Different grades of horse hair?

[Taborcarn]

I'm looking at some options for a Vie-Long horse hair brush, and I see they can range from $15 to $50. It's hard for me to tell the difference between these models. Could it mainly just be the quality of the handle?

i'm looking at Amazon (I know I know, I should support the specialized vendors but I'm still new to this and I have a bunch of gift credit there) and this is what I see:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_s...31&h=57d04ca6199b3941e27b630f0044544a98b4e308

It looks like the 12601 is the most inexpensive model, would that one still be of comparable quality to the more expensive options? I've heard mostly good comments about horse brushes here, but I don't know if the lower-end ones were taken into account.

 

[MondoJ]

Vie-Long essentially only has two different hair quality in their brushes, it's mixes of mane to tail, the darker ones are 35/65 mix and are stiffer and dark brown (they usually call them natural) while the lighter ones are a 50/50 mix and are dyed. Look at www.giftsandcare.com and you will better descriptions of the mix of hairs.

What I have found is that the knot size and handle quality dictate the price on the VL brushes in horse.

 

[Taborcarn]

Ok thanks, I'l have to check that out.

 

[Haggises]

The 12705 is a 23mm knot as opposed to the 20mm knot in the 12601. Same price, less conventional looking handle.
(and highly recommended by me)
If I was to buy a new one I'd be tempted by the 13061 or the Beehive LE.

 

[Taborcarn]

Thanks for the clarifications. After looking over the gifts and care site I have a better understanding. Now I'm actually leaning more toward the 13710 or 13755, as those both have the 50/50 blend.

 

[BigBadJohn]

Not to confuse the issue, but I bought one of these from Bullgoose Shaving:

http://www.bullgooseshaving.net/vibubeinnaho.html

Great backbone, soft tips and pushing the brush to your face can produce some "scritch" if needed. Good price for the quality of the brush you get. I love the butterscotch ("orange") beehive handle. Best all-around brush I've owned. Good on soaps and creams. I use this with TABAC soap, Trumpers Lilac cream, and C. E. Bigelowe cream. Works great with all of these. Not trying to oversell or gush, but it is that good in my opinion. It's replaced my Semogue SOC as my personal "go-to" brush.

 

[JHCC]

Pretty irrelevant, but when I worked for a violin repair shop about 20 years ago, I noticed that my boss would carefully sort the horsehair and throw away almost half of it as unsuitable for violin bows -- all the hairs had to be perfectly even and straight. If I'd known then what I know now, I might have saved the rest of it for making shaving brushes!