I haven’t used any of their brushes mainly because none of their designs have appealed to me but still sad to hear about them closing
Vielong closing down
- Thread starter Rudy Vey
- Start date
My Vielong horse hair (1/2 mane-1/2 tail) is in my rotation, soft yet great backbone............
Beautyways.com in California has five Vielong brushes in stock.
I never had a full Vie Long brush, but I did have a Lord Randal handle years ago with a Declaration B2 knot. I might have to find a Vie Long now. Wasn't there a B&B brush from them that was made in several colors?
- Thread starter
- #65
I only have one Vie-Long, an Epsilon two-band badger. It is without a doubt my most dense brush. I really like it a lot. It is also the only brush I ever broke in that stank extremely....I used to live close to a pig farm in Germany, and a few days in the year the wind was blowing in the wrong direction....this was the same smell in this brush. Took quite a few hand lathers to get rid of it.
I do not own a horse brush, so I have no idea how these might be. Being around horses a lot and knowing their hair, I cannot imagine how it may feel on ones skin. As far as I know, tail is always a cut end and one might use mane with the original thinner tips; mane is thinner than tail hair.
I do not own a horse brush, so I have no idea how these might be. Being around horses a lot and knowing their hair, I cannot imagine how it may feel on ones skin. As far as I know, tail is always a cut end and one might use mane with the original thinner tips; mane is thinner than tail hair.
I definitely have horse tail brushes that have no cut ends at all.
I can’t help thinking more about Vie-Long’s closure and the way it seemed to me for the last few years that their brushes were getting harder to find, and the ones that a few retailers did have were only the low-end models or old stock. I saw the same thing with Thäter brushes and I fear to say I think I’m seeing something similar happening with some other brush making companies that I like.
I really hope we don’t lose more of these brush makers, and you never know if they have other big sales outlets like manufacturing brushes wholesale for other brands, or making other kinds of brushes. But it worries me all the same and perhaps there is a decline in sales of shaving brushes and/or increase in costs that make the business hard to sustain currently.
I don’t want to inadvertently harm anyone’s business by speculating, so I won’t mention any company names. But I’m sure some of you can think of brush brands that just don’t seem to be in stock or shipping new stock very much at the moment.
I really hope we don’t lose more of these brush makers, and you never know if they have other big sales outlets like manufacturing brushes wholesale for other brands, or making other kinds of brushes. But it worries me all the same and perhaps there is a decline in sales of shaving brushes and/or increase in costs that make the business hard to sustain currently.
I don’t want to inadvertently harm anyone’s business by speculating, so I won’t mention any company names. But I’m sure some of you can think of brush brands that just don’t seem to be in stock or shipping new stock very much at the moment.
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
Sad news. I’d guess the population who would use / buy a shave brush is also dwindling.
I've read that broom makers mechanically flag the tips of the hair they use in their brooms; I wonder if Vielong (and others) have a similar process.
Retracting this question. I was thinking of the B&B essential brushes from Omega. There was a Vie Long special edition for TSN not long ago that was black and white.
Bummer really great horse hair brushes
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I've never owned a Vie-Long brush. I associated the name mainly (pardon the near pun) with horse hair brushes, and the anecdotal reports of their floppiness, and being prong to tangles. The brand didn't appear to be as ubiquitous among UK retailers as other brands either, so while I was vaguely aware of the company, they never really pinged my radar.
Based on Rudy’s experience, I picked up a Vie-Long Epsilon two-band from Gifts and Care:
$70 shipped to me in the US. I’ll give it a spin tomorrow.
$70 shipped to me in the US. I’ll give it a spin tomorrow.
- Thread starter
- #74
Is it really dense?? Mine is just unbelievable densely packed, nothing else comes close, not even a D01.
I agree 100 percent Big Name Company makers of horse hair brushes what a shame yep China will get the contract like everything else !
I think yours might be lofted lower than mine. It seems reasonably dense, but not super dense.
Its proportions are more similar to Duke than a Chubby. It’s bigger than a Duke 3, though. More like a Duke 4.
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That's about my experience with it! I got mine about a year ago and thought they were sold out of them. It's a surprisingly nice knot, but I wish my handle was better finished. Mine is very gelly, the only brush like it that I have.
Here it is after use/blooming:
It is now more “Chubby”-like. (I should have known better than to judge a brush before using it.) It is plenty dense. It’s not the densest brush I own, however, unlike Rudy’s, so I guess there is some variation among knots.
What a nice knot! Very soft with great backbone and flow through and a little scrub. The tips are not treated, so it has a natural feel.
I own some very expensive brushes—and this punches WAY above its weight. To say it is a nice knot for the money is to do it a bit of a disservice. It’s a nice knot period.
That said, it’s probably the best bang for the buck brush purchase I have made to date. $70 from Spain (including shipping). Thanks for the recommendation, Rudy!
It really is a shame Vie-Long is closing shop. They really know how to make an excellent brush.
It is now more “Chubby”-like. (I should have known better than to judge a brush before using it.) It is plenty dense. It’s not the densest brush I own, however, unlike Rudy’s, so I guess there is some variation among knots.
What a nice knot! Very soft with great backbone and flow through and a little scrub. The tips are not treated, so it has a natural feel.
I own some very expensive brushes—and this punches WAY above its weight. To say it is a nice knot for the money is to do it a bit of a disservice. It’s a nice knot period.
That said, it’s probably the best bang for the buck brush purchase I have made to date. $70 from Spain (including shipping). Thanks for the recommendation, Rudy!
It really is a shame Vie-Long is closing shop. They really know how to make an excellent brush.
- Thread starter
- #79
Mailcall
Comte / Tulip black
It's time to scratch the itch...
In order to evalute the knots without soaking them I've swirled them on the inner side of my wrist, because the skin is rather sensitive in this area. That's what I always do whenever evaluating a new brush is needed (some sort of guessing the expected backbone and level of scritch of the knot, if you will).
Out of the box (and still dry) the "all black" brush (26/53mm, made of 35% mane hair and 65% tail hair) appears to be less scritchy and feels a bit denser/provides a bit more backbone than the white haired Comte (24/55mm, 50% mane hair /50 % tail hair).
As stated, I've never used a horse hair brush, so I have no experience if and to which extent the overall feel of the knot might change once it has been soaked. I wouldn't mind floppiness of the knot, those brushes will be used for whipping up soft creams then...
We shall see. Thanks for enabling me
Cheers!
