Educate me on horse hair brushes

[deruitem]

What is the difference with the grade (main or tail) etc. I am thinking of giving one a shot

[Zoro]

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...Spanish-horse)
This thread should tell you what you want to know.

[LeftyT]

Get one...better yet, get two. They're beautiful.

[Red-Leg]

Get one...better yet, get two. They're beautiful.

And the feel soooo good.

[LeftyT]

Damn straight, they do!
I have the two of the 50/50 knots. One 20mm, at 50mm (great little brush) and a 23mm, set at 48mm and it's...I hate to say it...perfect, so far. There's a tiny amount of scritch, but nothing compared to pure badger. I'd say they feel more cloud like than best badger, but with a bit more backbone. If I had to describe its qualities, I'd say luxurious, dense, exfoliant and a quality piece. Put it this way. I was planning on dropping some cash on a Duke 3, but not anymore. If anything, I'll look into a custom from V-L.

[El-a-Menthol]

I have only one horse in my stable, but it's a beautiful workhorse, IMO:

[malocchio]

I have several.....go with Vie-Long from Spain,no other brush maker gives you such fine quality in horse hair.A 23mm knot will whip hard soaps,soft soaps and creams.

[deruitem]

I should have known that the above post would have been from mftoms59. How do you go about getting a custom from Vie-Long.


I want something with some back bone and just a small amount of scritch. What would you go with from Vie-Long

[LeftyT]

I thought long and hard about it, and I would hands down go with this.



It's a 13061, set at 48mm. I'm in love!

[shaverjoe]

I thought long and hard about it, and I would hands down go with this.



It's a 13061, set at 48mm. I'm in love!

That is VERY nice. I may need to try one of those!

[deruitem]

I thought long and hard about it, and I would hands down go with this.



It's a 13061, set at 48mm. I'm in love!

I do love that handle too

[shaverjoe]

Agreed. That handle is sweet!

[DougieB]

I got a 13061 for Christmas.

AWESOME.... I especially like it when face lathering! And they don't kill the horses to for the hair. That's really why I hinted at a horse hair.

That's it between the Fat Handle TECH and my Dragon's hat.

[BlackBard]

I thought long and hard about it, and I would hands down go with this.



It's a 13061, set at 48mm. I'm in love!

DANG! Just when I thought I had no AD's, I feel a stirring of SBAD.

[joser]

Might i also suggest the BGS2012 dyed horse hair from Phil over at Bullgoose. My wife got me one as an early b-day present and it is amazing. I like the beehive handle which comfortably fits in my hand and the soft tips coupled with good backbone. Comparing the BGS2012 and the Zurito, it appears that the hair is the same but the BGS2012 knot is a bit larger with a shorter loft.

[mftoms59]

LeftyT made a good recommendation, the 13061 with the Banded Hair, 50/50- Mane/Tail, Mane gives the softness and the tail is your backbone. The Natural Brown Hair will be a 35/65, Mane/Tail mix and will have scubbier/scritchier tips and stiffer backbone out of the box. I'd recommend ~5-6 bowl lathers before attempting a face lather to relax some of the scritch, the scritch on your face can be controlled with pressure, more pressure= more scritch. Like a Boar, the Horse Hair performance improves, the tips feel softer and the scritch will relax without losing backbone.

I have a Nat. Brown Horse @~45/20 I've used ~4x a week for the past 10 months, the tips have become very soft, comparable to my TGN Best Badger and the backbone is very firm. The Brush is strictly for face lathers with soap, though I've occasionally face lathered creams. This is definitely my #1 Face lathering Brush, if not my overall #1 since it's the one I reach for most often. I also like my Black Badger/ Deruitem Milk Churn style for when I bowl lather, seems I prefer some scrub & scritch in my Brushes and why I prefer the Nat. Brown Horse Hair.

If you place an order with Gifts & Care, place your Loft request in the comments box when checking out, I'd recommend including the Brush # and hair type; Banded or Natural Brown, especially if ordering more than one brush. I'd also throw in a Cream or two, most times your shipping charge remains the same, and I'd add the courier service for an additional ~$1.00, you'l receive it in ~6-8 Business days instead of 20-24 BD.

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Deruitem:
This Thread, My Vie-Long Gonzalo Mixed Horse and Boar Brush 1st Impressions maybe of some interest to you.

"Laughter is the [shaving] brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart." Mort Walker

My Vie-Long 'Gonzalo' Mixed Horse & Boar Brush

[Den]

I have a Vie-Long 13710 50/50 mix set at 47mm and I'm really liking it. I wanted a small brush and almost went with the Simpson Berkeley, but I've used a badger before and wanted to try a horse brush. Decided to go with the Vie-Long and it's just the perfect little face lathering brush. Small enough if you have facial hair to manoeuver around it, yet big enough to hold a decent amount of lather. Very inexpensive brush. In and around $20 shipped. No regrets whatsoever on that purchase.

I also have the Gonzalo Mixed Horse/Boar brush that Christopher mentions above, but I'm not enjoying it as much as my 13710. It's has a very long loft (60mm) and a small 20mm knot. I'm using it more and more to try and get the hang of it, but it's by far the brush I'm having the most difficulty getting used to. I'm not giving up though.

I highly recommend any model with a 50/50 mix of mane/tail. Soft tips with great backbone.

[jazzguy]

B&B strikes again! I just ordered a 13061 from Bullgoose. Of course I filled up my cart to get free shipping. At least it was on sale.

[LeftyT]

Congrats jazzguy! Does bullgoose offer loft adjustments? Either way, it'll be a winner!