I've had a 1305 in rotation, every 3rd day or so now, for a few months. It can compete with any boar I own and works wonders making bowl lather. Very soft to the face as well. Can't beat it for $25 or less
Did you mean are all of their brushes boar bristle? No, they also manufacture badger haired brushes too.
Yes, that is what I meant to ask. Thanks for the information. I never seriously looked at them. I just recently picked up two Omega's, and liked them. I really like their travel brush, just wish the handle wasn't soo slippery. The links to the Semogue's definitely look nice.
I just bought an SOC in cherry. Oh my, do I love this brush!! It is breaking in amazingly fast. Already soft at the tips. Soft but with a good amount of back bone. Again, i am amazed at how quickly it is reaki g in especially when compared to my Semogue 2010 Custom Boar. I almost gave up on that brush a dozen times while breaking it in. I now have three boars.. the Custom, the SOC and Aaron's Omega 80005. Each is slightly different and all are keepers but although I absolutely love the Custom, the SOC is quickly taking a lead.
Hah, something finally is overtaking the Omega, its funny I replaced that with brush a banded boar model; much better to my liking.
The SOC continues to be my go to brush. It's broken in nicely and seems to be far more than I expected it to be!!
I also pulled the trigger and bought the 620. It's a damn fine brush. It eats up more soap BUT if you want to do a good job the layer of Trumpers I can lay on my face with little effort is simply amazing. My first pass is effortless. The second/third passes that I paint on (remember, I've used up muchos soap therefore I should hope I have more than enough to paint on for my subsequent passes) are as if there's no blade in the razor (and I use cheap Derbys in my Merkur HD). I think only 2 weeks into it the brush is actually breaking in, but like all Semogue boars, if you don't use it in awhile it reverts to its old tough self. Make sure to soak the brush as you shower.
The Semogues still have this problem? I read somewhere that they switched to a more durable finish for their handles.
I've been using mine almost daily for the last 10 months. I'm not overly careful with it. I normally drop it in the sink while I fill it up and get out shave cream etc. I haven't had any issues with the finish, but was breaking more bristle then I liked. I gave it a good clean and it seems to have stopped. Overall, I think this is my favorite brush.
Recently acquired the Semogue 830, now that it is breaking in, the tips "flagging" and all, I must say this is one fantastic brush. Springy yet firm, and soft on the face. Builds and hold lather nicely and the handle is beautiful. You can tell it's a hand made handle as the facets are ever so slightly different. Not in a junkie, slipshod kind of way, but in a carefully crafted but innately 'human' sort of way. My only issue is the sticker. A nice silk screened logo would have been better or engraved bottom, ideal. The loft is nicely shaped, but again it does reflect the hand made nature as it doesn't have the perfect, almost molded loft shape like an Omega, but this is not a fault, it's just it's character. Very solid brush, that feels like a serious shaving instrument without being too heavy in hand. While I've no other Semogue with which to compare this, I can say I'm impressed with the 830, especially by comparison to my Omega 11126 with almost identical loft/knot dimensions. I find the 830 softer on the face than the 11126, and I also find the 830 to excel at delivering lather more evenly throughout the shave where the 11126 tends to give up most of it's lather on the first pass. I can see myself purchasing another Semogue at some point for aesthetic variety, but I honestly don't know how one could improve on this design. It works well, very well!
I recently bought the Semogue 620 for face lathering .It took almost a month to break in but now the lather I get rivals my badger.It does soaps and creams just fine.As far as problems I lost maybe 5 or 6 bristles during the break in period ,if that much.
I have the 1305, 1438, 1460 and a SOC with beechwood handle, and all three are excellent brushes. I prefer the boar not be banded but I like the classic handle of the 1305. I have an 820 on order from Vincent Scent but the good lord only knows when it will ship and arrive.
Another fan of the 620, once I had gone through a month with it I sold all of my other brushes and bought another one as a back up.
Haha... Those are the only two Semogue's that I own... Love the Caravella but the jury is still out on the SOC...
+1 just recently received my 830 and for the first time face lathered with it. Great brush so far. I have even (for now) stopped using my badger. It just works better for me with Proraso.
