Breaking in a new boar brush

[@HD-J.R.]

I've had boar brushes that take months to break in. Then my wife said if you want split ends and a fast break in, wash in bar hand soap, soak the brush in hot water and dry it with a hair dryer. 4 cycles of that on one evening worked every time. Nearly every hair had split ends. Women know what causes split ends. Cheap soap, hot water and blow drying will make a boar brush soft as a brush that's been used for 6 months.

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

That makes sense. As long as one doesn't heat the glue in the knot too much.

[@HD-J.R.]

@@Shave_n_Butcher I haven't had any issues with the knots or losing hair strands. I'm using hot water from the tap, I keep the dryer moving and several inches (half a foot) away from the knot. Prior to using this method I thought boar brushes were more work than they were worth. Now they are a favorite. So soft with great backbone and offered at an affordable price. For folks concerned with the cruelty issue of badger brushes, boar hair is humanly harvested from live animals by shearing.

[@dappershaves]

found hair dryer to work best/fastest, regards dapper shaves

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

@@HD-J.R. Thanks - very good info!

[@michaela.paulsen6746]

15:41 I'd argue that's a better review than going in knowing everything about a product. Most people who purchase something for the first time go in not being experts and generally have questions. In my opinion the types of reviews that ask others are better than ones showing you everything. That being said, if it's a review of a product a person is very familiar with, tips and tricks says person has learned are always welcome

[@theluxuryshavinghobbyist]

I absolutely love breaking in boar brushes. Once broken in, tips are usually soft. I think the Zeniths are wonderful. Also love the Semogue owners club boars. Very entertaining!

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

I hope this one will shape up to be really nice and soft.

[@gohabs365]

My broken in boars are some of my favorite brushes.

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

I like the two I have more and more.

[@gordonchristie246]

Great video Johan, I love my Frank and Matti brush. Frank knew what he was talking about. Have a great weekend. Very best regards Gordon 👍

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

Thanks Gordon. Have a great weekend!

[@toddd7444]

better then boar cheaper in the long run no break in .my Simpson Trafalgar is the best brush on the market today it's like buying a $200 badger hairbrush, no cleaning the brush, no need for a brush stand, fast drying time, well not fall apart like a badger hair or boar can, cheap to buy, I have owned it for 5 years with no hair loss with no problems wheelchair Larry Merry Christmas

[@drunkn711]

Nice tutorial video Johan! I also did the "soaking the brush in the fridge" technique and the lathering technique, only after lathering it up, I let it sit till the next day with the lather in it, then start the whole process over again. Have a good one! Steve

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

Thanks Steve. I don't know what the cold water does vs room temperature water, but best to to take any chances.

[@TravisTraverses]

Thank you for showing this method of breaking in a boar brush! Well done!

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

Thank you

[@BetterEveryShave]

Sheesh, what a BOARING video. Somebody had to do it and I never shy away from being that one. I thank you for the effort put into this video and demonstrating your process. I have only broken in two boar brushes and I skipped the refrigerator part and just focused on soaking, lathering, and drying. I spent an hour or so on each one and they were fine after that, looking similar to yours. My measure of whether it is broken in is that it doesn't eating lather and doesn't feel like a cleaning brush. It's almost a guarantee that I'll be shaving with a boar brush tomorrow haha. Thanks for sharing this!

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

Very good Eric!!

[@G_from_G]

Nice vid! 😀 I haven't quite understood why it is essential to put the boar brush into the fridge whilst soaking...? I understand the idea of long term soaking in water, but why has the water to be cold? 🤷‍♂️

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

It seems it makes no sense - room temperature is just fine. Also, it seems there is no need to soak for very long. Beating the poor whiskers up is the main thing.

[@G_from_G]

@@Shave_n_Butcher Makes sense! 👍

[@jamierees9226]

What a beautiful looking brush - very useful and interesting video thanks - certainly wasn’t boaring 😂

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

I see what you did there.

[@dappershaves]

😂😂😂 regards dapper shaves

[@richarddunbar4065]

The notion of breaking-in boar brushes in the fridge came from a mistranslation of the recommendation of an Italian barber, and it went around all the shaving forums. It’s very funny that internet shaving folks are still putting boar brushes in the fridge years later. It’s not necessary or useful. Standing the brush in ordinary cold tap water is what the barber actually said.

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

If the idea is to keep it in cold water for a long time, using cold tap water wouldn't work for me as I have heating in my house.

[@richarddunbar4065]

No, the water doesn’t have to be cold or chilled. It just meant not hot water. Chilling the water in the fridge doesn’t do anything - or at least it isn’t something anyone had suggested before this mistranslation occured. What do you think? Does it make a difference that you can tell? FWIW, I quite like Zenith boars and they break in very easily because they use mostly ‘tops’ (i.e. bristles that aren’t trimmed and have the natural hair tip intact). Omega boars usually take longest to break in because they are cut bristles, but it also means they have more backbone.

[@dappershaves]

exactly that! regards dapper shaves

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

@@richarddunbar4065 Thanks. I never understood why cold water would be better. " Not too hot" makes sense". I have an Omega knot and that thing was a lot of work like you say - but that's part of the fun!

[@unclelshaves]

Awesome demonstration video, full of entertainment! 👏 Personally I enjoy Boar brushes and breaking them in, then they develop even more over time and have sort a personality of their own. I also have a couple of Gel tipped Boar knots that didn't require a break in other than a few cleaning lathers before use.👍🤠

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

That's an interesting observation; that they have their own personalities. I like that!

[@sterlingcampbell2116]

I've actually done a lot of side by side comparisons of different break in methods. The fastest way I've found is to soak for an hour, lather then blow dry with a hair dryer. Repeat this a few times and you'll be golden. Something about blow drying the brush greatly accelerates break in. I did not find soaking for longer than an hour to make any difference at all. I also, did not find cold water to work any better than room temperature. I did find lathering after each soak to accelerate break in compared to just wet/dry cycles, while running the tips on a towel made very little difference. I also found that blow drying also accelerated break in when compared to letting the brush air dry (faster in that it requires fewer cycles...not just faster in the sense that you don't have to wait 24 hours for it to be dry. Going from dry, to wet and dry again is what breaks in a brush. How long the brush is wet and/or dry, however, does not matter...however, waiting for the brush to dry completely before soaking again DID make a difference. Again: short soak- lather- blow dry completely then repeating is the method that required the fewest wet/dry cycles. Proraso Pro was the brush used to do the comparison

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

That is very useful, thank you. Does one have to be careful not to get too much heat when using the blow dryer?

[@sterlingcampbell2116]

@@Shave_n_Butcher I always used the lowest heat, but there were a couple times I forgot to turn the heat down and it didn't seem to hurt anything

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

@@sterlingcampbell2116 Understood

[@Fred_shaves]

Cool video! That soap got quite a beating during this process!

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

Better let the soap rest for a while now

[@Fred_shaves]

@@Shave_n_Butcher 🤣

[@marionthebarbarian886]

That is a sexy brush though. I like the copper handle

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

I pick it up several times every day

[@royhadley686]

Interesting video

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

Cheers!

[@marionthebarbarian886]

I really don't break in my boar brushes. I will leave lather in overnight in the first few shaves to hopefully kill off the animalistic odor it has.

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

That will have an effect on the breaking-in I am sure

[@steveboyd3455]

That wasn't boaring at all! 😂

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

And there it is!

[@talega1]

Nice instructional vide. I think, Zenith might "pre-treat" = bleach, those boar brushes......; I don't have one (yet). I have Omega (they are HARD to break).....almost impossible..... I finally got a mixed boar/badger both from Omega and Semoge.....and like them a LOT.....

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

The Frank/Matti brush is an Omega. I don't think I did any tricks with that, just had to use it many many times until it worked well enough

[@oldschoolshaving]

Beautiful Boar ! ❤🤩 Copperhead is a beauty ❤

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

I am looking forward to getting patina on the copper. I hope it turns green.

[@oldschoolshaving]

@@Shave_n_Butcher it’s going to look awesome !

[@MarkDavis558]

You can ask viewers just like they ask you, we are in this together. 🙃🤩

[@RonnieYates]

Nice tutorial on what to do how it changes. Boars are underrated and usually perceived not as sexy (or expensive) as the badgers. I will try a zenith at some point. You did not mention animal smell on this Zenith. I enjoy my omega and esp Semogue. For those 2 when new - they had the animal stank so I lather and leave the later in and rinse the next day then relather until the funk is out or nearly out. Then just use and enjoy the changes. Nice humor at the end!

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

Hi Chris. There was no funky smell so I guess it had been cleaned before being sent out, right?

[@RonnieYates]

@@Shave_n_Butcher from comments I’ve read zenith boar do not stink or minimal and you confirmed. Another reason for me to buy one!

[@gnomeoshaves4641]

I have 2 zenith brushes... one is to floppy, the other is fantastic! Similar to yours but I have a blue handle. They were easy to break in

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

Unlike that Stirling brush you were fighting with a while back, right?

[@gnomeoshaves4641]

@@Shave_n_Butcher Ahaha, so true.

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

@@gnomeoshaves4641 Do you have it beat now?

[@gnomeoshaves4641]

@Shave&Butcher sure do and it's one of my best brushes. Was totally worth the time it took

[@oldschoolshaving]

Boar = hog . Hog eats a lot !🤣of soap. Interesting 5 day cricket test match of boar breaking in 🤩 loved it. I break boars in on my head by lathering them on my head in the shower. Takes 2 x 10min lather sessions. Done deal. ❤😂

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

That seems like a very efficient way to do it.

[@oldschoolshaving]

@@Shave_n_Butcher tried and tested. But not as entertaining as your method 😂

[@The_One_BABA]

Where do you purchase the copper Zenith Conus?

[@dappershaves]

beautiful handle that! regards dapper shaves

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

www.thegentleshave.com/

[@markalexanderwalsh8937]

Very entertaining, now I know what to do 👍 quality lather at the end

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

There is some good (better advice) in the comments so have a read through.

[@FragrantJosh]

Started breaking in my new Semogue C3 Galahad today. Beautiful looking brush!

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

Do you use any tricks or do you just use it normally until it's broken in?

[@FragrantJosh]

@@Shave_n_Butcher I'm lathering up with an old soap I don't use regularly once a day and drying properly. 👍

[@Shave_n_Butcher]

@@FragrantJosh Thanks