Question about Vie Long horse hair

Felix Groslerner said:
Visiting Madrid this week and bought a Vie Long horse hair brush. It's nice and soft but very fluffy and very difficult to load and apply the leather.
Any advices?View attachment 29093
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Hi,

Unfortunately, these sort of brushes were designed strictly for using them like in barbershops, that is, building lather in a bowl and then applying on face using painting like movements. It's very difficult to use them in another way I'm afraid...

Regards

Enviado desde mi MI 5 mediante Tapatalk
 
I read somewhere that you need to use the tips only. Pressure causes problems. I am afraid that horse hair brushes for me require too much maintenance. They tangle too easily:( I have reknotted 4 so far. 2 with Faux Horsehair, 1 Tuxedo and one cashmere.

 
I have two Vie Long brushes, mine are 50:50 mane to tail ratio, never had any issues so far in loading, building or applying. Only read the use tips bit yesterday, never had a tangle either, though once every few uses I do give the hair a light combing.

For a first time user of a horse hair I would recommend the Vie Long 04503, not too expensive and you get a good quality knot.
 
Greetings

They are IMHO hugely problematic knots. Sir Eider's views are entirely in keeping with mine, they are strictly for painting lather on from a bowl and even then the mixing of the lather should not involve any mashing of the knot or it will cause it to tangle.

The second problem Nisse has mentioned, the Vie Long knots contain stiff thicker hairs amongst the softer thinner ones, these thick hairs have sharply pointed ends like little needles and produce a prickly sensation on the face.

I personally think that unless you are a confirmed 100% "painter" they are not very useful, comfortable or practical. In short I think they are crap, YMMV.

Regards
Dick.
 
Kypros Christodoulides said:
Even if you are a painter, tell me how one is supposed to make lather in a round bowl with painting motions.
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Greetings
I never had much success which is why I (like Culcreuch) reknotted mine with a Tuxedo knot. I guess the only way would be to use the brush like a whisk without mashing/splaying the knot on the bottom of the bowl, in fact you would probably do just as well with a large pastry brush! :D

Regards
Dick.
 
Kypros Christodoulides said:
Even if you are a painter, tell me how one is supposed to make lather in a round bowl with painting motions.
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I find that the fan style Epsilon brushes perform the best and are far less prone to tangling or doughnuting. I only ever bowl lather and they can be used in exactly the same way as any other brush in this respect.

I did a review on some Epsilon's and a Vie-Long brush some time ago:

http://theshavingroom.co.uk/communi...ie-long-and-epsilon-horse-hair-brushes.36867/

The tips on cheaper brushes tend to be pretty prickly and scratchy due to the hair combinations used. The better quality the knot, the softer the tips become.
 
I even wrote Epsilon re prickly, only being able to bowl lather and then apply by mild painting motion. Answer was that horse hair is inherently not soft but Vie Long has a method softening it. As for my brush I was supposed to keep using it to see if it got softer. Well it did not and I wrote Epsilon again. No answer this time. Binned. (to bad because I find it a nice looking brush)
 
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Nisse said:
I even wrote Epsilon re prickly, only being able to bowl lather and then apply by mild painting motion. Answer was that horse hair is inherently not soft but Vie Long has a method softening it. As for my brush I was supposed to keep using it to see if it got softer. Well it did not and I wrote Epsilon again. No answer this time. Binned. (to bad because I find it a nice looking brush)
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A shame you binned it, I would have had it off you........damb shame! :)
 
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