Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

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TRBeck
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Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by TRBeck »

Below is my first brush purchase in some time.

I have been happily using Muehle synthetic knots for years now. I have a medium and two small knots in assorted handles. The performance is excellent. They are easy to use, foolproof even. Is that boring? Maybe. I haven't been able to decide. I dug out some badgers last year, disliked them, and sold them. I used a couple of boars with regularity in the fall and winter and loved them, but felt like a different knot with more feedback than a synthetic and less sprawl than an Omega Pro might be warranted.

I hadn't really seen anything that looked intriguing other than roads I'd already traveled and know will ultimately lead nowhere. Then, browsing at Bullgoose, I saw this Semogue. Affordable, a mixed knot (which has long been an interesting concept to me), reviews indicating soft tips (unlike the Grosvenor), and a very nice resin handle.

After three uses, my impressions are mostly favorable. I'll post a more in-depth review after I've got some more experience with it (and after it breaks in a bit...the boar bristle needs time to fully shine). For now, I'll say that the tips are scrubby but not scritchy (oh, a touch on the first shave, but it's faded already, and I'm not a guy who tolerates much scritch) and that the knot builds and yields lather well. It's not a synthetic, which has optimal flow and lather yield. But you feel a bit of its character on the face, and it looks so elegant, and it's a nice change for me as I look to get a little more sensory experience in my daily lather.

Anyone else using this brush?

Image
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by Bill_K »

Tim, I have no experience with the mixed brushes but I'm looking forward to your review. I think I have room for one more brush on my shelf. :wink:
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by CMur12 »

Hi Tim -

I've never found this combination attractive in concept. I have badger brushes that I like and boar brushes that I tend to like even more, but I have preferred to keep them separate. I will note that the only badger and boar brushes that I really like are Semogues, so I look forward to your experience with this unique brush.

Interestingly enough (to me, anyway), I preferred badger when I was lathering in a bowl. When I simplified my approach to lathering on top of the cake of soap, I found that boar worked better for me.

- Murray
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

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Murray, I can see that boar lathering on top of the soap cake would eliminate the complaint some people have lodged, which is lack of lather-holding capacity in boar brushes.

I am fond of both badger and boar and have thought a mixed brush could yield affordability by using boar bristles mixed with good badger hair as opposed to crummy badger hair mixed with good badger hair as is often the case in low-end badgers. Boar feels nicer than pure badger and is stiff, so the potential for enough backbone and less scritch is there. As it turns out, this brush retails for $60, so not as cheap as some other mixed knots, but it has a very nice handle. And, it does seem that what Semogue has done is put good badger hair in here, not prickly pure. I'm still getting used to the comparative density and reduction in flow-through when measuring against synthetics. That said, heat retention in the knot is nice, and working a bit more for good lather doesn't bother me.

I will definitely report back after a few more shaves and again after a month or so when everything is fully broken in.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by TRBeck »

After looking around a bit, I am unable to find any info from Vintage Scent nor any of the stateside Semogue vendors about the ratio of boar:badger in this mixed knot. Here's the description on pretty much every vendor's site:

"At last, the famous "Caravela" Limited Edition mixed boar-badger knot is available to everyone through this new SOC model.
This brush is totally made by hand from start to finish. The handle is hand turned and sanded one by one by a skilled craftsman and the knot is hand tied."

The original Caravela description (the Caravela was a limited edition several years ago):
"Finest badger hair mix with bristle hair 90% tops. It will be a two bands, since the bristle hair will be dyed at the bottom, leaving the white tips, as you can see in the photo."

I wa

Boar has great flow-through and backbone, but some guys find boar knots do not retain lather or water as well as badger.
Badger requires a bit more time but makes a slightly creamier lather, often not releasing it as well as boar or synthetics.

Soft-tipped badger is expensive. Soft-tipped boar is cheap. Cheap badger bristles are scritchy but do add backbone.
Soft-tipped badger is often so flexy that the brush must be densely packed to avoid accusations of floppiness that afflict, say, Kent or Vulfix (both of which I find quite usable and nice).

Shavemac's Finest knots are a 70:30 silvertip:pure mixture. Depending on the knot one gets, the pure can feel just fine or awfully scritchy, but the performance of the knots is excellent, with the added stiffness of pure badger allowing for a less dense knot to still have backbone. When the pure bristle is fairly soft, the resulting brush is an unbelievable performer. The two brushes I most regret parting with over the years are a pair of Shavemac Finests that had the perfect soft-scrubby-flowthrough-lather-release balance. I have ordered identical knots but haven't lucked into the scritchless joy of those two.

My hope when I placed this order was that boar would act like soft-tipped pure bristle, allowing 2-band badger hair's softness to be balanced by a sturdier bristle while avoiding excessive density. Thus far, that seems to be the case. I had my best lather yet with this brush today, and it seems to be opening up a bit. There is a little glue bump at the base that I don't love. It's a minor complaint but it does affect the "real" size of the knot. That quibble aside, there was no scritch at all today, and I remain optimistic about this becoming a keeper.

It's nice to see someone thinking a bit differently about brushes instead of just upping the ante in the high-end badger realm. After all, HMW and Manchurian and Silvertip and Best and Finest and Super and 2-band and all of the other labels really just mean "expensive, chemically-treated and probably bleached badger bristles engineered post-slaughter to mimic the performance of the badger hair no one can get anymore." This, at least, is something unique and, possibly, very good.

(Despite my snark, I probably will wind up with a badger brush again sometime soon...sigh...)
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by Rufus »

I bought one of these brushes when the first came out. From my very first shave with it I loved it. My favourite knots are the shavemac and Thater 3-band sivertips, but I find the Semogue mixed has an excellent xcellent face feel with a little bit more backbone than the silvertips without being too rigid or too dense; these latter two attributes of most 2-band knots and M&F Blonde make the knots feel like a brick of badger...not pleasant to me. As concerns the shavemac Finest knot, this is an overlooked gem. In terms of face feel, performance, quality and price it’s hard to beat. The Semogue mixed is very much in this category in my estimation.
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by TRBeck »

Bryan, I agree that the magic is in the lack of excessive density.

The brush holds a terrific amount of lather - more than a synthetic of similar size or a straight boar brush of even slightly larger size - but actually releases it and does not feel like a wall of badger. It reminds me of some older Duke bests in terms of feel - it has tip presence but no scritch. I'm becoming very fond of it after a week of use. The synth remains slightly easier to lather with, but it flings water unless used just right. I've used this brush dripping wet, fairly dry, and in between without a mess or problem.

Not for fans of BK4s or Vulfixes or even the longer-lofted Savile Rows, but as a former 3122 fanatic, this brush suits me just fine.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by brothers »

I like the looks of the Semogue resin handle.
Gary

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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by Rufus »

brothers wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:40 pm I like the looks of the Semogue resin handle.
And, it’s not just a pretty face. Every time I use mine I am amazed by how good it feels in the hand and on the face and how well it lathers. A hidden gem that will withstand the test of time.
Bryan
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by brothers »

Bryan, how does this blended brush perform in comparison to a synthetic?
Gary

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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by Rufus »

brothers wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 12:08 pm Bryan, how does this blended brush perform in comparison to a synthetic?
Sorry Gary, but I’m not a convert to synthetics. Currently I use an AP Shave Co. Synbad for a travel brush only. I like it better than the Muhle STF and STF v2, but none of these synthetics are a match for the Semogue mixed. I find the Semogue mixed performs more like a quality badger than a boar so much so that if you didn’t tell me it is a mix I’d say it’s a badger of the Simpson Best or shavemac Finest ilk.
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by lloydrm »

They look lovely, other than those hideous rings ... :)
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by CMur12 »

lloydrm wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 2:08 pm They look lovely, other than those hideous rings ... :)
Welcome to SMF, lloydrm!

(I think the ring at the base of the knot on Semogue brushes bespeaks superior finish and adds a touch of class. Opinions are obviously divided on this matter.)

- Murray
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by brothers »

It's a ring, but it's the only visible part of the metal cup that holds the brush knot. It's a variation of manufacturing I think. The knots are glued into the cups in one location and then the cups are pressed into the handles somewhere else. Welcome to SMF!

PS: I just made that up, but it sounds logical, doesn't it? I have successfully removed the cups from two or three handles, which are hollow in most cases
Gary

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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by CMur12 »

The metal cups make sense especially in the case of wooden handles.

Since I've become accustomed to the ring/cup on Semogue brushes, other brands look "unfinished." 8)

- Murray
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by lloydrm »

I totally understand that it has a functional purpose, and some like how it looks. But look at this ...
8wZlMGw.jpg
8wZlMGw.jpg (9.19 KiB) Viewed 12938 times
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by CMur12 »

lloydrm wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 9:19 pm I totally understand that it has a functional purpose, and some like how it looks. But look at this ...
8wZlMGw.jpg
You've got me here. I've never seen such a brush. It's more bulb-shaped than my Semogue badgers and I've never seen such a handle on a Semogue brush, metal cup/ring or not.

Sometimes Semogue makes simpler brushes for sale in super markets or the like. Is that what this is?

- Murray
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

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Rufus wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 1:26 pm
brothers wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 12:08 pm Bryan, how does this blended brush perform in comparison to a synthetic?
Sorry Gary, but I’m not a convert to synthetics. Currently I use an AP Shave Co. Synbad for a travel brush only. I like it better than the Muhle STF and STF v2, but none of these synthetics are a match for the Semogue mixed. I find the Semogue mixed performs more like a quality badger than a boar so much so that if you didn’t tell me it is a mix I’d say it’s a badger of the Simpson Best or shavemac Finest ilk.
I agree completely. This feels like a really nice Simpson Best. The performance is superb in terms of both building and releasing lather. I am a long-time user of synthetics and love the Muehle STF v2, but using this Semogue I recall why I fell hard for wetshaving and in particular for using good badger. There's something about the feedback the brush gives me that no synthetic I've tried can match, and the performance exceeds the last couple of silvertips I've owned.

As for the ring, it's neither here nor there for me. The knot shape and handle are aesthetically pleasing (another way in which synthetics just don't compare for me), so I'm not worried about the metal ring.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by Rufus »

On my first encounter with Semogue brushes I looked askance at the metal ring. One day I decided to take a punt on their SOC boar with a cherry wood handle. When I received the brush my first impression was that the metal ring didn’t look half bad. I also figured out that it was more than a metal ring, but was a metal container in which the knot was set. I thought this made excellent sense for a wood handled brush and I dropped any objection I had to the metal ring at that point and have grown to like it. It does set Semogue apart from other quality brush makers. I guess it’s function over form.
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Re: Semogue Caravela Mistura in Taj Resin

Post by lloydrm »

CMur12 wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 12:33 am
lloydrm wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 9:19 pm I totally understand that it has a functional purpose, and some like how it looks. But look at this ...
8wZlMGw.jpg
You've got me here. I've never seen such a brush. It's more bulb-shaped than my Semogue badgers and I've never seen such a handle on a Semogue brush, metal cup/ring or not.

Sometimes Semogue makes simpler brushes for sale in super markets or the like. Is that what this is?

- Murray
I believe this was a prototype for a LE run, but I don't know for sure. I don't know who owns the brush, but a much nicer picture of a similar brush was posted by Teiste. One of the many pictures that were lost during the photobucket ... story.
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