Break In: every product changes over time - natural hair even quicker, and then there is the knot itself, which often loosens up.
So yes, at least some badgers do have a break in - we all agree that boars have one, and I know from 3 different Vie-Long horse knots, that they have also one (~5-10 shaves).
My Shavemac 2-band almost had zero change - it was perfect out of the box. My Epsilon 2-band needed some serious loosening up, but tips didn't change and where super soft out of the box - it took some time to wash the gunk out though
My Paladins had a small, but noticeable change in the first ~5 shaves. My TSN LE was almost scrtichy at first, but that went completely.
My Envy had a huge change between the first ~10-15 shaves - feels like a different brush. And I have read that both Simpson Manchurian and Shavemac D01 2 band change a lot during the first month or so. Maybe
@Nightguard could elaborate on that, since he got a new Simpson Manchurian?
And in my humble experience with boars (but that has been with only ~10 brushes from Omega and Semogue): they produce very poor lather at first. I always needed at least 5 palm lathers to get a decent result and ~1 month to have a pleasant feeling on my face, with the exception of the SOC, which was very early on pleasant on the face.
As always: YMMV (or whatever we call it here)
The problem with loft is the glue bump, which can make for a very different feel...I would highly recommend these 2 articles by Ken from Paladin:
https://www.paladinshaving.com/page...y-nomenclature-and-a-little-bit-of-philosophy
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/484134-Brushology-On-Loft