12705B has loft of 50mm w/ 50/50 horse hair while 12705 has loft of 57mm with 30/70 horse hair. That's a pretty big difference leading to the different experiences. I would rather try out the 12705B in your case but my 12705 has been rough so far.
That's not my experience at all with the 12705B, the white 50/50 fan shape horse hair brush. The loft is only 50mm and it's a fairly dense 24mm knot, how can that be floppy? White 50/50 horsehair is soft with minimal scritch.
Much more floppy would be the Vie-Long 04312 Cachurro horse hair brush. That is only a 21mm knot with a 65mm loft.
______Tall & Thin_____vs____Short & Chubby____
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Has anyone used the Vie-Long horse hair brushes?
- Thread starter Yamato
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Which model vie-long do you use? Really think I might grab one now.
Ive tried the Cremo horse hair brush, which is made by Vie Long. It was OK. I found it to be kind of like a really floppy badger.
IMO, the only really redeeming value of a horse hair brush is that the animal isnt killed to harvest the hair.
IMO, the only really redeeming value of a horse hair brush is that the animal isnt killed to harvest the hair.
I recently wrote about my experience with horsehairs here. TL;DR: After initial skepticism, I ended up liking it so much I PIF’d my Semogue boar and now have my badger up for sale. The Cachurro is floppy, but I’ve learned to squeeze the excess water out before lathering so the soap doesn’t fly. There’s another guy on the forums who swears the Zenith brand of horse brush is better.
Another option is to get a loft from Shave Forge and handle from Whipped Dog and combine them.
Another option is to get a loft from Shave Forge and handle from Whipped Dog and combine them.
i've had and enjoyed a vie long horse hair brush. nice brush, a bit stiff.
ultimately sold it off.
still prefer badgers, whether pure or best.
ultimately sold it off.
still prefer badgers, whether pure or best.
I got a Vie-Long for Christmas, the one with the metal cap. It shed like crazy from the get-go. I finally contacted Badger, and they sent me a new one. It was much better, but still sheds too much in my opinion. I will say Badger customer service was real friendly and helpful.
After reading some of the posts, maybe I am not optimally using this brush. The first one was shedding before I had ever used it - and continued at a high rate. It is a real hassle picking bristles out of your lather, or if you missed one, getting it caught on your razor. It didn't help my sink drain either.
I had only used synthetic brushes in the past. I will say I like how it lathers on my face. Very soft bristles (hairs?).
After reading some of the posts, maybe I am not optimally using this brush. The first one was shedding before I had ever used it - and continued at a high rate. It is a real hassle picking bristles out of your lather, or if you missed one, getting it caught on your razor. It didn't help my sink drain either.
I had only used synthetic brushes in the past. I will say I like how it lathers on my face. Very soft bristles (hairs?).
Wow. That’s shedding like crazy. Sorry to see that. I can honestly say I’ve only noticed one hair leave my brush since the time I’ve owned it, and I’ve used it nearly every day since starting this thread. Maybe I got lucky.
Are you mashing the brush at all? I’ve been only lightly scrunching it in the soap bowl and mostly using it to “paint” the lather on my face, not scruching at all.
Are you mashing the brush at all? I’ve been only lightly scrunching it in the soap bowl and mostly using it to “paint” the lather on my face, not scruching at all.
I have a Vie-Long that I use often. I like it. It retains a great amount of water and works well for face lathering for me.
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Ironically, I just started scrunching the replacement brush in the bowl and then painting it on my face, and it almost seems better. Before, I was picking some soap up and working it onto my face. Maybe it was a "batch" problem with this brush. I guess I have been using the replacement one for almost a year now. BUT, I have a synthetic in the mail from the here on BST
. And will be investigating badger brushes....
I have a blonde hair vie long. Cost a fiver I think and has been a good little brush. No hair loss, no stink, after a little break in period it's been soft and flexible with either creams or soaps.
I've been looking at horse hair as well, but yet to pull the trigger (new to the world of DE and sticking with my synthetic for now).
If you are UK based then Maguire's Barber Shop in Newcastle seem to have a decent selection to choose from and at (I think) reasonable prices.
www.maguiresbarbershop.co.uk
If you are UK based then Maguire's Barber Shop in Newcastle seem to have a decent selection to choose from and at (I think) reasonable prices.
Shaving Brushes - Horse Hair - MAGUIRE'S Barbershop
Great brushes !.....if it's your first get the thickest knot , and remember the rules on how to use horsehair !
A while back I got 2 custom fan shape horse brushes from VieLong.
Ultimately they fell out of my regular rotation. As others have also mentioned, they are a bit prickly.
NICE lathering action though
For me personally, for face lathering, 2-band badgers are where it's at.
Explored boars (also quite ok), explored synthetics (nope, not for me at all). I'll stick to 2-bands.
Ultimately they fell out of my regular rotation. As others have also mentioned, they are a bit prickly.
NICE lathering action though
For me personally, for face lathering, 2-band badgers are where it's at.
Explored boars (also quite ok), explored synthetics (nope, not for me at all). I'll stick to 2-bands.
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I still need to read the thread in full, but here is my first Vielong which I bought a couple of months ago and am now thoroughly enjoying.
It took me a few uses to understand and learn how to use the tip of the brush to avoid the dreaded donut. And for this brush, I recommend you not soak in water. I lost a little paint at the top of the collar which I will try to touch up.
If you have never used horse hair, you should. Great stuff and cruelty free which is pretty cool.
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It took me a few uses to understand and learn how to use the tip of the brush to avoid the dreaded donut. And for this brush, I recommend you not soak in water. I lost a little paint at the top of the collar which I will try to touch up.
If you have never used horse hair, you should. Great stuff and cruelty free which is pretty cool.
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My brush has a 24mm 50/50 main/tail mix knot and loves creams, especially LEA. The mane provides softness and the tail backbone/firmness. I plan to next try a 35/65 mix to get even more backbone.
My advice is not to compare these brushes to boar and badger. They're all just different. The good news is there are plenty of options between 10 and 20 USD.
After mashing a donut hole into my brush on its first use and then having to carefully comb the hairs, I thought I had made a mistake in buying the brush. But now that I have learned how to use the brush, I couldn't be happier that I bought the brush and learned about horse hair.
My advice is not to compare these brushes to boar and badger. They're all just different. The good news is there are plenty of options between 10 and 20 USD.
After mashing a donut hole into my brush on its first use and then having to carefully comb the hairs, I thought I had made a mistake in buying the brush. But now that I have learned how to use the brush, I couldn't be happier that I bought the brush and learned about horse hair.
Other than using painting strokes instead of circular style motions to apply the lather, what other quirks are there to be aware of with horse hair?
You also need to support the hairs when rinsing the brush. When the hairs are pointing down, rinse like a badger or boar. But when rinsing with the hairs pointing upward, wrap one of your hands around the hairs to support the hairs to avoid the stream of water forming a donut hole in the middle of the brush. This has now become second nature to me. So this trait should not be viewed as a negative.
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I've only had one horsehair brush from Vie Long (or anyone else), and hit the horsehair trifecta:
1. Tangled
2. Smelled
3. Shed
Which ended my horsehair excursion. The smell was particularly, singularly and indescribably noteworthy, and lingers, years after. I'm sure there are good ones, and someone enjoys using them. Somewhere.
1. Tangled
2. Smelled
3. Shed
Which ended my horsehair excursion. The smell was particularly, singularly and indescribably noteworthy, and lingers, years after. I'm sure there are good ones, and someone enjoys using them. Somewhere.
