Vie Long Horse hair/Metal/Timber brush

I made the post below, when I read of an issue with "Birds Nesting" of a horse hair brush, and thought I would put up this post for anyone who is interested.
A tail of 2 horses

Here are a couple of pictures of the Vie Long %100 Horse Hair brush before and after I got it wet. I wet it thoroughly with hot water and washed it with "Head & Shoulders" anti dandruff shampoo and Conditioner with Old Spice scent. I rubbed it through and rinsed it out, then repeated about 3 times, each time leaving it for a minute or two so the Old Spice scent might help "De-Funkify" the new wet Horse hair smell. I then just rubbed it vigorously on a towel and stood it up to dry thoroughly.
It tended to clump together and look a bit "Limp" when wet but when dry it seems just fine, with no "Birds Nesting".

 

My #6 horse hair pretty much does the same thing. It doesn't make a nest where the hair is matted, as much as a hole forms in the center of the brush. It goes away when the brush is dried and doesn't seem to affect either the lather making or lather application of the brush in any way. I just love my #6, they only cost $5 shipped from bestshave and it will give you a chance to compare the two brushes side by side. I know I'd be interested in hearing your opinion.

 

That is why I no longer use a horse hair brush. Not to mention it is scritchy.

 

I have a V-L 13061 M horsehair that has never shown the described tangles or hole. It is my main brush. Not scritchy at all.

 

You lucked out with the brush and the razor. My last vie-long sucked and my weber has a wavy blade.

 

Well, I can categorically say that this Vie-Long is (almost) comparably soft to my badger brush and has no discernible scritch. This one's a keeper !!

 

I really like my #6, and I am now wanting a Vie-Long.

 

My Vie Long has never had a problem with nesting. Here is a photo of it dry and there is no sign of tangling hair. I have only used it 15 times, but it is a favorite.. No scritch and makes plenty of lather. It has a bit more loft than I am used to and teens to throw lather when I face lather with it , but that is only a small problem that does not affect is performance.

 

I have 2 Horse hair brushes from Vie-Long
Both acquired a "nest" and i am not happy with them.

 

I read somewhere that some Vie Long brushes are now made specifically so they do not have the "nest" problem. Anyone ever heard of these or know which models they are?

 

I haven't read it but who risks to buy another 2 knots hoping that the phenomenon will not occur again ?

 

I rinse my brush after each use, shake it and put it in a holder upside down to dry. Never had a problem.

 

I'm not sure what the nesting people are talking about is? My knot forms a hole(for lack of a better word) in the middle when I'm making my lather, buy it doesn't affect the performance in any way. I've read that horse hair brushes are made that way so as to avoid hair tangling in the knot, I don't know if this is true or not..Also I don't know if that's true with all horse hair brushes.

What I will say, for a fact, is that for me, my #6 performs well, has very good backbone, is very comfortable to use, the hair in the knot neither tangles or knots up and has lasted for 2+ years with no sign, as of yet, of deterioration.

 

There is a video on youtube about this. Apparently the solution is to brush the hair after using the brush, and this should keep the brush in good condition. I have to admit I have no horse hair brush so I haven't tried it. But it makes sense I guess. My niece rides horses and they always have to brush the horses hair to keep it tangle free.

 

Where did you read that? My 12750 would get knotted up. I combed it out a few times and it wasn't fun. This is not directed at you but my Brush is a tool, it is not something to be handled so delicately and not abused either but it has to be used and if is that sensitive it defeats the purpose. .

 

I fully agree with you about the brush being a tool and if it doesn't work properly or is too much of a PIA to use easily, then it's a USELESS tool!! While I had no problems with my Vie-Long that I can remember, I didn't use it very much at all. In fact since I've had my #6 I've never used another brush.

I just checked and found a post here at TSD in the Brush section by PLANofMAN called "The Brush Basic Information Everyone Should Know". It mentioned about how the Horse Hair knot is made with a hole in it and why. It's an interesting read you may want to check it out. I disagree with his and many other peoples assertion that the #6 is boar and not horse, but hey that's just my opinion. No matter what it's made of I LOVE my #6.

 

It sucks because I really liked that brush however I suppose it could have been a fluke. It bummed me out because I got it as a deal form Shave Tool for like 15 bux off . I still have the handle and might eventually re-knot it.

 

I tell you Mark I went looking some reviews of your #12750 Vie-Long brush. All I found was ad hype and a brush description on some shave sites, but I couldn't find any reviews. But that is a really nice ButterScotch handle you have, it would look GREAT with a #6 knot.

 

I agree with you there. If something doesn't work twice in a row, then repeating the process is likely to produce the same results. A workaround might be to not repeat the process in precisely the same way as before. I did a little investigating and found this:

Here are some pictures, showing the problem really does exist:

• http://shavenook.com/thread-bad-horsey-to-re-knot-or-not

These two posts indicate that the natural horse hair brushes do not have the hollow center problem:

• http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/vie-long-horsey-brushes-your-thoughts.28611/page-2#post-502469
• http://shavenook.com/thread-impression-of-vie-long-le-butterscotch-beehive-in-natural-horse-hair

But here is the source of the problem and the solution:

Q: So are horse hair brushes ment to be using only with painting motions or mine has a problem?

A: Yes although this is also the recommendation for badger brushes. Gentle circular motions are ok but mashing the brush on your face can lead to problems (the dreaded hole in the knot).

Ref: http://shavenook.com/thread-vie-long-13723-problem?pid=255749#pid255749

 

Very interesting post Shaver X. I usually use circular motions when I first lather, but I don't mash the bristles into my face or onto my puck. And since I bowl lather I use circular motions to make my lather. But like my shaving passes both are done gently with little or no pressure. Perhaps that's why I have no trouble with the hair in my knot tangling up.