A horse to go into my stable...

Discussion in 'The Brush' started by GDCarrington, May 18, 2012.

  1. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    The Vie Long Zurito (13061) is a horse hair brush made in Spain. I bought this brush to compare it to other brushes that I have in my rotation. I ordered from Phil at Bullgoose and he sent it in quickly. The price at the time of sale was 32 U.S.D.

    The tale of the tape for this brush is as follows:

    Overall Height: 105 mm
    Loft Size: 57 mm
    Knot Size: 23 mm
    Maximum Width of Brush Hairs: 56mm

    The break in method was established using a generic soap and lathering my forearms once daily for about 5 days to get the brush to bloom before testing began.

    The first set of testing involved face lathering using Palmolive stick with a single application across each side of the face and the neck. The same amount of soap was applied for each test and only at the beginning of each test. No additional soap was added and the face was wiped clean and water applied after each pass. The issues for face lathering concern water retention used to generate lather and how the brush builds up lather on the face.

    Water retention: Does this brush hold water sufficiently enough? Yes.

    Lather: Does this brush build lather well? Yes.

    This brush was able to generate 3 face passes and a left over head shave (thin for last face pass and head shave). I would as a normal practice use additional soap on the head, but this was a test to see how much lather could be produced.

    When I switched to C.O. Bigelow in the bowl I found that this brush was quick and efficient in making lather. The same with Fitness soap.

    The issues for bowl lathering concerns the loading of soaps and creams, building and applying lather, and the application of the lather to the skin.

    Loading: Does this brush pick up soaps and creams easily? Yes.

    Lather: Does this brush build and apply lather well? Yes. This brush in bowl lathering was able to generate three face passes and a full head pass with a nickel sized dab of C.O. Bigelow.

    Application: Does this brush it allow for a soft/smooth/effective application of lather to the skin. Yes. The handle is easy to hold and the hairs allow an effective application of lather to the skin.

    Does the brush have a quality feel? Yes, this brush has good backbone (not floppy) and is only mildly scritchy. This brush as far as feel is close to a low end best badger but not near silvertip. It is softer than the boar brushes that I have used in the past.

    Appearance: Is the look of the brush attractive? Yes it is very good looking. See for yourself.

    [​IMG]

    In conclusion, the Vie Long is an excellent brush for the price. In my view it is as good of a face lathering brush as the Simpson Colonel X2L in best badger but not as good in terms of bowl lathering as the Simpson Colonel X2L. This is not the best performing brush in my stable due to the availability of Muhle Synthetics, H.I.S. Shaving, and a Silvertip Badger, all of which exceed this in performance. However, those brushes set the bar very high. This brush for many users this brush would shine as a primary brush. It performs well for both face and bowl lathering. I would recommend this brush to any user who wants a solid performing horse in their stable.
     
    alpla444, madmedic, Mark1966 and 4 others like this.
  2. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    Great review, Gary. Thanks!
     
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  3. Slipperyjoe

    Slipperyjoe Rusty Metal Tetanus

    My thoughts exactly..:)
     
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  4. macaronus

    macaronus Sir Nice-a-Lot

    Yeah, thourough test, Gary! Thanx.
    Nice horsie!
     
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  5. Mark1966

    Mark1966 Well-Known Member

    Sensational stuff - thanks!
     
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  6. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    A horse walks into Gary's stable...

    Gary says to him, "Hey buddy, why the long face?"

    :scared007:
     
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  7. alpla444

    alpla444 That's sweet!

    Nice review, I have always thought that is one of the best looking vie long brushs out there:)
     
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  8. battle.munky

    battle.munky Has the menthol.munky on his back!

    Do you find it to be floppy at all Gary? My new reknot with the horse works fine, is a soft as my silvertips are, handles soap AND cream, but seems a bit floppy. Mine is set at 54-55 mm.
     
  9. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    No. This one is just short enough on the loft not to break into flop for me. I need just a little flop to apply the lather, but not so much flop as to make a mess. Now if this was set to 60mm I think I would begin to have a problem with flop. The density on this brush may be thick enough to prevent flop at this loft size.

    I have a horse hair knot that I bought to eventually do a restore with so I guess I will see as to keeping that one at or below 55mm when I do it.
     
  10. tomnat

    tomnat accepting applications

    Nice review, Gary. Enjoy the brush, shes a beauty.
     
    GDCarrington likes this.
  11. Neolithium

    Neolithium I am Canadian, eh

    That is a beautiful brush :) Love the review!
     
  12. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    OK, last one....

    Celine Dion, Sarah Jessica Parker, and a mare trot into Gary's shave den....

    Gary says to them: Sorry ladies, one horse is enough.

    :angelic007:
     
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  13. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    Well, this one is quite picky about the ladies in his stable.

     
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  14. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps


    Big stars do tend to be picky.
     
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  15. Neolithium

    Neolithium I am Canadian, eh

    And miserable. Look at his long face!

    BAZINGA!
     
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  16. newb

    newb Resident Newb

    I've had a 13061 for almost a couple of years. It was my first horsehair brush. It was a great brush when new, but it has not worn well. IMHO. It has become quite floppy and has started to spread out in the center. I've been really disappointed in the Vie Long dyed 2 band over time. It's a great soft brush when new but in time it's has become just too floppy.
     
  17. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    [​IMG]


    :D ;)
     
  18. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    Did you go and get an undyed Vie Long, and if you did, how does it differ in terms of backbone and scritch vs. soft?
     
  19. TitanTTB

    TitanTTB Well-Known Member

    Great review, I've been thinking about a 13061 for a while now.
     
  20. newb

    newb Resident Newb

    The natural brown is my favorite Vie Long hair. Initially when new it has too much scritch, but as it breaks in it will get much softer but retains it's backbone. I believe the dyed vie Longs also have a different percentage of tail and mane hair than the natural does..... The dyed are much softer out of the box than the natural.
     

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