Boar knot

Dear all,

although I have been a wet shaver for some years, this is a first.

I had Dennis from Honey Farm Design install a boar knot from Golden Nib into one of his excellent handles.
I used this brush continuously for 4-5 months, leaving it to dry completely between shaves.
All these months the knot used to shed 5-6 hairs with minimal improvement. It also felt very scratchy all along. After every shave, I used to examine it to see if the hairs have split and although some had, the great majority was just like new.

All of last week I was away and took a trusty synthetic with me. Today I used the Boar again and first feeling was, what a smooth knot this is. It lost no hair on this session either and the feeling was like all the well used boars we all hear about and envy.
I don't believe that it just magically improved since last week.

Any ideas?

I'm not sure what causes it, but I've had a few boar brushes that have been scratchy for the longest of time even after months of usage, I've left it alone for a few weeks and come back with an entirely different perspective on it. It might be that one is so focused on the improvement that it is hard to notice the subtle improvement something undergoes, and when you take a break from it and come back to it, you are able to recognize the changes. I say this only as a maybe.

This explains many things such as why your keys are right where you left them after having searched for them for an hour because they weren't where you left them.

I've not had a problem breaking in boar brushes although I know some have been driven to distraction by it - e.g., LeisureGuy and the Semogue 1305. I suspect my luck with boars comes from the fact that during my Boar acquisition period I was lathering with either a Dirty Bird or a Sarah Bonnyman scuttle both of which have fairly abrasive ceramic ridges to aid in lathering. I think those ridges accelerated the boar break in period. I don't use those scuttles with badger brushes anymore for precisely that reason - I don't want to accelerate the destruction of my badgers. In my opinion a well seasoned boar knot can stand up to any badger.

I just use and love boar brushes whether they're soft or scritchy.

I won't buy any more badger brushes, or synthetic,... I'm a dedicated boar guy. And horse never did feel right to me.

I don't have a problem with horse. but untangling them is a chore I can live without.

I have read this before and the most plausible answer is that boar hair splitting occurs when drying, after a soak and lathering. Boar does take longer than one might think to reach bone dry conditions.


chart credits: riverrun/andreas

Piglet???

Piglet???

A smaller boar knot.