A horse to go into my stable...

[GDCarrington]

The Vie Long Zurito (13061) is a horse hair brush made in Spain. I bought this brush to compare it to other brushes that I have in my rotation. I ordered from Phil at Bullgoose and he sent it in quickly. The price at the time of sale was 32 U.S.D.

The tale of the tape for this brush is as follows:

Overall Height: 105 mm
Loft Size: 57 mm
Knot Size: 23 mm
Maximum Width of Brush Hairs: 56mm

The break in method was established using a generic soap and lathering my forearms once daily for about 5 days to get the brush to bloom before testing began.

The first set of testing involved face lathering using Palmolive stick with a single application across each side of the face and the neck. The same amount of soap was applied for each test and only at the beginning of each test. No additional soap was added and the face was wiped clean and water applied after each pass. The issues for face lathering concern water retention used to generate lather and how the brush builds up lather on the face.

Water retention: Does this brush hold water sufficiently enough? Yes.

Lather: Does this brush build lather well? Yes.

This brush was able to generate 3 face passes and a left over head shave (thin for last face pass and head shave). I would as a normal practice use additional soap on the head, but this was a test to see how much lather could be produced.

When I switched to C.O. Bigelow in the bowl I found that this brush was quick and efficient in making lather. The same with Fitness soap.

The issues for bowl lathering concerns the loading of soaps and creams, building and applying lather, and the application of the lather to the skin.

Loading: Does this brush pick up soaps and creams easily? Yes.

Lather: Does this brush build and apply lather well? Yes. This brush in bowl lathering was able to generate three face passes and a full head pass with a nickel sized dab of C.O. Bigelow.

Application: Does this brush it allow for a soft/smooth/effective application of lather to the skin. Yes. The handle is easy to hold and the hairs allow an effective application of lather to the skin.

Does the brush have a quality feel? Yes, this brush has good backbone (not floppy) and is only mildly scritchy. This brush as far as feel is close to a low end best badger but not near silvertip. It is softer than the boar brushes that I have used in the past.

Appearance: Is the look of the brush attractive? Yes it is very good looking. See for yourself.



In conclusion, the Vie Long is an excellent brush for the price. In my view it is as good of a face lathering brush as the Simpson Colonel X2L in best badger but not as good in terms of bowl lathering as the Simpson Colonel X2L. This is not the best performing brush in my stable due to the availability of Muhle Synthetics, H.I.S. Shaving, and a Silvertip Badger, all of which exceed this in performance. However, those brushes set the bar very high. This brush for many users this brush would shine as a primary brush. It performs well for both face and bowl lathering. I would recommend this brush to any user who wants a solid performing horse in their stable.

[mftoms59]

Very good review, keep in mind the tips will soften like Boar does, it could take 25-30 lathers to see a dramatic difference, though the tips won't necessarily splay. The V-L Handle is comfortable in the hand and Looks good as well, The Horse Hair Brush adds variety to any Brush Rotation and is my favorite Face Lathering Brush.

[JeffOlson]

I love the V-L 13061! It is my main brush, and I use it nearly every day. It performs well, is now very soft after dozens of latherings (but not floppy), and looks great on the counter.

I may be a noob, and I am sure there are many great brushes available, but to my mind this is a very, very good brush. It works well, looks great, does not cost very much money, and does not require a dead animal.