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Zenith, A Horse of a Different Color!

Rosseforp

I think this fits, Gents
I have a little Cremo horse hair that I got last Christmas as part of a Cremo gift pack, and I really like it. I've never had a problem with tangling, nor did it stink out of the box. Now, having seen that American style brush, I want one :07:
I also have the little Cremo horsey and like it, mine did turn the lather brown and stink for a bit. Now I want a Zenith too!
Thanks Jim, great write up.
 
Zenith makes amazing brushes. Haven't gotten a bad one yet. 2 Manchurian badgers and a Boar. Great prices, quality and under rated.
 
Repost from another forum:

You don't hear much about horse brushes, so I'd though I should write a quick review. I've always been put off by horse brushes since I've mostly read bad things about them. But I decided to try one at the recommendation of a friend.

I have the Zenith 507N with the extra soft hair which has a 27mm x 51mm knot.

It has less backbone than your typical 2-band but slightly more so than a silvertip. The tips are soft, but not as soft as a synth nor a badger, but not scrubby like a boar either. I think it has the perfect balance between softness and scrubbiness. There's a small amount of scritch, but it's a different kind of scritch which doesn't feel bad at all, unlike poor quality badgers and synths. The brush is fairly new so that scritch may go away, but even if it doesn't I don't mind it at all. Again, it's hard to explain, but it's a "good" scritch.

I haven't experienced any tangling at all, neither has my friend which has had his a lot longer than I've had mine.
Where I think this brush truly shines is in its "flow through". This thing holds on to zero lather! I has much better flow through than silvertips and even synthetics.

I was not expecting to fall in love with this brush, but it is now my favorite brush ever. I like it more than the B8's I've had, more than my ZT2, and more than my premium synths.

Thanks @Chan Eil Whiskers for the recommendation! Now I want another one haha.

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IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush
A few years ago there was a LOT of love for horse hair brushes and people barely spoke of the tangling issue. I went through about 5 different horse hair brushes, all of them prickly and tangly, thinking I just had astronomically bad luck with them. There were only a couple other users that seemed to share my experience.

Nowadays, it seems things have shifted.

Honestly, I am not entirely sure the tangling is a horse issue rather than a Vie Long issue. I have an Epsilon Badger that I believe is also made by Vie Long and I must say it is not a good knot at all. It sheds worse than any brush I have ever owned, the silvertip feels like cheap pure, and it tangles a bit which is not an issue I have with other badgers.

It may actually be worth experimenting with a Zenith horse myself just to find out if my hypothesis has any validity.
 
Honestly, I am not entirely sure the tangling is a horse issue rather than a Vie Long issue. I have an Epsilon Badger that I believe is also made by Vie Long and I must say it is not a good knot at all. It sheds worse than any brush I have ever owned, the silvertip feels like cheap pure, and it tangles a bit which is not an issue I have with other badgers.

which brush is that?
 
I’m not sure the exact model anymore but it’s a 3 Band Silvertip from Gifts and Care from a few years ago. I hoped the shedding was just part of break in and it never stopped shedding a good 10 or so hairs per shave.View attachment 1115971

Shedders suck regardless, but it seems shavemac makes some of the brushes with krion turned handles, but maybe not the less expensive versions
 

IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush
Shedders suck regardless, but it seems shavemac makes some of the brushes with krion turned handles, but maybe not the less expensive versions

This knot feels nothing like a Shavemac. I have a Shavemac Silvertip in my den as well and they’re a world apart. I don’t believe Shavemac made this Epsilon Silvertip.

A while back I had a Bullgoose exclusive Silvertip from Vie Long with a green handle. I don’t remember the name of the limited run but that knot was significantly better than the one in this Epsilon. There may be a few different makers of knots for these companies. Hard to say.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
For those of you with the Zenith extra soft brushes, does the hair on a horse knot split like a boar?

I've not noticed any splitting, but I'll look at it very carefully in daylight. Remind me if I don't post about it in a timely manner.

In any case, the knot is quite unusual as I've mentioned but also very nice indeed as long as it's taken on its own terms. It's not a boar. It's not a badger. It's not a synthetic. It's very much different from any of my other knots and really kinda weirdly different. I wouldn't guess I'd like it from what I've sometimes said about it, but I like it a lot.

I'll be interested to hear is others have noticed any splitting.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
For those of you with the Zenith extra soft brushes, does the hair on a horse knot split like a boar?

I've not noticed any splitting, but I'll look at it very carefully in daylight. Remind me if I don't post about it in a timely manner.

In any case, the knot is quite unusual as I've mentioned but also very nice indeed as long as it's taken on its own terms. It's not a boar. It's not a badger. It's not a synthetic. It's very much different from any of my other knots and really kinda weirdly different. I wouldn't guess I'd like it from what I've sometimes said about it, but I like it a lot.

I'll be interested to hear is others have noticed any splitting.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
I've not noticed any splitting, but I'll look at it very carefully in daylight. Remind me if I don't post about it in a timely manner.

In any case, the knot is quite unusual as I've mentioned but also very nice indeed as long as it's taken on its own terms. It's not a boar. It's not a badger. It's not a synthetic. It's very much different from any of my other knots and really kinda weirdly different. I wouldn't guess I'd like it from what I've sometimes said about it, but I like it a lot.

I'll be interested to hear is others have noticed any splitting.

Happy shaves,

Jim
Largely thanks to you I have ordered one, so I am curious as to how it evolves.
 
Bob from thegentleshave says that horse hair does split, but takes longer than boar. I haven't had mine long enough to notice any splitting yet.
I’ve never done the refrigerator trick for boars, just used or soaked and dried on a towel a few times in the first day or so. If horse does indeed split, I might consider trying the trick after awhile if I don’t feel like it’s progressing enough. I like the process of breaking boars in.
 
I have a zenith boar. It’s my first boar brush, and I think it’s taking a long time to break-in. But then again I'm new, so there's that. I have about 25 lathers on it and can tell some difference. There are some hairs splitting. The center of the tips are very dense. Some even curl in toward the center. It's a short scrubby knot. I started calling it my lather killer. I know this is a horse thread. Maybe someone could point me in the right direction.
 

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I have a zenith boar. It’s my first boar brush, and I think it’s taking a long time to break-in. But then again I'm new, so there's that. I have about 25 lathers on it and can tell some difference. There are some hairs splitting. The center of the tips are very dense. Some even curl in toward the center. It's a little scrubby knot. I started calling it my lather killer. I know this is a horse thread. Maybe someone could point me in the right direction.
Well sir, yes this is a horse thread, but it’s also a Zenith thread. I’m a huge fan of my Zeniths and Boar brushes. The copper B03 you have is kind of a niche brush for those of us that was relentless backbone and a lot scrub. I have the exact brush you have and love it. However it’s at the far end of the spectrum that Zenith boar brushes cover. I hope you are a face latherer with that specific brush, otherwise it’s my opinion that brush is wasted on you if you are bowl lathering.

I have 6 Zeniths currently, since reading a few posts from some of these fine enablers lurking among us. I ordered my horse based on their write ups and my continued enthusiasm for Zenith brushes.

If you feel your boar is not breaking in fast enough or into What you think it should be, I’d recommend trying a couple others. I found a significant savings and great service buying 5 of my 6 Zeniths from the Spanish vendor. I have the B02-28 and B03-26 both with the aluminum handles. These two brushes cover the middle and opposite end of the spectrum your copper brush is on. All three are very different and I love them all. I find myself really the B02-28 to load hard soaps with the Marco method, and the B03-26 for everything. I was able to pick these brushes up for $12 and $14each. At that price I highly encourage you to give them a shot.
 
Thank you Rustyshakelford
Good to know. Yea, I did find face lathering with this brush was better. As for which one I am, that depends on my mood that day. I haven't seen that low of a price yet. But I do think that the quality of Zenith is high, and I plan on exploring more of there line.
 
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