Vie Long Horse Hair

Good Day Gentlemen,

I currently have many, many brushes in my rotation which consist mostly of Badger, I do have a few vintage Ever-Ready and such in Boar and Bristle but I have no horse hair brushes and was thinking about adding one to my rotation so looking for some input from those that use horse hair and heave dealt with Vie Long.

I have heard that horse hair smells badly the first several times out but so did several of my badger brushes, not that I am unhappy with any I have, well maybe one just looking to add a touch of variety

Here are the two I am looking at and my choice was based on one it being horse hair and two the color scheme.

https://bullgooseshaving.com/collec...rushes/products/vie-long-13061m-shaving-brush

https://bullgooseshaving.com/collec...urito-blanco-13061b-natural-white-horse-brush

If you are buying from Bullgoose, then I would recommend the Vie-Long Lord Randal in white horse hair. It's a nice all-around brush and a BG exclusive.

I like Vie-Long horse hair brushes, but the knot tends to clump up when wet compared to boars and badgers. To mitigate this, I would suggest dunking the horse hair knot into a vessel containing standing water for around 45 seconds just prior to shaving, rather than soaking, then shake it off lightly and load from the puck or cream in the bowl, adding small splashes of water to build the lather as you go. Not my favorite knot for face-lathering, but the lather can be built from the puck in a bowl for sure. Go gentle with it, though, as horse hair knots are alleged to form a whole in the center if too much pressure has been applied (I'd love to see a picture actually illustrating this).

I find the 50/50 (white or bleached and striped) mane to tail ratio to be preferable on the skin to the 35/65 (brown hair) mane to tail ratio. Strictly bowl-lathering and painting on the lather, the 35/65 ration is fine though.

Another possibility is this one: https://bullgooseshaving.com/products/vie-long-cachurro-04312-professional-horse-hair-brush.

The metal near the knot is really nice in creating velocity when lathering in the bowl, and you can also scrunch up on the knot with your hand when loading from the puck with just the tips. Technically, a barber's brush, and quite versatile in the right hands. But again, I would not suggest soaking it very long and would suggest using a paint-brush approach when applying the lather as built to the face. Great brush for a great price, and perhaps quite unlike any other in your collection.

I love my Vie Long, but the scent is far worse than any pig or badger funk (IMO). It took a lot of bathing before it dissipated enough to use and then several uses before it went away.

I haven't had much luck with horsehair; the pungent odor never went away in mine, no matter what I tried and the brush was very rough (and I'm saying that as a guy who primarily uses boars!). I wish you more luck.

I have this one: https://bullgooseshaving.com/products/vie-long-cachurro-04312-professional-horse-hair-brush . The wood started cracking within a few months, but it has been a fantastic brush otherwise.

I have several vie long brushes and honestly they are one of my favorite makers. I very much like horsehair knots and also happen to love a horse/badger mixed knot brush I have. In fact it is in my top 5 brushes for sure. Its a beehive handle and quite frankly I put it up there with brushes 2-3x the cost.
Anyway back to your post. My point is I have a good bit of experience with this maker and their various handle/knot combos and am quite a fan of horsehair knots. The lord Randall in white horse has been mentioned. I love that brush. That being said I have the 1306 1m as well and like it very much. It is a beautiful handle. Comparing the 2 knots in the brushes I give a slight edge to the white horsehair knot. It is slightly softer at the tips and maintains good backbone. In fact I'd go so far as to say the backbone of the 2 knots is almost identical but the white has softer tips.
It really comes down to this IMO, how much scritch do u prefer in your brush. If more then go with the 1306 1m, if less then go with the 1306 1b. As u said u like that handle and I agree aesthetically its really appealing and it functions just fine.
The one vie long I don't have is the wood one with the metal at the knot. I saw that was mentioned. In all honesty that looks like a cheap brush to me and doesn't appeal to me at all. That's just personal preference though.
I can assure you of this, the smell of all my horse knots is completely gone. Some took a bit longer but all 100% disappear (to my nose anyway!)
I kind of like the olivewood handle they have as well but again, personal preference but I told u my impression on the business end of the brush (knot) & the difference between the 2 you mentioned. Hopefully it helps.
In my book you can't go wrong with either but I slightly prefer the white for softer tips reason.
If you want a horse with really soft tips that maintains excellent backbone their horse/badger mixed knots take the prize for sure but they are pricey.

Thanks for all the input so far, I currently have no brush that has alot of scritch, a few have medium backbone so I may put the 13061M at the top for now as I really like the handle design and color and the unbleached hair looks more natural but as several have said it has alot more scritch.

I have not tried a Vi Long but I can comment on my Virginia Sheng White Horse Knot. I wanted to try a horse brush and had a handle to spare to I ordered one of hers.

It is a bit on the floppy side, but it still lathers easily. Face feel is extremely soft. Mush softer than any of my Silvertip Badgers. It makes an interesting contrast so it gets used about once every four to six weeks (I have over 35 brushes to rotate through). I used it this morning with Mitchel's Wool Fat and it lathered up as easy or easier than any of my Badgers.

I have noticed that it takes longer to dry. It often needs a 2nd day to completely dry.

The animal odor persisted longer than with any other brush I have had, but once it came clean it is just fine.

Big Jim said:

I have not tried a Vi Long but I can comment on my Virginia Sheng White Horse Knot. I wanted to try a horse brush and had a handle to spare to I ordered one of hers.

It is a bit on the floppy side, but it still lathers easily. Face feel is extremely soft. Mush softer than any of my Silvertip Badgers. It makes an interesting contrast so it gets used about once every four to six weeks (I have over 35 brushes to rotate through). I used it this morning with Mitchel's Wool Fat and it lathered up as easy or easier than any of my Badgers.

I have noticed that it takes longer to dry. It often needs a 2nd day to completely dry.

The animal odor persisted longer than with any other brush I have had, but once it came clean it is just fine.

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I wasn't aware she carried horse knots as it has been a long time since I have purchased any knots from her (or at all for that matter). At any rate your desc of the Scheng White Horse knot is exactly how I would describe the horse knot I got from Woodcraft. It is not white horse it is died to look like a badger but it is so soft. Anyway I'm glad u mentioned that VS has horse knots as I went on the bay and purchased a few brown and a few white along with 6 boar and a couple extra dense finest badgers.

I now have 5 Horse Hair Brushes and use one every Day. Zenith makes a excellent Horse Hair (the chrome one) that has been one of My Favorites .The Vie-Long (in the Middle ) is right up there also. Both came with hardly any barn yard smell. The white one is a Ever-Ready that I put a white Horse Hair from Virginia Sheng ,it is super soft but a bit to floppy. I also have a Brown Horse Hair 23.5 That I put in a Vintage Ever-Ready 150, It is My Favorite to date . $3.50 for The knot

Check Amazon , They carry Vie-Long and seem to be a bit less
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008O95ZYA/ref=s9_wsim_gw_g194_i1_r?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=877QK559TCFEGDVZCCYT&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=6aad23bd-3035-4a40-b691-0eefb1a18396&pf_rd_i=desktop

[url]https://www.amazon.com/Vie-Long-12705-Shaving-Acrylic-Handle/dp/B008MN7QDG/ref=lp_8378858011_1_3_a_it?srs=8378858011&ie=UTF8&qid=1467476388&sr=8-3
[/URL]

+1 on post no. 3; the Cachurro is very nice, very unusual and did NOT stink more than others out of the box.

AA

Another vote for the 04312. It performs like an omega 48, but on a smaller scale imho.

I enjoy both the 04312 and Lord Randal (in both white and brown). Both are excellent.

I've never had a problem with my horse hair knots tangling, but I do not swirl on my face with any brush.

I agree that the 04312 looks odd, but it performs wonderfully--a true pro.

SteveShaves said:

I wasn't aware she carried horse knots as it has been a long time since I have purchased any knots from her (or at all for that matter). At any rate your desc of the Scheng White Horse knot is exactly how I would describe the horse knot I got from Woodcraft. It is not white horse it is died to look like a badger but it is so soft. Anyway I'm glad u mentioned that VS has horse knots as I went on the bay and purchased a few brown and a few white along with 6 boar and a couple extra dense finest badgers.

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Your welcome. I bought a white horse, a boar, and a synthetic on the same order. I have not mounted the synthetic yet. I've always been happy with her knots.

Interested in the thread - I think the handle the OP is looking at is a great looking handle. I like the blonde bristles in that handle.

I bought the VS blonde horsehair and it is too floppy and it tangles miserably. I had been looking at the VS 23.5 brown and the replies here led me to purchase 2. Hope they do not tangle.

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I have the 13061 in white hair. Nice little brush. Has lost only a few hairs. Holds enough lather for my 2-pass plus touch up shaves. The smell didn't bother me, and went away quickly.