Thread: Semogue 1305

What can I say? I do love a good Brush and this Semogue is no exception, I ordered mine from Vintage scent and eagerly awaited my new addition, I was not disappointed. This is one good looking Brush.

It delivers and delivers very very well, hand made and with a painted wooden handle, the knot and loft are spot on for me, very dense bristle with oh so soft tips, it has plenty of back bone for giving your chosen soap or cream a sound whipping, but the tips are very soft on the face, a perfect balance.

Its size is spot on too, the 56mm handle is 35mm wide at the base and has a 26mm waist just over half up, finishing with a nice fat single band and the knot is set in a silver coloured ring, the finish is a very thick and smooth feeling white and green that oozes quality and I think will last a very very long time.

The 22mm knot is very dense and as it continues to develop its bloom the 55mm loft is over as wide. it holds water better than any of my other boars, as expected its not quite on a par with my high end Badgers, but its still not too shabby at all, For face lathering I find its perfect, and makes thick smooth lather in my bowl, with face lathering I cant quite squeeze a full shave out of it without applying a little more soap or cream, but it only takes a quick swirl and its Shave On!. It did leak a little dye during its initial wash and for the next few shaves, but I cant fault it on that score at all.

To sum up, if you like the backbone of boar, and the softness of Badger, this could well be the perfect balance for you, I know it is for me, and for the price, at under £14 its simply divine.

Semogue 1305 Superior Boar Bristle/ made in Portugal. Purchased from Amazon ($28.00)

BLUF: I like it. Money well spent.

I got the 1305 to replace a 25 year old badger brush that had been ravaged over time by a couple of Labradors and a scissor wielding grandson.

It is substantial- the handle is a good size and is easy to grip. It was considerbly bigger in both loft and handle than the one it replaced. I had heard that boar bristles were harsh, prickly, stiff... i honestly feel that this was softer than the badger brush I was using. It holds a lot of water and does just fine in the cup or on the face with making lather. For the second pass, just a touch of the tips into the water and it suds right up.

It did turn the lather a murky grey color the first couple of times it was used, as the the previous report had also mentioned. That went away after a few days. Have not noticed any shedding. Save the plastic box it came in- makes it easy to travel with.

I did not vote: I use synthetic. I tried boar and badger but prefer synthetic.