Having heard about these brushed on The Shave Den forum I decided to order them and give them a test. These are inexpensive brushed distributed by Derby International and thought to be made in India. I purchased them through Amazon.com Jaguar Hand Made Shaving Brush #1071 Jaguar Hand Made Shaving Brush #803 Oct 28, 2009 Both Jaguars and a new Semogue 2000were prepared by lathering twice with Shampoo and twice with conditioner and then bowl lathered thirty times on the puck with both tallow and glycerin based soaps. For the last 5 latherings I used Bigelow Cream and they held lather much better. Both brushes had the initial boar brush smell but not strong enough to be objectionable but more so than the Semogue. During the initial cleaning and lathering there was no noticeable hair loss on any of the brushes. Quality 5 Nothing either special or lacking in these low-end brushes. The 803 (silver handle) appears to be metal but is little more than a metallic label. Hair loss was minimal. By the end of my test the handles on both brushes has held up well but my Semogue shows serious degradation of the finish. Balance 6 Average at best. However the 1071 feels better in the hand because of the handle design. Density 4 Less than average on this score. The density of these brushes is far less than a VDH or any Other brushes I own. Luxury 4 I just can’t consider these anywhere approaching luxury. They make lather…nothing more. Factor Ease of 6 Lathering either of them is straightforward and they do lather much like any other boar I’ve Lather used. However, due to such a lot density of the knots they don’t hold lather like we’d like to have a brush perform. It’s difficult to even get a second pass out of them. However, they did hold much more lather when used with a cream. Price 7 These are inexpensive brushes and their performance shows it. I’m only giving them a seven because they’re priced in the same range as other lower end boars. Would I buy them again? No. Would I recommend them? No. Will I use them? No. I’ll probably PIF them to someone just starting out and on a budget.
I purchased the Jaguar with the wood handle pictured on the left above...For only $5, but I was told at the store that it was a great brush...After having been spoiled by Omega Boar Brushes, I tossed this one half way through the first shave...Was so floppy that I held it by the hair instead of by the handle...held no lather and was a shedder to boot...When I set it down the hair was so floppy that a crater formed in the center as all the hair bend over to the outsides...Just disgusting, not even near the same league as an Omega at the same price...Not only would I not recommend it, but I'm never going back to the store that sold it to me...
