I wonder ifthere are any horse hair shaving brush lovers in the forum?
Any advice on Horse hair brushes?
- Thread starter takisg
- Start date
Vie-Long makes the best horse hair brushes,the quality is great.I would pay a little extra and get a 23mm or 24mm knot with the handle of your choice.The smaller knots don't have many hairs,but they will work and are good for travel.The barber "pro" extra brushes are 18mm knots with very long strands of hair.These are a lot of fun to use if used properly,but for a first horse brush I would go with the largest,densest knot.The horse hair knots do not like much pressure when lathering,so just utilize the tips,too much pressure and you'll end up with a "hole" in the center of the knot.The only other horse hair brushes I know of currently are by J&M brochas de afeitar,also from Spain.The Turkish brushes that many claim to be horse are actually pig,but some will argue otherwise.
Gifts & Care has a great selection, and they will do custom lofts. I also have a the Vie Long Limited Edition Beehive from Bullgoose that I really enjoy. I typically see blends in 35/65 tail/mane, which will have a bit more stritch and backbone, and 50/50 tail/mane, which is softer but will not have the same backbone as 35/65 at the same loft height. If you want a face lathering brush in the 50/50 I'd get a shorter loft. I have a Vie Long 13066B with a 24mm knot and custom 48mm loft from Gifts & Care that's excellent for face lathering. Love my horse hairs.
I've got a horse hair Vielong, the JLpetree handle from lees razors. It's a great brush.
i go kind of hard with it too so I can get a good scrub during a face lather.
i go kind of hard with it too so I can get a good scrub during a face lather.
I've got the 100% horsehair Vie Long. I don't remember the exact tail to mane mix on this one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008MNGXDA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Bristles are super soft with tons of scrub, but little back bone. I'm not sure why people place this between badger and boar in terms of backbone, but I find it to be the floppiest I own.
Overall, I really like it and only face lather with it even though it is floppy (feels good on the face).
P.S. When I broke it in, I just lather a puck of Williams and let it sit for a couple hours, repeatedly rinsing, wringing, and then lather again. I had no smell after that. Be aware that there will be some weird colors coming out from the middle of the brush. I'm not sure what they were as my knot was not dyed to look like badger.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008MNGXDA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Bristles are super soft with tons of scrub, but little back bone. I'm not sure why people place this between badger and boar in terms of backbone, but I find it to be the floppiest I own.
Overall, I really like it and only face lather with it even though it is floppy (feels good on the face).
P.S. When I broke it in, I just lather a puck of Williams and let it sit for a couple hours, repeatedly rinsing, wringing, and then lather again. I had no smell after that. Be aware that there will be some weird colors coming out from the middle of the brush. I'm not sure what they were as my knot was not dyed to look like badger.
In the case of your brush it is 50/50 mane/tail with a 20mm knot and 54mm loft. A higher mane to tail ratio will make the brush softer and give it less backbone. Combine that with the smaller knot size and taller loft, and the brush will be floppier, which can be desirable or not depending on what you personally like. As a contrast my Bullgoose Vie Long has a 55mm loft but also a 25mm knot and a lower mane to tail ratio at 35/65. This gives it good backbone. My 50/50 mane to tail brush has about the same backbone as my Bullgoose brush but it has a lower 48mm loft to account for the softer bristles.
Ah, well that explains it. I really like the floopiness personally, but I'm thinking most wouldn't.
Buy a couple and see if you like them. That's my advice. Bullgoose has excellent ones including their LE's and those are my current favorites. Gifts and Care also has a big selection of Vie Longs. They also show up occasionally on the BST for very good prices.
I've grown into a bore on this topic, but horsehairs are wonderful brushes. Great flow through, nice face feel with far less scritch than you'd think (though not as soft as the softest badgers) and the seeming ability to make great lather no matter what the soap is. Seriously, just doesn't matter.
I've grown into a bore on this topic, but horsehairs are wonderful brushes. Great flow through, nice face feel with far less scritch than you'd think (though not as soft as the softest badgers) and the seeming ability to make great lather no matter what the soap is. Seriously, just doesn't matter.
I have this brush, cant remember the model number, i was told its quite scrictchy but was VERY surprised, it makes a great lather and the handle is very comfy, one thing i noticed the the bristles hold heat very very well, once it breaks it would probably be a great face lathering brush - i brought it just to try horse, its a great brush and very very cheap.
Get one.
I have this brush, cant remember the model number, i was told its quite scrictchy but was VERY surprised, it makes a great lather and the handle is very comfy, one thing i noticed the the bristles hold heat very very well, once it breaks it would probably be a great face lathering brush - i brought it just to try horse, its a great brush and very very cheap.
I have this brush. The model number is 12705. It's a great brush but I find its a little more scritchy than my now broken in Omega Boar. Do horse hair brushes also soften up after extended use?
I've got this one. It's a Vie Long, white hair, fan with a butterscotch handle. Great face lathering brush. Needed some time to break in but now I'm really enjoying using it, very soft bristles.
A bath in Ship-Shape will usually reduce the scratch somewhat...
I have a Vie-Long 13070. I like the handle, but I find the knot much too floppy and scritchy at the same time. The knot isn't dense and it's shed more hairs than I'd like. It lathers like a beast, though. If I were to do it over again, I'd get a bigger knot as some have suggested. I wouldn't do it again, though.
I have the Red one above, it is a little floppy but hella fun to use. And a great value. I've heard the model number being called... Peleon?
Mine keeps getting better with age. Now no scratch at all, but still high backbone.
Love my V-L. It gets daily use. Comfy - efficient what's not to like?
V-L 13061 - 65/35
I love this brush. It took about a month of using to break it in. I face lather with it and find that it is either not overly scratchy or my face is not overly sensitive. It does a great job with anything I've used it with - soap, cream, croap.
