Horse Hair Brushes

Discussion in 'The Brush' started by jabberwock, Dec 23, 2012.

  1. jabberwock

    jabberwock Well-Known Member

    So, along with all of the other stuff I decided to get a Vie Long horse hair brush. Now I have heard a lot of different things about these brushes (chief among them being that they tend to stink when they first get wet and that it is a good idea to wash them a couple of times in pet shampoo before the first use), but I have yet to hear anything too bad about them.

    I have to admit that I didn't do as much research on this as I normally would, but I really liked just about everything that I read about horse hair brushes so I took the plunge anyway.

    I would like to hear what you folks think of these brushes in relation to other types of brushes. If you've ever thought of buying one what were the reasons? If not, why not?
     
    178-bplatoon likes this.
  2. NoobShaver

    NoobShaver BGDAAA

    I have a Vie Long 13061. Natural color bristles with a honey colored vase shaped handle.

    I am growing to really like it.

    For comparison, I have used two cheap boars and a Pure Badger from C&E. The Vie Long has the backbone of a boar, but holds water and lather more like a badger. It's softer than the boars I owned, and if I am not mistaken, it's getting softer with use. I tested it on my face the other day while it was dry and it felt noticeably softer than the my pure badger.

    That said, I think my pure badger still holds more water and lather. I've been mainly using the vie long lately, but I could see alternating it with the badger in the near future. They're equally good in different ways.
     
    178-bplatoon likes this.
  3. Neolithium

    Neolithium I am Canadian, eh

    My Vie-Long never had any horrible smell; but I did get one of their cheaper ones that for some reason had a band dyed on the bristles which quickly came off. Other than the weird, pointless dye issue it's been a fantastic brush. Their quality for the price is very impressive IMO.
     
    178-bplatoon likes this.
  4. JRod22

    JRod22 Well-Known Member

    Never really considered a horse hair or looked into them at all until just now. Thanks for giving me another option. Now I'm stuck between the Vie Long 13710 and the Semogue 830. I have an funny feeling everyone would tell me to get both. :sad027:
     
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  5. Neolithium

    Neolithium I am Canadian, eh

    I'm becoming much more attracted to the Vie-Longs that have the natural horsehairs, not the dyed wannabe badger look. Personally I'd buy both because I know the quality of both manufacturers. They feel different so it's not really a waste, it's more like having 2 different sides of the coin.
     
    alpla444 and JRod22 like this.
  6. alpla444

    alpla444 That's sweet!

    yeah same as you there JRod I have looked at the Vie long they look nice, just that I do enjoy my boars is the main reason I have not pulled the trigger on one yet (also I have 3 brush handles that I need to reknot)
     
  7. jabberwock

    jabberwock Well-Known Member

    I use horse hair brushes to polish and buff my shoes and am so used to them being a common thing that I was quite surprised that they are somewhat unusual in the shaving community. To me it seems like a brush that is made from a reusable source (i.e. the grooming of a horse) and that has some of the good qualities of both boar and badger brushes would be a no-brainer. I don't understand why it has taken so long for them to start making a comeback seeing as the incidents that removed them from common use happened back during WWI. In any event, I am happy that they are becoming more readily available.
     
    JRod22 likes this.
  8. swarden43

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

    They still haven't impressed me enough to want to buy one. I've heard folks tell of how they can have a tendency to tangle and knot up. Never hear about that with badger or boar.
    Maybe someday.
     
    DLP likes this.
  9. battle.munky

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

    My only experience is based on a reknot I did from TGN. I found the knot to be high quality and it didn't shed but it was a bit floppy even set at 48 mm. I sold it. It was just too floppy and I didn't care for that.
     
  10. Ryan B

    Ryan B Knight of the Soapocracy

    Back in the day they were often associated with Anthrax which might play into why they lost popularity. I've never used one and am quite satisfied with my Semogue 1305 boar hair brush. That doesn't mean I won't buy a horse brush, but right now I see no need for one.
     
  11. DLP

    DLP Well-Known Member

    I love my Horse Hair brushes. I've learned that they tend to work better if you use a painting rather than a circular motion when lathering. If you use a circular motion I've heard that they can develop knots in the hair (never experienced this myself). I have experienced my horse hair knots developing a "hole" in the middle of the knot when using a circular motion on the face that does not occur when using a straight up/down, left/right motion. IMHO they blend the best of both Badger and Boar brushes.

    If you do get a Horse hair brush please don't judge the performance based on the first or second shave. I've found that they tend to take 10-12 shaves to begin breaking in. The break in period is not as long as a boar brush but it does take a few shaves to start performing well.
     
    178-bplatoon likes this.
  12. Neolithium

    Neolithium I am Canadian, eh

    My Vie-Long develops the same void in the center when I face lather with it, but it's too soft and enjoyable for me to really care. Doesn't affect the actual performance of the brush from what I've noticed - it's just a weird little quirk that seems to be common among all the horse brushes. Technically horsehair was the most used hair for shaving brushes over the centuries - it started to really take a turn around WWI if I remember correctly as well because so many horses were sent off for the war effort they weren't going to waste time making shaving brushes after grooming time. By the time the war was over, boar and badger started taking over in popularity and the rest is just history.
     
    178-bplatoon likes this.
  13. 178-bplatoon

    178-bplatoon Well-Known Member

    Until the anthrax scare at the begining of the 20th century horse was the go-to shave brush. After the scare was when bagger and boar took over. Now thankfully Horse is back! Bruce Everiss says horse has the best qualities of both bagger and boar and I tend to agree with him on that. Horse is natural, holds water well,has soft bristles that seem to get softer with use, has nice backbone, you don't have to kill anything to get the hair to make a brush and you get all of this at a less expensive price.

    I own and have used all the types of brushs Bagger,Boar,Synthetic and Horse. My go-to brush is Horse. While I have two Vie-Longs(cachurro and 12601), my daily use brush however is a good ole "cheap" #6 horse from bestshave.net out of Turkey. I've used it for about 2 years so far. While the QC can definately be hit or miss on these brushes, the price(mine was about $5.00 shipped) simply can't be beat as long as you get a good one of course...:) I've bought several # 6's and all have been usable, just one was a little less dense than I would have preferred, but still perfectly usable. The one I use daily, a friend was able to split the original wooden handle and then rehandled the #6 knot for me in resin.

    I.M.O. everyone should give horse a chance especially when you can get one so cheap from bestshave to try even if you get a bad one and it only lasts a short time. I never experienced a "terrible" smell problem from any of my brushes(horse,bagger or boar). I just made a couple test of lathers in the beginning and that seemed to do the job for me.

    As you can tell I'm "HIGH on HORSE" :happy102:: I wish everyone could try horse just one time,I think if they did, HORSE would become the go-to shave brush once again in this country....:happy088:

    So cudos to you jabberwock for trying Horse, not only very traditional but very user friendly also. I think you'll be HAPPY with your choice.....:)

    [Edit] I use both a circular motion as well as painting, when lathering and have never had my #6 brush tangle.
    Also the hole or void in the center of the knot is supposed to be there and from what I've read is a sign on horse that the knot is made correctly, I think it helps keep the knot from tangling in some way...:)
     
    Tdmsu likes this.
  14. gzp

    gzp Well-Known Member

    I haven't tried a Vie Long yet but I do have a very cheap Diane horsehair brush. It's ability to lather is amazing. It was only 3.99 at a local beauty supply store and it's definitely the worst looking brush around but it does a great job and it gets picked quite often.
     
  15. Neolithium

    Neolithium I am Canadian, eh

    Ok I was checking out a nice Spanish vendor. I had no idea that there were so many in the Vie-Long lineup. AND AFFORDABLE. I may have to change my stable up to be all horse for those prices. I can get 6 brushes for the price of one Simpsons Badger.
     
    178-bplatoon likes this.
  16. jabberwock

    jabberwock Well-Known Member

    With a single horse being a renewable resource (unlike the badgers/boars which are killed when their hair is harvested) and with the demand not as high as brushes made of other materials the cost of horsehair brushes is very low. As the popularity of these brushes increases and the word gets out about how great they are this may change.

    I've also ordered a #6 horsehair from shop.bestshave.net to try out (should be here any month now...) and I find myself totally uninterested in anything other than horsehair brushes. The #6 is also available at shavetools.com (no www. in the web address) for the same price (wish I would have known that before I ordered from bestshave...I am impatient). I like my Vie Long, so I will probably pass this brush on, but at $2.45, I couldn't pass it up.
     
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  17. DLP

    DLP Well-Known Member

    which vendor were you looking at?
     
  18. Neolithium

    Neolithium I am Canadian, eh

    Giftsandcare
     
  19. crackstar

    crackstar Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    I have a #6 horsehair brush which I received a gift from a friend and I swear that this brush is probably the best lathermaker I've had in a long time.
     
    178-bplatoon likes this.
  20. DLP

    DLP Well-Known Member

    Great vendor to work with. I did have a 13061 that the knot just fell apart and they had a new brush with a custom loft in my hands in 5 days.

    If you want a different loft than what comes standard from the factory GiftsandCare can make that happen. They are just down the road from the factory and seem to be on good terms with the Vie-Long management. I have a 13061 dyed horse hair set at 50mm. the natural horse hair seems to have more backbone and a little more scritch than the dyed horse hair. I've read that the dyed horse hair can become a little floppy so I had the shorten the loft. Great performers.
     

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