Custom Vie-Long 12705 Horse Hair brush

[TZee]

(Warning: pic heavy!)

I received this beauty all the way from Valencia, Spain, in the mail today. It took exactly 7 days from the ship date to reach me in the US. It's a custom Vie-Long 12705 Horse Hair brush that was customized for me by the manufacturer with the help of Juan at Gifts & Care.

Knot: 23mm
Handle: 45mm.
Loft: 47mm (from original 57mm)
Hair: Natural unbleached brown (extra). The same hair used on the pro brushes.

Juan's customer service goes above and beyond what is expected. I highly recommend his services, and will definitely shop with him again.

P.S. Thanks to the original person who notified me of the possibility of customizing Vie-Long brushes at Gifts & Care.

Standing next to a La Toja stick and his big brother, the Vie-Long 13061 Horse Hair.

A top view of the new brothers

The whole family
(Left to right: Omega Pro 48 boar, Semogue 1305 boar, Vie-Long 13061 Horse, Semogue 830 boar, Vie-Long 12705 Horse)

Standing next to a Chubby 1 Super 3-band

Top view



Handle closeup:



Side view of the family



Up close

 

[rearviewmirror]

the 13061 is my favorite handle ever

 

[malocchio]

I also have that handle with the stock horse...juan did a fine job,that is a beautiful brush...

 

[mftoms59]

I love the shape & color of the 12705 handle, congratulations on a fine brush.

 

[noctilux]

how does it compare to badger?

v.

 

[RABIDMONKEY]

Wow ,we just talked , you didnt waste anytime ordering the brush / recieving her ! She is a beauty .Ill pm you Im still torn on my loft Ill pm ya , got some questions

 

[Pablo777]

how does it compare to badger?

v.

Horse lies somewhere between Badger and Boar. Its a different lathering experience and one that must be tried. As so much in our forum, the proof is in the pudding, have a go!

 

[Pablo777]

I have the same model-At first I thought that there might be a wet-hand grip problem with this Vie-Long beauty but none of it, it's perfect.

 

[Wil Dorenbos]

I have the same model-At first I thought that there might be a wet-hand grip problem with this Vie-Long beauty but none of it, it's perfect.

I have this one, my favorite brush. Unfortunately it started shedding, so I just ordered a new one, also with the loft shortened.

 

[TZee]

Wow ,we just talked , you didnt waste anytime ordering the brush / recieving her ! She is a beauty .Ill pm you Im still torn on my loft Ill pm ya , got some questions

Thanks again for letting me in on this, I really appreciate it!

 

[TZee]

how does it compare to badger?

v.

In all honesty, the hair on this brush in particular is very soft, and badger like. It has more backbone than my Semogue 830 boar, and chews through La Toja Manantiales soap. I only have one other horse brush to compare it to at the moment, as my others are in transit, but the experience is somewhat different. Many of the Vie-Longs tend to have large lofts, forcing the user to utilize the tips, sort of like a paintbrush. The tips are very soft. You can also scrub, but make sure you don't have too much tail hair in the mix, as it can be prickly. Cost is not even up for discussion. I can almost buy the entire Vie-Long range for the price that some of these badger brushes are fetching.

But I know the feeling, you want a true comparison, as you're probably on the fence about something. That being said, I can't recommend horse brushes (Vie-Long in particular) highly enough. You can choose anything from a monotone plastic, to an olive wood handle for an affordable price. As Pablo mentioned, it lies in between badger and boar, although I'd like to say that it compares at least on par with, if not better than boar. It also dries faster and has a shorter break-in period. Additionally, you can choose different hair types and combinations by mixing the tail-to-mane ratio.

Long story short, you need a Vie-Long in your life. Choose the handle you like, and take the advice of malocchio, who shares the same opinion as me, to get a 23mm knot if you face lather. I know that mftoms59 likes slightly smaller knots, and Wil Dorenbos likes larger handles (no pun intended).

 

[RABIDMONKEY]

Not a problem glad to be spreading the word that Juan at Gifts and Care is taking care of us letting us customize lofts and choose hair sort of allows us horse guys the chance to get our very own brushes customized like the badger guys do. I found it out on another forum myself . Looks like Gifts and care now has a b and b discount code. rubs hands together in anticipation of the coming fall when my remodel on my kitchen stops taking my shave kit cash

 

[Wil Dorenbos]

I know that mftoms59 likes slightly smaller knots, and Wil Dorenbos likes larger handles (no pun intended).

I have big, fat hands

 

[ssultan]

Beautiful brush TZee, with the lofts and knot being 'approximately' similar to the Chubby 1, I'd love to hear of a comparison to the chubby in particular once you've had a chance to use it for a while. Some post bloom shots along-side the chubby would be useful too! Thank you!

(Warning: pic heavy!)

I received this beauty all the way from Valencia, Spain, in the mail today. It took exactly 7 days from the ship date to reach me in the US. It's a custom Vie-Long 12705 Horse Hair brush that was customized for me by the manufacturer with the help of Juan at Gifts & Care.

Knot: 23mm
Handle: 45mm.
Loft: 47mm (from original 57mm)
Hair: Natural unbleached brown (extra). The same hair used on the pro brushes.

Juan's customer service goes above and beyond what is expected. I highly recommend his services, and will definitely shop with him again.

P.S. Thanks to the original person who notified me of the possibility of customizing Vie-Long brushes at Gifts & Care.

Standing next to a La Toja stick and his big brother, the Vie-Long 13061 Horse Hair.

A top view of the new brothers

The whole family
(Left to right: Omega Pro 48 boar, Semogue 1305 boar, Vie-Long 13061 Horse, Semogue 830 boar, Vie-Long 12705 Horse)

Standing next to a Chubby 1 Super 3-band

Top view



Handle closeup:



Side view of the family



Up close

 

[TZee]

Sameer,

That brand new Chubby 1 is most likely going to end up on the BST. I can compare it to the other Chubby 1 Super 3-band that I had, which I dearly loved. The Chubby 1 is still smaller, and feels more luxurious on the cheeks. But for $165 vs $23, my cheeks can ride coach. I know that it's not fair to make any comparisons just yet, but so far I've noticed that the natural brown (extra) horse hair is very soft and comfortable. Not prickly at all.

If anyone is considering a 23mm knot, get the 13061 with the shortened loft and natural brown (extra) hair. Ooh, that would be lovely.

 

[ssultan]

TZee, they don't have anything in the 28mm+ sizes eh? Sounds as if the natural brown (extra) would be the closest in horse to a 3-band badger...what I was wondering was...does it have the same backbone as your 3-banded chubby knot or it just splays all over your face when pressed...

 

[TZee]

Sameer,

The backbone is very similar on this particular brush, but due to the Chubby's density, I have to give it the nod. Oh, and this brush does not flop at all. It is firm with soft tips. Even the 13061 with its larger loft fights back when pressed against the face.

Unfortunately the largest knot that Vie-Long currently has is 23mm. I'd be interested to see if they would be create such a beast, and if so, how much it would cost.

 

[mftoms59]

In all honesty, the hair on this brush in particular is very soft, and badger like. It has more backbone than my Semogue 830 boar, and chews through La Toja Manantiales soap. I only have one other horse brush to compare it to at the moment, as my others are in transit, but the experience is somewhat different. Many of the Vie-Longs tend to have large lofts, forcing the user to utilize the tips, sort of like a paintbrush. The tips are very soft. You can also scrub, but make sure you don't have too much tail hair in the mix, as it can be prickly. Cost is not even up for discussion. I can almost buy the entire Vie-Long range for the price that some of these badger brushes are fetching.

But I know the feeling, you want a true comparison, as you're probably on the fence about something. That being said, I can't recommend horse brushes (Vie-Long in particular) highly enough. You can choose anything from a monotone plastic, to an olive wood handle for an affordable price. As Pablo mentioned, it lies in between badger and boar, although I'd like to say that it compares at least on par with, if not better than boar. It also dries faster and has a shorter break-in period. Additionally, you can choose different hair types and combinations by mixing the tail-to-mane ratio.

Long story short, you need a Vie-Long in your life. Choose the handle you like, and take the advice of malocchio, who shares the same opinion as me, to get a 23mm knot if you face lather. I know that mftoms59 likes slightly smaller knots, and Wil Dorenbos likes larger handles (no pun intended).

I'd have to second the recommendation of the Vie-Long Horses, you owe it to yourself to try at least one, the softness of the tips can rival some of the better grades of Badger, Scritchiness is virtually nil, and the backbone isn't as stiff as most boars but I wouldn't call them floppy.

Whether you face or bowl lather less pressure is better, letting the tips of the brush work for you, I wouldn't set the loft any higher then 50mm, regardless of lathering method or knot size. IMO & IME the 12705 has the best handle shape of the acrylics, much easier to maintain a grip without the brush slipping, my only complaint, as TZee stated, the knot was bigger than I'm comfortable using (18-21mm). Any of the Wooden Handles are ergonomically fine, no slippage whatsoever and have a high quality finish.

With two Custom Shavemacs, I still look forward to using the Horses, and that's saying a lot about them without detracting from the Quality of my Badgers. I have quite a selection of Horses (5), Badgers (2) & Boars (4) to choose from, quite a Delicious dilemma to face every day .

With all that being said If I was limited to one Brush, the Horses still win for me, with the Silver-Tip a close second. Good Luck choosing your Brush, no selection will be incorrect and will only lead to future purchases.

 

[coyotewhisper]

i was looking at these brushes and thinking about getting one. your review was great. Wow great looking handles.

 

[the_ogre25]

What is the difference between the extra (pro) hair and the regular. Also how do I go about getting one of these customized, I have been looking at a horse and I think this just put me over the edge!