My Vie-Long 14831M Horse hair

[Doryferon]

My friends this is my Vie-Long Horse Hair shaving brush
Not available:
http://www.giftsandcare.com/es/broc...rocha-de-afeitar-caballo-vie-long-14831m.html

Hair mix: 35% mane hair; 65% tail hair
Overall Height - 98mm.
Handle height - 44mm.
Hair Height - 54mm.
Knot diameter - 24mm

I have many Badger and some Boar-Synthetic brushes and i bought it for a test
It doesn't smell so bad as some Boars and has a different look,reminds me a "red hair" woman
I was happy but only in the beginning
The bristles are though,they give me the impression that they will not "break" easily and that was true
The knots does not opens pretty like the "V" of other brushes and if you push the brush a little bit more in your face a "gap" will occur,like a grenade effect
There is no any "softness" and i don't expect in the future to see any
Absolutely No comparison with a Badger even the Black ones.

I don't like it for face lathering,i thing is better for the bowl and with soaps
All these does not mean that is a bad brush,is something different
I thing every shaver must have one to expand his knowledge but for me is not so "attractive" when i open my closet and see my brushes.


Update: I have done some work to "accelerate" the break-in period but the results was not so good


http://ksyrisma-shaving.blogspot.gr/2011/11/shaving-brushes-b.html


This brush can not achieve what my others do.

 

[mftoms59]

Too much pressure causes the "gap", the Horse Hairs do not need much pressure to build a lather when face or bowl lathering. New Horse Hair Brushes will have a good amount of scritch when new, comparable to a Black or Pure Badger, the scritch will relax with regular use and the tips do become softer.

The only recommendation I'll give to accelerate your break-in (softening the tips), would be 7-10 bowl lathers using a Spice Mortar Bowl (textured bottom), my bowl of choice for my occasional bowl lather.

Personally I prefer a much shorter loft <50mm for my Face lathering Horses, and don't get them higher than ~52mm, which I use when bowl lathering. I've had ~20 + V-L Horses and they perform as well as my Shavemac Finest & Silver-Tips. After 2 years of regular use, the tips are very soft, the backbone remains springy and the scritch is pleasantly mild.

 

[Doryferon]

The top of the knot is "straight line" not a "curb line" so i thing that is very easy for the gap to be created
The bristle is tough and without a little pressure i get no face lather
For a Badger is a much easier task
This brush remind me this one: http://www.vaber.gr/images/2150024.jpg
We use them before decades.

"2 years of regular use" is too much for me my friend i can't wait so long for a brush to show results
Maybe i am impatient.

 

[MondoJ]

It doesn't take two years for the brush to break in, why not bowl lather first (without mashing the brush so hard) then use a painting motion to apply.

 

[Doryferon]

I don't think that painting motions do the "massage" that we want in our skin
Those motions are just apply some lather in our face.

 

[malocchio]

I have 50 shaves on a few of my Vie-Long 23mm knots,and they are not mashed down like yours.I think you are putting far too much pressure on the sturdy knot.Try a Mar-V-Cide bath to soften the bristles and return the hairs to normal..Beautiful Lucite handle !

 

[Doryferon]

Try a Mar-V-Cide bath to soften the bristles and return the hairs to normal..

Is something like Dettol ?

 

[blzrfn]

I used my Vie Long beehive LE this morning, face lathering Cella, and while it definitely has some scritch it isn't as bad as a pure badger brush and using painting strokes takes most of the prickliness out of the process. It isn't a brush I want to use every day, but still very enjoyable.

 

[celestino]

i have to agree that it seems like you are applying to much pressure on the brush. Best of luck to you.

 

[AjaxLepinski]

Very nice review! I have wanted to buy a horse hair brush and your review has given me the inspiration to do so. Thanks!

 

[mftoms59]

The top of the knot is "straight line" not a "curb line" so i thing that is very easy for the gap to be created
The bristle is tough and without a little pressure i get no face lather
For a Badger is a much easier task
This brush remind me this one: http://www.vaber.gr/images/2150024.jpg
We use them before decades.

"2 years of regular use" is too much for me my friend i can't wait so long for a brush to show results
Maybe i am impatient.

Just trying to help you with a few tips, a little pressure is good but too much pressure does cause the knot to "gap", it just takes some patience and practice. It's difficult to determine if you like something new when technique is faulty or needs refinement and all brush hair types have different characteristics from each other.

You also weren't specific about your technique to "accelerate" the Break-in so I recommended the Mortar Bowl, which gave me good results. A Mortar Bowl builds a slightly different textured lather, due to its textured bottom, regardless of brush hair type. I know I wasn't clear, it took much less than two years for the tips to soften, ~15-20 lathers for a noticeable difference, and after two years the tip softness does rival my Finest Badgers.

Other than the New Muehle Synthetics, Badgers are easiest when learning to build lathers with a new Brush (Hair type). Horse Hairs aren't very difficult to figure out and are rewarding, that being said, I don't expect everyone to love Horse Hairs but would recommend someone trying them as an inexpensive alternative to Badgers.

 

[malocchio]

Is something like Dettol ?......Dettol is a well known disinfectant,but it is not to be used to disinfect shaving brushes...Mar-V-Cide is a disinfectant,antiseptic,antiviral,antifungal and more...It is almost exactly the same as Barbicide,but is double strength,so after proper dilution,the Marvy costs 50% less than the Barbicide....The Marvy bottle states "safe for brushes"...the Barbicide bottle does not.The William Marvy Co. has been around more than half a century...I have been using it since the 1960's , I highly recommend it.

 

[Gone Gray]

i have to agree that it seems like you are applying to much pressure on the brush. Best of luck to you.

+1

 

[Doryferon]

Thanks for the help but i don't apply too much pressure,just the normal
No matter if it's bowl of face lather the results are not good
Even when the knot gets dry has that gap inside.

I have tested about 54 shaving brushes in my life
Yes the Horse hair knot is stiff but i don't press him hard
My skin is sensitive,i can not to that.

 

[Turk Kahvesi]

Thanks for this thread! I purchased a Vie-Long horse hair brush from Gifts and Care a week ago. It's currently somewhere over the Atlantic on its way to me. Can't wait for it to arrive.

 

[Doryferon]

Good news,another volunteer !
When arrives make some tests and tell us your opinion here
Will help a lot.

 

[Turk Kahvesi]

Will do!

Good news,another volunteer !
When arrives make some tests and tell us your opinion here
Will help a lot.

 

[Doryferon]

This is how it looks today
Some shavings latter and NO pressure
Still "No Go" shaving brush.

 

[mftoms59]

Have you combed out the original gap (base of knot to tips), maybe Horse Hair just isn't for you, I'd keep the handle and re-knot it.

 

[alohakid]

try a horse hair conditioner to soften the brush
http://manentail.com/products/original-mane-n-tail-conditioner/