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Horsehair Vie long brushes

Snooze

Snooze

Active Member
2017 Sabbatical Fail
2018 Charity Auction Winner


One of the good things about this sabbatical is that I am going through my shaving stuff and finding items I havent used at all or for a long time...

This Vie Long horse hair brush model 12705 was purchased a couple of years ago and I never got around to trying it. I thought I would give it a run. I think I bought it from G&C and it was only about $15 IIRC. It is made in Spain.

It was still in the original box - and certainly had a very definite "farmyard " smell. The smell is probably the stongest out of all the boar and badger brushes I have used. I have been lathering it along side my daily brush for the past week and leaving the soap in for 12 hours or so and washing out. The smell is definitely improving. I may give it a gentle soak in a dilute vinegar mixture if the smell is still there.

Ive just tried some hand lathers so far but have been impressed by the high loft and good backbone of the brush and the tips feel fairly soft too. I guess it seems to be in between a boar and a badger brush in terms of backbone. The handle is plastic and doesnt seem very solid, but will see how it goes.

The main complaint from others in forums seems to be shedding with these brushes. So far I havent seen any evidence of this.

I will post again when the horsey smell is gone and I've given the brush some face-time.

My initial impressions are very favourable - for a cheap brush, it feels very nice and a good blend of the best of both boar and badger.

I would be interested in hearing what you guys think about these brushes if you have tried them in the past.
 
It's a great brush and very underrated due to (mostly) misinformation...

Give ~5 palm lathers to get out all the funk AND get the softness up to scratch :D

IMO the lather produced by a horse has brush is much closer to a badger than a boar and personally i actually prefer them.

The only thing you have to be careful about is hair entanglement: try to avoid too much pressure when you do circular movements (or avoid the all together when you are away from the puck).

Enjoy (y)(y)(y)
 
Great advice thanks @alfredus - will definitely do some more palm lathers and take care with the circular movements. I usually just lather using the tips with my brushes.

One old post I read on this forum suggested holding the bristles by the neck rather than the handle when shaking dry to prevent the bristles shedding. Dont know if this is true or just an old wives tale.
 
Look, I had 4 different horse hair brushes from Vie-long and never any shedding issues...

On the other hand, if you really have a shedder, nothing will really help :(

But if you got it from G&C Juan & Mamen will take care of you 110%, so don't worry and just enjoy the brush...
 
I have the 13065 in butterscotch and really enjoy using it. Cant remember exactly but think it's a 70/30 mix of tail and mane, great performance and not too scritchy either. Not had any shedding. Very underrated as previously mentioned.

Giving it a quick comb once dried off helps reduce the chance of them "doughnutting" or hollowing out (y)
 
Alba65 said:
I have the 13065 in butterscotch and really enjoy using it. Cant remember exactly but think it's a 70/30 mix of tail and mane, great performance and not too scritchy either. Not had any shedding. Very underrated as previously mentioned.

Giving it a quick comb once dried off helps reduce the chance of them "doughnutting" or hollowing out (y)
Click to expand...
Thanks @Alba65 - will do!
I am starting to think these horsehair brushes are great performers but just don't have dat "cool badger" image :X3:
 
Very much so, artisan brush makers seem to give them a wide berth which is a also a shame, seeing the limited and boring selection Vei-long seem to have in the handle dept.
 
Alba65 said:
Very much so, artisan brush makers seem to give them a wide berth which is a also a shame, seeing the limited and boring selection Vei-long seem to have in the handle dept.
Click to expand...
I'm surprised at this comment. Have a look at Gifts and Care's site. I think Vie-Long have a wide range of excellent looking handles, certainly better than Omega or even Semogue.
brocha-de-afeitar-caballo-vie-long-13061b.jpg
brocha-de-afeitar-caballo-vie-long-13066.jpg
vie-long-horse-hair-shaving-brush-14832m.jpg
brocha-de-afeitar-caballo-vie-long-13071b.jpg
 
Don't forget the Epsilon range...
 
alfredus said:
IMO the lather produced by a horse has brush is much closer to a badger than a boar and personally i actually prefer them.
Click to expand...

But you don't use one.... or do you and I have missed that completely in your SOTD posts.
 

Yes I see that but that was in reference to Vie-long. My question still stands; if @alfredus prefers a horse to a badger, what are the reasons they are IIRC absent from his SOTD/Lather Shots posts.
 
I've two.
One sheds 10+ hairs a shave.
Other a few.
After sales support from Vie Long is non existent, which is a pity, as the first was a lather meister.
 
Psmith said:
I'm surprised at this comment. Have a look at Gifts and Care's site. I think Vie-Long have a wide range of excellent looking handles, certainly better than Omega or even Semogue.
brocha-de-afeitar-caballo-vie-long-13061b.jpg
brocha-de-afeitar-caballo-vie-long-13066.jpg
vie-long-horse-hair-shaving-brush-14832m.jpg
brocha-de-afeitar-caballo-vie-long-13071b.jpg
Click to expand...
I have the knot from the bottom left(e: 3rd in this quote) in the handle of the one of the top left (e: first in this quote) .
It's never shed much, if at all and it's 4 yrs old now. Maybe because I did that switcheroo and they shoved a tighter knot into a smaller handle, or vice versa? Either way it was custom done

It's my go to brush, always works. I don't need to worry about a presoak like I do the boars, I don't need to worry about shedding and also drying/care, like I do the badgers.
I just pull the horse hair brush out of the drawer from who knows how long storage, wet it, use, leave it where-ever until I can be bothered...
 
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Just in case, Vie Long has been sold this (european) summer, not so long, but everything seems to be on the same way. Many speculations in spain but let's see what happen. Some of the epsilons (based on vie long) has been realle welcomed by people, if that means something :)
 
I picked up one of the 12705s from Men's Biz this week.
Still haven't used it, but the advice in this thread is definitely going to prove useful.
It will serve as an excuse to break out one of my hard soaps, too.
 
What I found helpful in removing the challenging initial scent, was to use hair shampoo to build up a later in your hand each time you shower for a few weeks.
By then, the majority of the hair smell dissipates.
Just remember to dry the hair gently on a towel and leave in a well ventilated area until next use to dry.
 
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