Horse hair brush; should I or shouldn't I?

[Rufus]

I've been thinking about buying a horse hair brush for sometime to round out my collection of shaving brushes, which currently comprises 20 badgers, 2 boars and 1 synthetic. The brush I have in mind is a medium size Vie Long with a 50/50 mane/tail hair knot. At the moment my favourite brushes are a shavemac silvertip, Simpson's Colonel in best, New Forest finest silvertip and Kent BK4. I don't, however, like brushes with a lot of backbone such as the Simpson's Chubby 1 in best or the M&F blonde. When buying a brush a prime consideration for me is the expectation that I'll keep the brush and have it in my regular rotation. Am I likely to like a horse hair brush?

[brothers]

Bryan, I only have one horse brush that I use from time to time. It's the barber style brush with the taller loft (around 58mm), and the metal escutcheon at the top of the handle surrounding the hair. Backbone is not pronounced. By the very nature of horsehair, some guys would call it floppy, but I just call it comfortable. Because the hairs are cut at the top and bottom, they give a small amount of skritchiness. They don't split. Some guys get hold of horse brushes that they feel are not soft and flexible. My brush is definitely soft and comfortable. It holds water and lather, but it freely gives up the lather when its supposed to. As an aside, I see that Phil at Bullgoose has his own line of Vie-Long brushes that look quite handsome.

[Squire]

Bryan it's hard to say if you will like it but it seems likely you really want to try it.

[ShadowsDad]

If you don't get one you'll continue to wonder what they're like. Go for it!

I have a shorter lofted horse (Vie-Long 1307B 50% mane/50% tail, 23x53mm (as measured) unbleached blond, olivewood handle) and it's just starting to loosen up or whatever they do to get better. Depending on what you buy, like a boar, don't expect immediate gratification.

It does have scritch, but it's not like pure badger. To my skin it's less like pinpricks than low grade badger.

[malocchio]

I have 6 50-50 Vie-Long horses,2 are the barber pro "extra" brushes,and 4 of the 50-50 brushes ,all with 23-24mm knots.These horse hair knots do not behave like silvertip,but perhaps closer to the Omega black badger knots.You will not get a very dense knot in horse hair,so the 23mm knots will give extra lathering power.Although horse hair does not have "gel like" tips,they are not scratchy to my face at all.The pro barber extra brushes are unique,and truly are favored by European barbers.They are intended to use just the very lower tips.Once you get the hang of it they become wonderful brushes to work with,cream,crop or soap.If you have synthetic,badger and boar,you need at least one high quality horse,I humbly suggest a Vie-Long 23-24mm knot brush to start with.

[Rufus]

Thanks for the replies. The brush I have my eye on is the VL 13065. The knot is 23mm X 54mm and 50/50 mane/tail hair. I think I should bite the bullet and buy the brush without further ado.

[ShadowsDad]

Same as you, I had to know. If you don't like it you can always sell it.

Please keep us in the loop as to how you like it.

[blantyre]

I would certainly get one to try. They are relatively inexpensive and like synthetics and boars, everyone should try one. I had a Vie Long and enjoyed it for a few shaves. I have a strict rule is only 12 brushes at one time. When an interesting badger came along it was an easy decision.

[WetShaveObsession]

If you want a horse hair brush with not a lot of back bone that is about as soft as anything I ever felt besides the Plisson Synthetic the Horse Knots hat woodcraft sells in 24mm are it. In all seriousness they are so soft but do not have the backbone that the vie longs have.

[brothers]

You have a PM incoming.

[jww]

I have never tried horse hair --- I suppose if I came across one, I'd consider using it. Just never thought about it before.

[Squire]

Thought about it, laughed about it, forgot about it.

[M6Classic]

If you want it, buy it. If you don't want it, don't buy it. They're pretty cheap.

Buzz

[Rufus]

I bought one from Fendrihan, but haven't used it yet. Once I've used it a few times I'll let you know what I think.

[ShadowsDad]

Bryan, Do NOT expect immediate gratification. From what I'm seeing with my V-L it does take some time to get better.

[Rufus]

First shaves with the brush have been very good. Only the littlest bit of prickle, but I suspect this will slowly disappear with use. The knot feels quite dense and holds a ton of water. It has the right amount of backbone for me, which is to say not too much, but not at all floppy. The knot is a special mix of 50/50 mane/tail and at 23mm X 54mm it's the perfect size for me. Bottom line, I really like this brush and so far it ticks all the boxes in terms of price, quality and performance.

[brothers]

Sounds like you definitely made the right decision Bryan. Enjoy your new brush!

[Rufus]

Thought about it, laughed about it, forgot about it.

Squire, that was me for the longest time. But now that I've used one a few times I've changed my mind completely. I don't like horses and horses don't like me, but Vie-Long seems to have unlocked the secret for making them into something useful for me.

[ShadowsDad]

Yup, that sounds like horse! Give it time and it will slowly improve. I didn't think mine ever would, but it only gets used basically once a month now (after the newness wore off) , but it is getting better. The prickly nature will change, either the brush or the skin.

Keep us in the loop. I'm quite interested in other folks reactions to what I feel about horse brushes. They are certainly different. How to describe them? That's the challenge IMO. You did fine, better than most.

[Squire]

I like horses, quite a bit actually. We raised show horses growing up and I spent countless hours grooming, exercising, feeding and training them. While fond of the creatures I can't think of anything from a horse's rear end I would want to touch my face.