I have several horse brushes, the Cachurro among them. I am a fan of it because of its look, style, and little else. It isn’t even bad hair, there just isn’t enough of it, and it has too much loft to suit my tastes. My biggest complaint with Vie Long brushes, is that from one to the next, there isn’t a lot of consistency in the hair. You can buy two of the exact same brush, and one will feel like best badger, and the other feels like bad pure. I have probably had ten of them to end up with (as of now) three keepers. All three of them are lower lofted whites. The other two pictured are still in limbo as to whether or not they stay. The Cachurro handle stays for sure, but it might end up with a boar knot in it.
That has been my thoughts too. We will have to report @Spyder to PETA for horse abuse looks like....sorry 'bout that.
One thing I should point out after watching a video tutorial by the CEO of Executive Shaving in Scotland: NEVER use hot water to prep your brush, especially if the bristles are glued rather than hand-knotted. Hot water will melt the glue holding the bristles in and cause them to expand, and damage your skin by stripping out too much of the natural oils. Instead, use warm water. That should help reduce or even eliminate hairs coming out of your brush regardless of the bristle type.
I've been using reg. Hot tap water aswell, I never get so much as a neigh or a whinny from my horse and never a shedded hair! I know EVERY SINGLE Turkish Barber in the whole country of Turkey, uses horse hair brushes and they wouldn't consider anything else....And they are famous the World over for their shaving prowess.... Typical Turkish Barber Horse Brush: A vie-long is like an Aston-Martin compared to these "'60's Renaults"....(sorry Renault, I'm actually a fan!)
I want to thank all of you for sharing your experiences with Horse Hair shaving brushes. I have often thought that I should add one to my meager collection, and recently have been seriously considering which one to acquire. I have looked at the Cremo Vie Long brush at Target, but have not purchased it yet. Fact is, I have never spent over $20 on a shave brush. And I have some very nice ones. I think I will probably end up with one eventually, but this discussion has really helped me to weigh the benefits against the weaknesses. Thanks!
Gifts and Care has the biggest selection of Vie Long and Epsilon horse brushes anywhere. They are super great to work with, and ship from Spain for just a few bucks. Make sure you look at the tax free pricing as we wouldn’t pay VAT in the US. That place is what really got me rolling on collecting horse brushes.
It's kinda what we do you know. But if you wait all the good ones might be gone....just saying. Added that to my look at it list. Thanks!!
I got a huge floppy Jaguar horse, while in Turkey....They re not finished very well...and there is glue hardened all around the handle top, and shellac chipping off the handle, etc...And the hair smelled so bad after first soak, my in-laws asked me to leave it on the balcony to dry....Next morning, no one could go out on the balcony to smoke So, in a show of good will, I tossed it....and everyone was very happy about that....BUT, once 'broken-in', every Barber in Turkey uses those with GREAT results....But some of the High Dollar barber's do use the Vie-Longs....the V-Ls are much better put together! This "Cachurro" is a work of Art!
Regarding hot, hot water; I received a scuttle about a month ago. Until that I used hot tap water, which is only about 105f. I probably only increase that temp by 20 degrees with the kettle. I don’t use it straight from the kettle, but mic kettle with cold water. This brush always lost a hair once in awhile. No worse than my semogue boars.