Vielong closing down

[eezee]

This is so sad. I have three Vie-Long brushes and love them all.

 

[Pat Puma]

I am sad to see these companies like Thater and Vie Long shutting down. We also recently lost ATT and Talbot, and Brad Sears will be retiring soon, perhaps ending Morris and Forndran in the process. I think the economic reasons already discussed certainly are playing into this, but I also think wet-shaving is not as popular as it once was. Those of us who have been doing it for a while always will, but we have plenty of gear. I don't think our hobby is picking up new people at the pace that it did five to twenty years ago. If you are wondering what I base this on, I am seeing items on the BST and wet-shaving Facebook pages sitting for sale with good prices, but they don't sell. Even raffles don't fill. I don't know what the participation is like here on B&B, I'm sure it is better than other fora, but some of the other ones are dying, and TSN shut down earlier this year. All you have to do is go outside and look at the faces around you. Most men go unshaven, even those whose facial hair is a poor scraggly excuse for a beard.

 

[JAHE]

Ordered this brush from Fendrihan two days before this thread. If I would have known Vie-long was shutting down I would have ordered the black handled one as well.
Alfil horse hair 26mm x 53mm
I have no idea what Alfil means.

Tihat's a nice brush. Congrats.
The handle is made of resin, correct?

Did you already enjoy a shave with this knot? I hope the tips don't feel scritchy.

Cheers!

 

[Rudy Vey]

I am sad to see these companies like Thater and Vie Long shutting down. We also recently lost ATT and Talbot, and Brad Sears will be retiring soon, perhaps ending Morris and Forndran in the process. I think the economic reasons already discussed certainly are playing into this, but I also think wet-shaving is not as popular as it once was. Those of us who have been doing it for a while always will, but we have plenty of gear. I don't think our hobby is picking up new people at the pace that it did five to twenty years ago. If you are wondering what I base this on, I am seeing items on the BST and wet-shaving Facebook pages sitting for sale with good prices, but they don't sell. Even raffles don't fill. I don't know what the participation is like here on B&B, I'm sure it is better than other fora, but some of the other ones are dying, and TSN shut down earlier this year. All you have to do is go outside and look at the faces around you. Most men go unshaven, even those whose facial hair is a poor scraggly excuse for a beard.

Do not forget Mozingo, he has also closed. It does not only happen to the bigger companies, but also to us, the smaller ones, or as some say "artisans".

 

[Tathlum]

Tihat's a nice brush. Congrats.
The handle is made of resin, correct?

Did you already enjoy a shave with this knot? I hope the tips don't feel scritchy.

Cheers!

Thank you! Yes the handle is made of resin. When the knot is dry I can press it against my cheek and the tips are super soft, no pricking or scritchy feeling. When face lathering I paint the soap on then scrub with a light splay, no scritch. Then finish building the lather with paint strokes and that is when I felt some scritch. Knot loaded with soap and using paint strokes the tip forms a ^ shape and if I paint to fast it can feel a little scritchy.
Out of the box knot had no foul odor. Shed about half a dozen hairs first lather. Knot has really good flow through. Worthy of the $40 I paid for it!

 

[JAHE]

Thank you! Yes the handle is made of resin. When the knot is dry I can press it against my cheek and the tips are super soft, no pricking or scritchy feeling. When face lathering I paint the soap on then scrub with a light splay, no scritch. Then finish building the lather with paint strokes and that is when I felt some scritch. Knot loaded with soap and using paint strokes the tip forms a ^ shape and if I paint to fast it can feel a little scritchy.
Out of the box knot had no foul odor. Shed about half a dozen hairs first lather. Knot has really good flow through. Worthy of the $40 I paid for it!

Thank you very much for your detailed report, I appreciate it. @Tathlum
It appears to be a very enjoyable brush, that's great.

Besides, can anyone pls teach me on the impact of mane hair used in a knot?
Sometimes the knot is made of 50% mane hair and 50% tail hair, sometimes the portion of tail hair is higher.

What's the difference to expect?

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Besides, can anyone pls teach me on the impact of mane hair used in a knot?
Sometimes the knot is made of 50% mane hair and 50% tail hair, sometimes the portion of tail hair is higher.

What's the difference to expect?

Mane hair is finer. It tends to be slightly softer at the tip and much less backbone than tail hair. Not that tail hair is particularly stiff, but it is coarser in general. As the tips get "flagged" (sort of like a boar bristle splitting) they will get softer and softer regardless of which end of the horse they came from.

So a higher ratio of tail to mane should be less floppy and possibly more scrubby.

 

[JAHE]

Mane hair is finer. It tends to be slightly softer at the tip and much less backbone than tail hair. Not that tail hair is particularly stiff, but it is coarser in general. As the tips get "flagged" (sort of like a boar bristle splitting) they will get softer and softer regardless of which end of the horse they came from.

So a higher ratio of tail to mane should be less floppy and possibly more scrubby.

Thanks . Now I understand (I guess so, at least )

I often read complaints about a more or less pronounced scritchiness of horse hair knots. Is it fair to say that a higher portion of tale hair likely will make a knot feel more scritchy?
I absolutely don't mind "scrubb" in a brush knot but don't enjoy any sort of scritchy (= prickly) face feel, thus my question.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Thanks . Now I understand (I guess so, at least )

I often read complaints about a more or less pronounced scritchiness of horse hair knots. Is it fair to say that a higher portion of tale hair likely will make a knot feel more scritchy?
I absolutely don't mind "scrubb" in a brush knot but don't enjoy any sort of scritchy (= prickly) face feel, thus my question.

I don't have a ton of experience with horsehair brushes although I have a fair bit of experience with horses. I have one vintage one that is as soft as a makeup brush; I have a Vielong, and I have experimented with tying my own knots from a hank of 50/50 mane and tail. The Vielong I have was a bit prickly at first but I discovered that it was entirely due to a handful (maybe 20?) of coarse, sharp hairs-- it's a red-grayish knot but the coarse hairs were darker. Once I plucked those it is not prickly at all. The experimental knots I made were not prickly either, somewhat scrubby, yes. If I had a better method to flag the tips I think they could be quite promising.

Horsehair is quite variable, even from the same horse, which is why I think you see such mixed reviews of horsehair knots (i.e. some being silky soft and some being more prickly. And horsehair does get softer as it breaks in.

 

[amateur]

Of course, it is sad that well-known European manufacturers are closing down. But Chinese companies are taking their place. And there are more and more of them. And the quality of the products is improving.

 

[Roy]

One thing about all companies that close, or products that change such as MWF, buy something you really like whilst it is available.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Thanks . Now I understand (I guess so, at least )

I often read complaints about a more or less pronounced scritchiness of horse hair knots. Is it fair to say that a higher portion of tale hair likely will make a knot feel more scritchy?
I absolutely don't mind "scrubb" in a brush knot but don't enjoy any sort of scritchy (= prickly) face feel, thus my question.

From my limited experience the biggest effect on how a horse hair brush feels is whether the hairs have cut or natural tips. I suppose it’s because the horse hairs are long and the knot makers will use the whole hair and not only the end part. You can usually see pretty clearly from pictures what proportion of the hair tips are cut within a knot versus the fine, tapered natural ends. Obviously the natural tips are softest and the cut tips are more likely to scritch.

Second biggest effect seems to be the hair thickness itself - white hair seems often to be finer and I’ve got some white horse brushes that are fluffy soft, almost like a synthetic. But there seems to be wide variability in the thickness of hair from horse to horse, just like with human hair, and colour alone doesn’t seem to be a reliable guide.

I think mane vs tail hair is a much smaller difference. My softest horse brush is 100% tail hair but it has all natural tips and pretty fine white hair. It’s actually extraordinarily soft for a shaving brush, but it has decent backbone as the loft is not so high. That one is a Riva brush but the white-haired Vie-Long horse I posted earlier in this thread is very close (also seems to be 100% natural tips and I can’t see a single cut hair in the knot).

 

[HVenture138]

Very sad to see vie-long go. Their 2band was top notch. Coupled with the loss of thater it’s very worrying to see. Does anyone know if M&F is also kaput?

 

[BullGoose]

A large part of the problem is that the market has become flooded with products -this pertains not just to shaving brushes but also razors, shaving soaps etc. Part of this flooding is due to the explosion of part-time artisans and part of it is due to the dizzying number of products being released every week from China (and Pakistan to a lesser extent). There simply are not enough customers to go around. When you add a struggling economy to the mix, its a recipe for disaster.

 

[JAHE]

From my limited experience the biggest effect on how a horse hair brush feels is whether the hairs have cut or natural tips. I suppose it’s because the horse hairs are long and the knot makers will use the whole hair and not only the end part. You can usually see pretty clearly from pictures what proportion of the hair tips are cut within a knot versus the fine, tapered natural ends. Obviously the natural tips are softest and the cut tips are more likely to scritch.

Second biggest effect seems to be the hair thickness itself - white hair seems often to be finer and I’ve got some white horse brushes that are fluffy soft, almost like a synthetic. But there seems to be wide variability in the thickness of hair from horse to horse, just like with human hair, and colour alone doesn’t seem to be a reliable guide.

I think mane vs tail hair is a much smaller difference. My softest horse brush is 100% tail hair but it has all natural tips and pretty fine white hair. It’s actually extraordinarily soft for a shaving brush, but it has decent backbone as the loft is not so high. That one is a Riva brush but the white-haired Vie-Long horse I posted earlier in this thread is very close (also seems to be 100% natural tips and I can’t see a single cut hair in the knot).

Thanks your for your explanation, it was an very informative read... and I'm curious now. I guess I'm going to add a horse hair brush in the foreseeable future.
Vie Long Comte, you say?

Again, thank you

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Thanks your for your explanation, it was an very informative read... and I'm curious now. I guess I'm going to add a horse hair brush in the foreseeable future.
Vie Long Comte, you say?

Again, thank you

Yes. Vie-Long Comte is what I say - the white hair one with the black handle. Very good horse brush and the handle material is nice quality. For the price you can’t go wrong.

 

[Pat Puma]

Very sad to see vie-long go. Their 2band was top notch. Coupled with the loss of thater it’s very worrying to see. Does anyone know if M&F is also kaput?

I am waiting to see what happens there, too. I have been extremely happy with my M&Fs made since Lee started collaborating with Brad. I also have one older M&F that is very good. It would be nice to see M&F continue, but I would not be surprised to see Lee retire. I remember before he partnered with Brad, he had just about disappeared for a few years.

 

[Balin]

I am waiting to see what happens there, too. I have been extremely happy with my M&Fs made since Lee started collaborating with Brad. I also have one older M&F that is very good. It would be nice to see M&F continue, but I would not be surprised to see Lee retire. I remember before he partnered with Brad, he had just about disappeared for a few years.

I think they have both already retired and are only maintaining the website until the fall of 2024 to honour warranty repairs. I read the post in another online community.

 

[ewk]

Cool. I am afraid USPS may have lost mine. Dropped off the tracking site. Too early to lose hope, but prior experience worries me.

All is well in the world. The two synthetic brushes from Bullgoose arrived today. I have been using the horse hair brush from Maggard's all week. The long handled brush is the first time I have used that style handle. Very comfortable, and makes easy work of lathering the dome. The knot is soft, comfortable, and splays well.

 

[Pat Puma]

I think they have both already retired and are only maintaining the website until the fall of 2024 to honour warranty repairs. I read the post in another online community.

I saw a FB post from Brad yesterday stating that he had gotten 2 band knots, so he must also be working through some stock before he shuts down for good.