Vie-Long Horsey Brushes...your thoughts?

Discussion in 'The Brush' started by blanka, May 16, 2012.

  1. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

  2. Bluesbishop

    Bluesbishop Active Member

    +1!!

    I have the Vie-Long, and although not as soft as my silvertip, it is a GREAT brush for face lathering, and for the price....it really is a no brainer. It gets about 50% of mu usage now...and I have over 10 brushes....it is that good. I like it much more than boar....great back bone, and softer than many cheap badgers I've tried.
     
  3. SharpSpine

    SharpSpine Well-Known Member

    Oh, I like the hierarchy idea. Here's mine...
    boar, badger, horse.
    Synthetic is definitely above horse but I'm not sure where it fits just yet for me. I'm thinking it may go between boar and badger, if not ahead of boar on some days.
     
  4. Neolithium

    Neolithium I am Canadian, eh

    I have a Badger/Horse mix from Vie-Long and while it's well made and good with lather I find it too floppy for my personal use. Fortunately SWMBO loves the thing, so I gave it to her. I'm assuming that the regular horse hair is somewhat stiffer at least?
     
  5. Azarius

    Azarius Must have had his WHEATies

    I have the Vie-Long Sardinero 13800 Horse Hair which I purchased from Bull Goose. Before purchasing, I only used two brushes, a 1950's Stanley Pure Badger, and a Pre-War German Badger Hair.

    The first thing I noticed about the brush was no smell, I mean none, nada, zilch. I had heard numerous reports that horse brushes had an odor, but this had none.

    The first time I used it I did not feel a need to break it in, I rinsed it off, did 10 swirls in VDH, some C.O. Bigelow and built a nice lather. The brush has a lot of backbone, as much as my vintage German brush, but in better shape.

    This is a great brush for our Muslim and Vegan shaving brothers, as it is not boar, and no animal are killed in the process of making it, as only hair that is removed during normal grooming process is used.

    Only complaint is that the loft ends up being jagged, hard to tell from this pic:
    [​IMG]

    This one is a little better to get an idea of the loft
    [​IMG]

    Will take more pics when I get home.
     
  6. Azarius

    Azarius Must have had his WHEATies

    You can get a better idea how the loft/bloom on this brush is not perfect. Besides the jagged look to it, I must say that it performs great.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. DLP

    DLP Well-Known Member

    How long did it take to get to that state? None of my Vie-Long brushes look like that.
     
  8. Azarius

    Azarius Must have had his WHEATies

    It has looked like that since day one of using it. I had purchased two, one for myself, and one from my brother Ken. I have no idea what his looks like as he has never posted a picture. I am not pleased about the loft, but it still functions well and builds a great lather.
     
  9. Bluesbishop

    Bluesbishop Active Member


    Here is my "Top three" My Fathers Vintage Stanley Brush from the 50's, my AoS Silvertip, and the Vie-Long.......my Vie_long has a pretty nice bloom....but I use it at least every other day...and gave for about three months....I only use it to face lather...and I lather pretty aggressively.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    If you Notice...Mine has opened up more than my brothers....I find it to be a GREAT brush
     
    Ryan Bales likes this.
  10. Azarius

    Azarius Must have had his WHEATies

    So odd...As Ves used the Vie-Long everyday as her preferred brush when she shaves her legs, I would have thought mine would have bloomed more than yours.
    Your loft looks a little jagged as well.

    Off topic a little, my Stanley brush is much lighter in color than yours, and way more flat topped.
     
  11. newb

    newb Resident Newb

    You like that ? I'm a big horsehair fan, but I also have a dyed 2 band Vie Long that opened up like that. I really dislike the 2 band because of that "bloom". I find it floppy, not dense in the center (in fact the center reminds me of a poorly made Turkish HH#6) . I've never experienced this in the Natural Brown Vie Long or even the plain dyed Vie Longs. And I think this "bloom" may be unique to the 2 band dyed.
     
  12. Azarius

    Azarius Must have had his WHEATies

    I think you nailed it. The center of the brush does not seem dense as all, it is very much like a cheap Shaving Factory brush, which are imported from Turkey by Derby/Kanar.

    I do wish that it did not have that "hollow" center and the loft had more of a bloom. It does build a great lather, but I almost have to paint it on my face.
     
  13. Bluesbishop

    Bluesbishop Active Member

    Hmmm.....I find the back bone pretty good on mine....less "hollow" than my Vintage Stanley. As my brother stated, it builds a GREAT lather....and the why I lather I guess I'm not perceiving much of the "hollowness" as I press my brushes pretty firm on my face and going in a circular motions when I fave lather....The Vie-long produces more lather than any other brush I own....
     
  14. Ryan B

    Ryan B Knight of the Soapocracy

    I'm really thinking about trying a horse hair brush. I just can't seem to pull the trigger since I have a Vulfix Burlington (pure badger) brush. Maybe a blend of boar and horse. I guess I'll find out if I like it or not by buying it.
     
    DLP likes this.
  15. newb

    newb Resident Newb

    My friend, you need to try the Natural Brown, If you can get through the prickly break in period, you will be rewarded with an awesome Horsehair. Plenty of backbone but once broken in , it's also almost silver tip soft. And no hollow center.
     
  16. DLP

    DLP Well-Known Member

    When I purchased my Vie-long 13061 I was worried about the 60mm loft being floppy. I had read some threads where some owners said the brush become floppy after a few shaves. I discovered that GiftsandCare.com has the ability to sell you Vie-long brushes with the loft set to what ever you request. I ordered my 13061 with a 50mm loft instead of the default 60mm. I've never tried the standard Vie-Long 13061 but the one I purchased with the 50mm loft is great. Fantastic back bone and almost as soft as my silvertip badgers. The 13061m is the natural horse hair version of the 13061 that I purchased.

    IMHO everyone should try a horse hair brush. The ones that I have tried have good backbone, hold plenty of water, can generate good later on every soap I've tried them on and have just the right amount of scritch.


    Enjoy your shave
     
  17. Azarius

    Azarius Must have had his WHEATies

    I think I shall. I do like the look of a natural brown brush, although I am the first to admit I know little about the Vie-Long horsehair line of brushes. The BGS2012 Beehive brush looks very nice, but so does the 12705 at 1/3 the price.
     
  18. andyr

    andyr Member

    +100 - this describes a horse hair brush exactly.
     
  19. Indiexsunrise

    Indiexsunrise Well-Known Member

    I'm thinking of picking up a new brush this weekend, I may have to look into horse hair.
     
  20. Bluesbishop

    Bluesbishop Active Member

    If you want to inexpensive brushes that perform...pick up a Vie-Long horse hair, and the Semogue 620 boar.....the later may end up becoming your favorite brush...
     

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