Vie Long Epsilon 2 band

Anyone on B&B own the 2nd generation Vie Long Epsilon 2 band 27/50 or 55 mm on here (images are a plus)?

I just pulled the trigger on one based on the images I've seen and a couple short reviews, but information seems to be scarce. I'd love to see a little feedback here on B&B .

Haven't given in to the urge to order one.

The specs are just out of my wheel house. Too large for my preferences.

That being said, the knots look fantastic!
If they made a taller handle model with a knot in the 21 - 24 mm range I'd probably cave and pull the trigger.

Derek. I have one at 28 x 55mm and another at 28.5 x 53mm. If I were to make a suggestion, I would forego the 50mm one as you'll find it has too much backbone, unless, of course, you enjoy that. I find the 55mm one to have the perfect combination of soft tips and great backbone. These are one of the best brushes being offered, at the moment, considering their price! They are superb. I plan on having the two of them set into custom handles as I find the stock handles much too small.

celestino said:

Derek. I have one at 28 x 55mm and another at 28.5 x 53mm. If I were to make a suggestion, I would forego the 50mm one as you'll find it has too much backbone, unless, of course, you enjoy that. I find the 55mm one to have the perfect combination of soft tips and great backbone. These are one of the best brushes being offered, at the moment, considering their price! They are superb. I plan on having the two of them set into custom handles as I find the stock handles much too small.

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Shoot...jumped on the 50mm one already. Guess we'll get to see what I think.

I have one, that I measured to be 28mm/54mm and I can only agree on everything Celestino said. The 50mm one would definitely have too much backbone for my liking and the one I have is a super brush.

celestino said:

Derek. I have one at 28 x 55mm and another at 28.5 x 53mm. If I were to make a suggestion, I would forego the 50mm one as you'll find it has too much backbone, unless, of course, you enjoy that. I find the 55mm one to have the perfect combination of soft tips and great backbone. These are one of the best brushes being offered, at the moment, considering their price! They are superb. I plan on having the two of them set into custom handles as I find the stock handles much too small.

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+1

I have a 2-Band in 27mm x 50mm in butterscotch. It looks really good and all but it's definetly too stiff for my likings. Semogue Owners Club is much better for me when we are talking about 2-band knots. Epsilon's knot needs too much force to splay at all and when doing that it gives me brush burn too easily and the tips feels litte too pricky too.

Here's a picture of mine what now just sits in it's box in the closet as i just cannot use it without destroying my face.

WoS_, you could always put your brush on the BST or have the knot extracted and set into a custom handle with an increased loft.
Good luck.


Derek, good luck with the 50mm and if you find it has too much backbone, you may want to consider the above recommendations.

celestino said:

WoS_, you could always put your brush on the BST or have the knot extracted and set into a custom handle with an increased loft.
Good luck.


Derek, good luck with the 50mm and if you find it has too much backbone, you may want to consider the above recommendations.

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I'm guessing it is going to be similar to a 28mm TGN finest I already have, hopefully with softer tips.

[MENTION=70368]paintflinger[/MENTION] - Imaging your TGN finest packed with about 2-2.5 times as much hair and yeah you get the picture...

blzrfn said:

@paintflinger - Imaging your TGN finest packed with about 2-2.5 times as much hair and yeah you get the picture...

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oh...wow, gonna be a ride, that's for sure.

Is the two band hair in their other brushes different than the hair in the Epsilon line?

bakerbarber said:

Is the two band hair in their other brushes different than the hair in the Epsilon line?

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I think it depends on the brush/batch. There's a lack of info on the vie long 2 bands which is why I wanted this thread.

I own a 2015 LE Epsilon 26/50mm two band from the first batch. It a great brush for me as I a big fan of short loft brushes with ample backbone and this one does not disappoint.

According to Juan of G&C there were a couple changes made to the handle from the LE to the current production:

Gifts & Care said:

Hello,

I’m very sorry for the delay but I just notice I did not reply your question. We are re-considering to make a new batch of faux-ebony shaving brushes. They will have the same specifications as today's range.

That means same hair density as L.E., but stamped logo instead of laser carve as L.E. Also, there’s 4mm difference in the thickness of the handle between the L.E. faux ebony and today’s range.

I hope this helps and apologise again for the delay in our answer.
Juan.

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Here are some images of my 2015 LE Epsilon.







Here are some comparison shots.




From the left:
Vie-Long 75th Anniversary Limited Edition Two Band
24mm knot
55mm loft

Shavemac Two-Band D01
22mm knot
46mm loft
Fan shaped

Epsilon by Vie-Long
26mm knot
50mm loft

bakerbarber said:

Is the two band hair in their other brushes different than the hair in the Epsilon line?

Click to expand...

Although the loft and density on the two brushes is different I noticed that the tips of my Epsilon two band have a face feel similar to my Vie-Long 75th anniversary two band.

celestino said:

WoS_, you could always put your brush on the BST or have the knot extracted and set into a custom handle with an increased loft.
Good luck.

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It's a shame that i actually quite like the handle but setting the knot into another handle is a good option too. Just don't know anybody who could do this for me for a fair price and sending it to some custom brush maker to USA or somewhere else outside to europe would be quite expensive on the postages. I just might have to google some info about taking the knot apart from the handle myself. Just don't want to destroy the brush as i've only used it about five times.

I've been also thinking selling/trading it in BST here.

I just measured mine: 29 mm with a loft of 48 mm. Extreme densely stuffed two band hair. Like it a lot.

Probably picking the brush up tomorrow afternoon.

Picked the brush up this morning and I'm pretty underwhelmed. Knot looks pretty sparse and does not look to be all that large. I won't be able to check it out till 7 tonight, but I'm not all that pumped for it currently. Backbone is good though and the other items in my order are pretty awesome. Never expect aqua balsamica to smell the way it does.

Any chance you can post some pics? They must have made some changes if the 2-band at 50mm loft is sparse. I only own the 3-band 27/50 and it is terrific. Extremely dense but very soft as well.

shevek said:

Any chance you can post some pics? They must have made some changes if the 2-band at 50mm loft is sparse. I only own the 3-band 27/50 and it is terrific. Extremely dense but very soft as well.

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Later tonight or just shaving with it tomorrow. Long days at work this week and then I've got to hit the gym.