Omega’s Pro 48 (10048) is, I think, a brush that should be included in any good shaving collection. In the Guide, I recommend getting at least one brush of each type — badger, boar, horse, and synthetic — and today I might even go so far as to say just boar and synthetic, though badger does still have a historically significant role. And I would recommend the Pro 48 as the boar to get — cheap enough so that one can just take a chance on it.
Of course, boar brushes require soaking, which means that you wet the knot well under the hot-water tap and let the brush stand on its base, dripping wet, for a few minutes — while you shower, for example. Then for the first week, rewet the brush under hot water to heat it back up, give it a couple shakes to remove excess water, and load it well. Then work up a good lather in your cupped palm, observing how the brush works and whether more water is needed. Then rinse the brush well — first under hot water, then under cold, shake off excess moisture, and stand the brush on its base to air dry until the next day.
New boar brushes have something on the bristles that kills lather, and this first week’s lathering and rinsing will get rid of most of it so that in the following week the brush will hold a lather for the shave. In fact, the brush will continue to improve during the first month or two of regular use. When it is fully broken in, it is a marvellous brush to use.
This morning I loaded it well with RazoRock’s The Dead Sea, a wonderful soap, and fully enjoyed the entire sequence of lathering. The Dead Sea has a very nice fragrance, noticeable and clean, and its lather is remarkable. Normally it seems to require that one use a brush that’s merely damp, but this morning — perhaps due to the size of Pro 48’s knot — I had to add just a smidgin of water to complete the loaded.
Three passes with the remarkable Merkur white bakelite slant — now, alas, no longer available, though its DNA lived on for a while in the RazoRock Stealth and the two slants Fine Accoutrement offered — left my face perfectly smooth, and a splash of Southern Witchcraft’s Valley of Ashes aftershave finished a shave whose theme seems to look toward Hallowe’en.
A brilliantly sunny day. The week is looking good already.