Secret to using a horse-hair brush?

[Locham]

Hi folks-

Through B/S/T I picked up a set of four brushes to expand my range a bit. The Vulfix Mayfair and the Wee Scott are great, and I've yet to try out one of the Vie Longs. The last brush, a Vie Long Professional No2 (I think...http://www.giftsandcare.com/en/barb...essional-brush-n2-brown-horse-hair-extra.html), was a real let down today. I bowl-lathered some Santa Maria Novella with the pony this morning, and my second pass hardly had enough lather to make it work. I had to re-load for the third, and even then it didn't feel like I was getting any scrubbing/exfoliation with it. I've had great success with using an Omega Boar and the previously mentioned Mayfair with SMN following the same procedure.

So my thoughts are I'm doing something wrong with a horse-hair brush (maybe a special technique I'm missing?), soft creams aren't the best for use with horse, or this brush is just kind of a dud.

I'm open to any suggestions! Here's a pic of the remaining brushes. I can't clearly determine the model the acrylic-handled Vie-Long, not least of which because Vie-Long's site is under construction!



Cheers

 

[Tim_McD]

The only trick I picked up from B&B was to just soak the tips of the brush - and that was good advice. The horsehair holds water differently than boar and badger, so it can be too wet if you drop the whole brush in for a soak. Other than that, I didnt feel that there was too much of a learning curve to the brushes (I have a 13061 and a Bullgoose LE 2012 beehive)

The Pro is a big brush, so it is going to use plenty of product. My brushes are closer in size to your smaller one and I use them with hard English triple-milled soaps, soft Italian soaps and all of my creams. Just a dip & swirl in a tub of cream and face lather until it practically boils over. The soaps get loaded off the puck while I slowly count to 30.

Run some test lathers with your favorite creams / soaps. Give the face lathering a try to see if you build up a better volume.

The brown brush appears to be a 13052 with the bleached horsehair (50/50 mane & tail hair) - almost identical in specs to my brushes
http://www.giftsandcare.com/en/horse-shaving-brushes/95-vie-long-horse-hair-shaving-brush-13052.html

 

[AjaxLepinski]

Sorry to hear that your having trouble but, I'm too new at DE shaving to be able to offer any constructive advise. I can only tell you about this cheap, Turkish, horse hair brush for under $3.00 from shavetools.com. This brush is fairly well know to the pros here at B&B. All I can say is, I love it! I think it's made from tail hair because, the bristles are fairly stiff, like boar. It whips up lather just as well as my EJ Best Badger.

 

[Attila]

Greetings, the tall one is a Vie Long Cachurro. http://www.fendrihan.com/vielong-ca...metal-wood-handle-p-1674.html?cPath=116_3_140

 

[mftoms59]

The Acrylic V-L is a 13052M, ~53 loft/20 knot with a 50/50 Mane/Tail mix, use it like any other traditional brush. It will have a bit of scritch, it can be controlled by the amount of pressure used, less pressure= less scritch. Regular use will relax the scritch and soften the tips, a 10-15 minute soak in Marv-A-Cide & water can further soften the tips and relax the scritch.

The Professional Horse has a loft ~59mm and takes a bit more product than you're more Traditional Brushes due to the height. Your lathering technique will need to be different, using less pressure and lathering with just the tips of the Brush, practice is the only way to improve your technique with the Pro Series Brush, don't get discouraged.

 

[Locham]

Bueno! Thanks, gents. I figured that if they were junk they wouldn't produce them. I won't give up. I used the acrylic (13052M) this morning bowl-lathering regular Proraso soap and I had great results - it didn't feel scritchy at all. I'll keep working on the Professional, focusing on just soaking the tips and light pressure. Nothing that comes easy can be worth it!

My go-to 'soap' is Cella (okay, really a soft cream), but I have a handful of English soap samples on the way from Garry, as well as samples from Mystic Waters and Mikes, in my constant search to find the best product (and apparently spend ridiculous amounts of money on shaving).

Thanks again!

 

[Locham]

MFTOMS - would soaking in the standard Barbicide/water ratio (1 oz barbicide for 16 oz water) have the same result as soaking in Marv-a-cide?

 

[mftoms59]

MFTOMS - would soaking in the standard Barbicide/water ratio (1 oz barbicide for 16 oz water) have the same result as soaking in Marv-a-cide?

I've never used either, malocchio has used the Marv-A -Cide with good results, I don't think it would hurt to try the Barbicide since that can be used for combs & hair brushes. BTW I'd soak ~25-40% of the Pro Horse knot before use.

 

[oscar11]

and apparently spend ridiculous amounts of money on shaving

Just remember, we're here to help you in that endeavor any way we can.

 

[malocchio]

MFTOMS - would soaking in the standard Barbicide/water ratio (1 oz barbicide for 16 oz water) have the same result as soaking in Marv-a-cide?

Mar-V-Cide clearly states on the back label "safe for brushes"...last time I looked Barbicide did not....Marvy is double strength for the same price as Barbicide,which means after dilution,it costs 50% less than Barbicide....