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Horse Brush Issues

I just acquired through trade a Vie-Long 13061. I've really enjoyed getting to know it over the last week. I'm amazed how quickly it loads soap and the lather it creates is top notch. It's pricklier than I would like, but maybe it will soften up with time.

Anyway, I'm concerned about it because the breach of the brush seems to get matted down and knotted up quite a bit. I've tried combing it out, but sometimes the hair breaks. Besides, I don't want to have to do this every day. Does anyone else have this problem?
 
Yikes!~ I don't have that problem with matting. I do notice that my horse hairs are more prickly than I imagined they would be. Perhaps using less pressing on the brush could alleviate the matting?
 
I have the same Vie Long brush (13061) and quit using it some months ago because of the prickly issue. Other people seem to love them. I don't like prickly! I notice the ends of the hairs on top are not even. Some are as much as 1/4th inch shorter than others. I don't see this on my other brushes. I love the handle. It's beautiful. I'll probably reknot it to boar or boar and badger. Anyway, mine didn't seem to get better with time and I gave up on it. Good luck on yours. If it softens up and the prickly feeling disappears, let us know.
 
From your description I'd say your probably using too much pressure, I've owned 9 Vie-Long Horses and I had the same problem with only one, I used less pressure, lathering with the tips which seemed to alleviate the knotting problem. Pressure could also contribute to the prickly feel, the Horse Brushes do get better with regular use, ~25-30 lathers, so if your rotating brushes it may take awhile. I'd recommend doing a Palm lather when your not using it for your shave to help speed-up the process.
 
From your description I'd say your probably using too much pressure, I've owned 9 Vie-Long Horses and I had the same problem with only one, I used less pressure, lathering with the tips which seemed to alleviate the knotting problem. Pressure could also contribute to the prickly feel, the Horse Brushes do get better with regular use, ~25-30 lathers, so if your rotating brushes it may take awhile. I'd recommend doing a Palm lather when your not using it for your shave to help speed-up the process.

+1 Use the tips. The mane hairs are delicate and will break or knot when you push on them. Your brush is 50% mane hair. If you want to push, get an all tail brush, like the Turkish ones. You can use them like a boar brush.
 
Thanks for all the advice, guys. Today I used less pressure and there wasn't as much matting, if any. I'll keep at it.
 
I ordered some horse hair knots awhile back, and they had the same knotting, ratting problem. Basically saying the same thing as above, swirl instead of daub the brush, and you should do fine.
 
I have the same brush,and at least 50 shaves on it,no problems at all...I do give it a thorough shake out and upside down 8 hour dry time tho'...I have 6 vie-longs,all with lots of use,never had a problem with any of them...try a soak in a properly diluted mar-v-cide bath for 20 minutes,also you can use a hair brush powdered cleaner available at sally and other beauty supply houses...
 
I concur with mfttoms59, Wil, and malocchio. I also had the 13061, and I know that it can be slightly prickly at first. As mentioned, it's a 50/50 mix of mane and tail, so you don't have to press that hard. To steal mftom59's technique, only soak half of the hairs in a cup/bowl prior to shaving, as that will greatly improve the backbone.

To help with prickly issue, let's steal malocchio's idea of dipping the ends of the hair in a proper mix of Barbicide (1:16 ratio) to soften the hair up. It's a great brush with a beautiful handle.
 
I concur with mfttoms59, Wil, and malocchio. I also had the 13061, and I know that it can be slightly prickly at first. As mentioned, it's a 50/50 mix of mane and tail, so you don't have to press that hard. To steal mftom59's technique, only soak half of the hairs in a cup/bowl prior to shaving, as that will greatly improve the backbone.

To help with prickly issue, let's steal malocchio's idea of dipping the ends of the hair in a proper mix of Barbicide (1:16 ratio) to soften the hair up. It's a great brush with a beautiful handle.

It's not stealing when you share information so others can enjoy the Horse as much as we do... keep spreading the word. :tongue_sm
 
]yes...the thoughts on the forum are for sharing,but mftoms59 was using the expression lovingly not literally !! the reason I always recommend mar-v-cide and not barbicide,is that marvy has always stated on their disinfectant bottle "safe for brushes"...this is why I have been using them for years..last time I looked,and it's been a long time,the barbicide label did not make the same statement.I have always had fine results with marvy and I never fail to notice the difference in the softness of the hairs ..
 

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