Hi all, So my first brush ever was an Omega 10066, and it's served me faithfully over the last 9 months. That being said, the tips seems a little sharp to me, and that's never quite gone away. I like the general feel of the boar (even I now also have a Plisson), but am wondering if their is a noticeable difference between the Omega 10066 and the Semogue 1305 in terms of softness? Thanks in advance, Porter
I have a Semogue 1305, I like it. You may want to check out www.whippeddog.com he has some very good brushes.
I have both the 1305 & 10066. IMO the 10066 is the best brush for your money. I think the 1305 breaks in faster and may have softer tips over time. But... I'll put my 10066 up against any brush I have.
I have 3 omega boars and i have never found them to be sharp feeling. They broke in extremely quick and are as soft as my badger brushes now.
I have a few Semogue 1305's and find them to be almost too soft after they are fully broken in. These brushes tend to splay quite a bit, so I tube them after they are fully dry to keep the shape. Nice soft brushes that are a tad on the large side. No experience with Omegas - yet!
It could just be me, but it seems like a few hairs right at the centre of the knot seem to be more than just scritchy for me.
If all the $10 Omega boar brushes have the same ginormous boar brush knot, then I have the Omega 98 and it's soft. I've forced it to break in by soaking it for an hour and letting it air dry even when not shaving. It has little to no scritch at all.
I have both the Omega and the Semogue and find them both excellent. The omega is about a year old and is soft and feels great. The Semogue is only about a month old and very soft as well. I think you can't go wrong with either.
I ended up doing something a little less conventional and probably inadvisable. I enjoyed the "scrubiness" of most of the brush, but to me it seemed like there were a few hairs that really scratched up my face when I used it (this is after a good 60+ lathers). So I lathered up some soap, and got the brush to a point where the brushes were in their "mid-face lathering alignment", found the hairs that were scratching me, and trimmed them down with a pair of scissors. Now, I know that this is probably NOT a good idea in most cases, but considering this brush cost me about $14 out the door (In Canada, to boot) and I wasn't using it because of the scratchiness anyway, I thought I would give it a shot. And I was lucky enough that it worked; the trimmed down hairs aren't scratching me, and the remaining hairs are at a good level of softness. Now, if this brush had been any more expensive or high quality, I wouldn't have done this, but hey, I got lucky. Now, I enjoy it, and hopefully this will put off my needless urge to buy a Semogue.
@Porter, you must have really sensitive skin. I've found the Omega knot to have little-to no scritchiness whatsoever.
I've definitely got a certain amount of sensitivity, but the omega never seemed unbearable, more annoying that there were a few hairs that seemed to be getting in the way of a completely broken in brush.
My 1305 was as soft as a feather. I've never used a 1066 but my Omega Pro is very soft too............
My 10066 is my favorite brush. It isn't as soft as my best badger or synthetic, but is softer than my Omega and Horse brushes. It does everything from hard soaps to cream well. If I had one brush, the 10066 would be it.
For those who like Boars but the want something a little bit softer than Omega Boars here it is: http://thegoldennib.com/wet-shaving/badger-hair-knots/boar-knots/27mm-boar-knot.html i have also this one: http://thegoldennib.com/wet-shaving/badger-hair-knots/boar-knots/24mm-boar.html but it's not for guys with very sensitive skin.
