Do I need a boar brush?

What kind of shaving brush do you use? Tell us all about it!
brothers
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by brothers »

Good points. I agree. My first and cheapest boar brush ($4.95 I believe) self destructed within a few months of use. That was before I received all of the advice noted above. Boar brushes are generally cheaper than badger brushes.
Gary

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FireDragon76
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by FireDragon76 »

Boar works better for soap due to having more backbone and scratch, typically.

Synthetics can handle soaps and creams equally well, it just depends on the design of the knot.
MntnMan62
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by MntnMan62 »

The short answer to your question is: Yes. But not because boar is better than badger. It's just different. I find different knot materials excel at different things. While boar brushes work for any cream or soap, I think they excel with the harder soaps. They tend to have more backbone than badger or synthetic. I have never tried horse and really don't feel compelled to do so. But I have several boar, badger and synthetic brushes, 17 in total. I currently rotate 3 badgers, 3 boar and 3 synthetics. I like each for different reasons and I use them based upon the soap or cream I plan to use for that shave and my mood. Variety is the spice of life.
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Pauldog
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by Pauldog »

According to Leviticus, Chapter 11:

"And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them...

"And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he [is] unclean to you.

"Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they [are] unclean to you."


I'm not 100% sure if the hair counts as "carcase," but if you want to stay on the good side of the LORD, you might want to go synthetic, since badgers aren't kosher, either. I don't know yet if this plant-based bristle is also used in shaving brushes:
https://atlantabarber.com/kosher-wave-brush/

Talmudic question - does it still count as touching a "carcase" if the hair is taken from a live animal? I think we'll need to check the original Hebrew about this.


Disclosure - I'm Jewish, and I've been using a badger brush, so go figure. And in researching this, I just learned that catfish aren't kosher. Uh-oh.

Actually, thinking about this 5 minutes later, I'm pretty sure that "carcase" means dead body, since there doesn't seem to be any Jewish restriction on having a dog as a pet, and dogs are not kosher, despite their name being "god" spelled backward.

So, to quote Emily Litella, "Never mind."
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drmoss_ca
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by drmoss_ca »

Pauldog wrote: Sun Jan 05, 2020 3:09 am And in researching this, I just learned that catfish aren't kosher. Uh-oh.
And according to the catholic church puffins are fish, as are beavers and capybara - at least for purposes of being eaten on a Friday. I'd rather eat fish than any of those three, and I'm not a catholic!
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by CMur12 »

I've eaten capybara and it was actually quite good.

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drmoss_ca
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by drmoss_ca »

Probably tastes best on a Friday!
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by CMur12 »

drmoss_ca wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2020 4:40 am Probably tastes best on a Friday!
That may well be true!

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John Rose
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by John Rose »

Of the 8 or so boar brushes I have in rotation, my favourite is my black Omega 10086 Travel brush, aka "Bigger Bambino".
Knot diameter: 18mm
Bristle loft: 42mm
Handle height: 46mm
Overall height: 88mm
Image
It's not as floppy as the other vintage and new boars that I have. Suitable for bowl or face lathering.
Best of all, it's only $7.00 USD (Fendrihan USA) or $12.50 CDN (Fendrihan Canada).

The Omega 49 Pro is right out, as far as I'm concerned. Way too big. It is a clown brush.
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Pauldog
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by Pauldog »

drmoss_ca wrote: Sun Jan 05, 2020 6:44 am
And according to the catholic church puffins are fish, as are beavers and capybara - at least for purposes of being eaten on a Friday. I'd rather eat fish than any of those three, and I'm not a catholic!

"Capybara" sounds like a title, as in "The Archbishop of Canterbury met last night with the Capybara of Malta."
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drmoss_ca
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by drmoss_ca »

They are not amused:
Capybara.jpeg
Capybara.jpeg (129.4 KiB) Viewed 10338 times
However, they do look like they might provide a new source of shaving brush hair....
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by Rufus »

All this talk of boar brushes is whetting my appetite for a few slices of Jamon Iberico. \:D/ \:D/
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by Pauldog »

Rufus wrote: Tue Jan 07, 2020 5:01 am All this talk of boar brushes is whetting my appetite for a few slices of Jamon Iberico. \:D/ \:D/
Now I see why:
https://www.foodandwine.com/meat-poultr ... erico-info



Apparently the "fish on Friday" rule was expanded to include animals that are closely bonded with the water, so alligators, otters, and beavers are also OK to eat, according to an article I read at the website of a particular Catholic church. I suppose whales and dolphins would be all right, too, though I'm not planning to check.

Anthropologist Marvin Harris thought that the Jewish and Muslim pork prohibition made sense in the Middle East, because the climate and terrain make it more difficult to grow food, and pigs, being omnivorous, would compete with people for food. Poet Robert Graves thought that the animals forbidden by Jewish law were tribal totem animals.
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drmoss_ca
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by drmoss_ca »

This leads me to a more serious thought: are muslims and jews allowed to use boar brushes? Or perhaps only forbidden to eat them - which would appear sensible.
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John Rose
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by John Rose »

drmoss_ca wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:36 am This leads me to a more serious thought: are muslims and jews allowed to use boar brushes? Or perhaps only forbidden to eat them - which would appear sensible.
Also:
wikipedia wrote:In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, including its melting point. Commercial tallow commonly contains fat derived from other animals, such as lard from pigs, or even from plant sources.
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Pauldog
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by Pauldog »

drmoss_ca wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:36 am This leads me to a more serious thought: are muslims and jews allowed to use boar brushes? Or perhaps only forbidden to eat them - which would appear sensible.

After reading up on this a bit, apparently it's all right to use a boar brush if you're Jewish, though I would expect some orthodox opinion to be against any contact with pigs. (There's a tradition of having a stronger than necessary rule to protect the actual rule from getting violated. Also, it could depend on how the pig was killed, since there are a lot of regulations about kosher slaughter, mainly to minimize suffering. There are similar regulations in Islam, to the point where kosher meat is generally accepted by Muslims.) Probably no contact allowed if you're Muslim. Both groups have a pretty strong aversion to pigs in general, from such a long-standing taboo. I've been with groups of Iraqi Muslims who would not want to set foot in a restaurant that served alcohol or pork. Some of that might be from not wanting to look lax in front of others. There are also quite a few Muslims and Jews who don't care. I don't care a lot religiously, but if I had to give up either lamb or pork for the rest of my life, I'd give up pork out of personal taste and health preference. And as long as I could get beef ribs, I wouldn't miss spareribs.

These days, for ecological reasons, it could make sense to have an ingrained aversion to eating factory-farmed animals or hunting endangered species, or to using petroleum-based plastics. I recently found some plant-based shaving brushes.

Badgers are no more kosher than pigs, but there's a stronger aversion to pigs than to badgers. I don't know if there's any Muslim rule against badgers.
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by CMur12 »

Good bit of information there. Thanks, Paul.

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Pauldog
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by Pauldog »

Murray, sorry I didn't know more about Muslims and badgers. :)

Of course, in Wisconsin, Badgers are a protected species. :D
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by brothers »

FireDragon76 wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2019 11:21 am Boar works best with soaps. Make sure it has good tips, if possible, as the ones that are cheap and cut won't develope proper split ends and never get soft.
Great point. Even the best boar brushes are usually very reasonably priced.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
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Re: Do I need a boar brush?

Post by Pauldog »

Are split ends pretty obvious when you see them? I have not looked at many brushes. I don't think I ever used a decent boar brush. I've been pleasantly surprised that my inexpensive Tweezerman badger brush rarely sheds any hairs, after having a few boar brushes that shed with every shave, getting worse with use.
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