started my experience with a Proraso boar and loved the backbone and the way it worked upon the lather.

Recently though, I bought the Jack Black fibre brush, a small feeble looking brush and I was disappointed by the look of it. But I was surprised by its performance and it's ability to create tons of lather. Feel on the face was also soft.

I would say both the brushes work fine for me but Jack Black is more premium brush, small size makes it more handy for use and hence is in use more compared to proraso boar.


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Boar brushes are fantastic once the break in. Most of my brushes are boar. My two favorite are the Semogue 830 and the 1305. After a hundred uses at least, their bristles are now very soft and perform amazingly good.

I also have some synthetics. I can't say I don't like them, on the contrary, they're very good brushes and produce luxuriant lather faster than any brush I have. At this moment, I am on vacation and took with me an inexpensive Omega synthetic brush. Synthetic brushes are ideal for traveling since they dry out faster than any other brush.

Overall, I prefer the feeling I get from boar brushes, it feels more natural, but both of them give me enjoyable shaves and I like them a lot. If I had to choose only one from these two, I would go with boar brushes for the reason I said above.

I use and enjoy both as well as badger brushes. I enjoy variety and can't see myself abandoning any in favour of just one type of brush. The only caveat with boar brushes is that they must be broke in to really enjoy the full flavor of what they have to offer.

Bob

Up to now I have used an Omega Boar, Simpson Best Badger and an EJ Best Badger.  The boar performed pretty much as good as the badgers at 1/5 the price.  I recently purchased a RR Pilsoft synthetic and have to say it is my favorite brush.  It is so soft and creates a great lather.  Best of all it was only $12. I still like the boar but don't see myself every buying another overpriced badger again.

I liken my boar brushes to my Harley.  There are motorcycles that perform much better at below the price point.  They are great bikes, the people who own them will not be disappointed and they perform great.  They just lack the feeling of my HD.  
Synthetics are awesome.  I own a few.  They just lack the feeling of my Omega boar brushes.

(06-22-2016, 04:59 AM)chromedometone Wrote: I liken my boar brushes to my Harley.  There are motorcycles that perform much better at below the price point.  They are great bikes, the people who own them will not be disappointed and they perform great.  They just lack the feeling of my HD.  
Synthetics are awesome.  I own a few.  They just lack the feeling of my Omega boar brushes.

And note when I speak of feeling, I'm talking about an internal feeling, not face feel.

I preferred boar to synthetic. However, I've gifted all of my boars to shaving converts. My one synth now sits unused as I greatly prefer my luxuriously dense and soft badger brushes.

Mostly, thanks to your posts, Claus (and Ricardo, Nathan, Ben and others) 

I still don't enjoy synthetic knots and I much prefer boars even though they, also, don't compare to my 2-Band badgers.

(06-22-2016, 07:49 AM)celestino Wrote: I still don't enjoy synthetic knots and I much prefer boars even though they, also, don't compare to my 2-Band badgers.

Bingo!  I own 120 brushes, 2 being synthetic (1 too many for my tastes) and about half a dozen boar.  I still think a well-broken-in boar is superior in face feel to synthetics, but neither holds a candle to a really good badger brush.

(06-22-2016, 07:49 AM)celestino Wrote: I still don't enjoy synthetic knots and I much prefer boars even though they, also, don't compare to my 2-Band badgers.

(06-22-2016, 02:27 PM)blzrfn Wrote:

(06-22-2016, 07:49 AM)celestino Wrote: I still don't enjoy synthetic knots and I much prefer boars even though they, also, don't compare to my 2-Band badgers.

Bingo!  I own 120 brushes, 2 being synthetic (1 too many for my tastes) and about half a dozen boar.  I still think a well-broken-in boar is superior in face feel to synthetics, but neither holds a candle to a really good badger brush.

+1. I still own one synthetic just in case I ever get the urge to use one. Its a restored Made Rite with a Maggards synthetic knot. I've used it 3 times in the many months since I finished it. I own a few more boars, but I prefer badgers.

BOAR ALL THE WAY! especially once I purchased two Zenith 28mm brushes.

I think someone who is really into synthetics may dump all of their other brushes, whether boar or badger.  I prefer 2-band brushes, but my Chubby 2 synthetics (I have two of them) get plenty of use.  I don't have any boars in my current rotation,  but think that the Omega 49 and Semogue SOC are excellent brushes.   I can definitely see boars and synthetics co-existing in my shave den. 

---

I have a few, the rest were sold. Every time I use one I am amazed at how well they work, but I just don't prefer them to any kind of real hair at any price point.


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Synthetic brushes have come a long way and have advantages on ethical and some performance terms (such as faster dry times and no break in period), but IMO they still feel synthetic. 
For me, a natural brush is still preferable.

Please, don't misunderstand me. I greatly appreciate synthetics for their practicality, especially, when traveling or camping. Nothing dries as quickly and if they are ever lost or damaged, they are easily replaceable.

The reason why I love synthetics is that I don't have to worry about the cleaning and post shave care. I can give a crap about it and then come back with dried lather in the knot and it is undamaged. Plus, if I have a soap that is giving me lathering issues, which is uncommon, I can really on the syn to help get things where they need to be. But boar, especially broken in is really nice and soft. Close to luxury badger. Soft enough to get you by and be happy. The two things I don't like about boar is sometime a taller lofted boar maybe like a soak that is only for half of the height. Plus I find the lather retention is not anything worth dealing with if you have to do 3 passes. By the second lather application, the lather has settled into something that may be drier, less dense and more foamy. The boar I prefer is 830 and I love using it. But I now just use badger for 90% of the time, and synthetic if I need to. I can't remember the last time I used a boar. Maybe 4 months ago.

Badger>Syn>Boar>Horse (Wouldn't ever use horse again, ever)

In my den are badger, boar and 1 synthetic. Each brush and hair-type have their own idiosyncrasies. That's what I love, the differences. I can create terrific lathers from all of my brushes and unless I am forced to only choose one, I will continue to keep each in my rotation. 

When I got my first synthetic brush I loved it. I whet thru a period that I bought several synthetic brushes and I though they were the best. Recently I decided to try a SOC boar since there is so much talk about it. It's still far from broken in but I love it for bowl lathering. It has replaced my synthetics for bowl lathering. For face lathering I still prefer a synthetic. I just can't seem to get enough lather for more than one pass with a boar when I use a shave stick.
So I have settled on using my boar for bowl lathering and my synthetics for face lathering.

(06-23-2016, 06:48 AM)primotenore Wrote: In my den are badger, boar and 1 synthetic. Each brush and hair-type have their own idiosyncrasies. That's what I love, the differences. I can create terrific lathers from all of my brushes and unless I am forced to only choose one, I will continue to keep each in my rotation. 

+1