With my Semogue 620 when using a puck or tub I find that the boar will pick up more lather if you start with it being nicely wet and load the hell out of it. When using a shave stick if I need more I just take the stick back to my face right over the existing lather... Works like a charm.
Certainly there are significant differences in shaving brushes. Knot materials (badger, boar, horse and synthetic) are a major factor. Loft (how long the bristles are) affects how a brush behaves. Knot size (width at the base) certainly affects how brushes perform. Density (how many bristles are bundled together in the knot) is a major factor. There are also major differences of quality of the bristles made from the same material as well. So, one might ask if it is necessary to have a large number of brushes, of different lofts and densities and of each type of material, in order to handle different lathering techniques and different kinds of soaps. One might certainly be convinced that this is so, when looking at the neat rows of shaving brushes, lined up like a platoon of Palace Guards in front of Buckingham Palace, that adorn many shave dens. It's certainly a nice luxury to have a plethora of brushes, it's true. However, (shhhh! don't tell the brush makers I said this) it's not necessary at all, if your goal is simply to create lather, apply the lather to your face and shave. Our wet shaving ancestors, heck even professional barbers, didn't have a large number of brushes. They had one or maybe two. Typically, they were simple boar bristle brushes with a tight knot and a lot of loft, like ubiquitous Ever Ready. So, really the answer is that one really only "needs" one decent shaving brush and any Semogue brush fits that category. For hard soaps and croaps, you load the brush by swirling it vigorously on the soap. For cream, you just plop an almond size piece of cream on the end a damp brush and start working it into a lather on your face. Now you know the truth -- intellectually. The actual fact is, that if you have the disposable income to afford it, sooner or later your going to end up with rows of shaving brushes and you will have found some way to justify it to your wife -- who is far to smart to believe a single word of it. Welcome to the brush club.
I have no problem going back to the soap as often as I need/want. I actually enjoy a very rich, creamy full lather. I'm not worried about wasting soap.
I have an SOC boar and Omega Professional boar - both load more than enough soap for bowl lathering. I do three passes plus touch up as needed. I bloom all my soaps and found that even then, with a few soaps, I need to add a bit more water. Every now and then I will reload - I really like to produce a lot of lather in the bowl.
