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There's been some discussions or rather allegations that Vie-Long uses same Silvertip and White badger knots that Plisson does. Here is what Bob had relayed to me when I asked about their boar, horse and badger knots awhile back:
Vie-Long says the grade of badger in their mix is equal to "pure" and horse hair is collected either in Europe or Argentina. We've asked Vie-Long the same questions you've expressed regarding the badger hair and are awaiting an answer. We're also aware of the forum information but can't corroborate it at this time, but can say that it is unusual for a manufacturer to identify their suppliers or suppliers of their competitors. If and when we can corroborate we'll let you know. Hope this helps.
I usually do 14 shaves before posting actual review (broken in or not). It's going to take forever so might as well post up initial impressions.
In general when I use creams I don't leave the bristles as dry as one would expect. With exception to one cream that's hardly forgiving but that's another issue.
I generally soak for few minutes in hot water and re-soak again let it drip and once it stops I gently shake it 3x and put some cream be it almond size or brush dipped. Your methods might differ from mine.
These were taken with mobile phone. Pardon the lack of quality.
Here's my initial pre-review:
Badgers from my understanding come with plastic stands while boar and horse unfortunately do not.
12315, 13061, 14833, 16590
20100425
Boar Bristle Shaving Brush 12315 by Vie-Long
*Ht: 98 mm Loft: 54 mm Base: 44 mm Knot: 19 mm
Craftsmanship:
Like my Omegas the bristles are naturally tapered rather than being trimmed like other brands.
Handle is slim waist with raised ring thus providing good grip. It is
muted gray but also available in maroon.
Lather Making Ability:
Excellent. Not bad for initial use. Used in conjunction with NanaJune's Bayrum soap.
Lasted 4 passes.
20100512
Used w C.O. Bigelow dollop sized. Yielded 5 Passes. Got thinner on last pass.
The problem with this cream is that regardless of whatever brush I use, it tends to get
dry within minute or two even after having reworked the lather by dipping gently into hot water.
I've not had any problems with other creams-not even that of Old Progress Vulfix Sandalwood.
Tip Softness:
Not prickly but definitely scrubbly. Very exfoliating. So awesome
Bristle Stiffness:
Very stiff. Excellent backbone. No shedding thus far.
20100512
Shed once.
Knot Density:
Not as dense but covers a lot of ground when face lathering.
Overall impression:
In spite of the lack of aesthetics, this brush performs really well! This will be in my rotation for very very long time. Look forward to using this and see how it fares with creams.
1st pass
2nd pass
C.O. Bigelow
1st Pass
2nd Pass
3rd Pass
4th Pass
5th Pass
Post-bloom
Horse Hair & Badger Shaving Brush 14833 by Vie-Long
*Ht: 108 mm Loft: 58 mm Base: 50 mm Knot: 23 mm
Craftsmanship:
It's smells like Vulfix brush out of the box.
Slighly larger than 13061. The brim where it forms on handle's neck is more accentuated. Handle is 3 different colors of lucite-red ruby-like fused to clear transparent lucite with swirls of white embedded on bottom. Pictures won't ever do these handles justice.
The dye bled and must lather few times to rid of it lest you want black dye on your face.
Lather Making Ability:
Good. Used with Old Progress Vulfix Sandalwood cream. Compared with 13061 this didn't generate lather as fast. The problem with this is not the ability to create lather but its ability to spread it evenly.
I found this to be slight irritating not on the face but the way it performed like Semogue 1470-just turned flaccid.
Tip Softness:
This is reminiscent of my Vulfix 2006 but with somewhat of backbone but not by much. A little springy if you will.
Bristle Stiffness:
Not as coarse as one would expect. Shedded once thus far.
Knot Density:
Very dense. In spite of this density it didn't help backbone at all. If it had just a little more coarse this would be a winner for sure.
Overall impression:
It could be better. Perhaps if it had more backbone. I'll have to give it another go but my initial impressions of 13061 and even 16590 were far more superiour in performance.
As similar as this might be to 13061, it is slightly larger.
20100427
Left-Right 13061, 14833
13061 lather:
14833 lather
Post-shave bloom:
20100427
Horse Hair Shaving Brush 13061 by Vie-Long
*Ht: 106 mm Loft: 58 mm Base: 48 mm Knot: 23 mm
Craftsmanship:
It's smells like Vulfix brush out of the box.
This is said to feel like best badger since I don't have their badger I can't confirm that. The handle is same on 16734 black badger and 16510 silvertip.
It's indeed very unique and exotic. Base is clear with white swirls and upper body dark maroon. The white swirls inside the clear lucite is random and no two brushes are similar.
Base handle has rounded edge that fits very comfortably into contour of hand thus grip friendly.
Lather Making Ability:
20100504
Used with Olivia Seife Bayrum cream. Generate lather faster than 16590 but failed to hold lather longer. Perhaps didn't have much cream when brush dipped.
20100427
Used with Old Vulfix Sandalwood. Used bout pea size. Lathered faster than 14833 horse/badger mix.
Lather lasted 2 passes just like 14833. Had I brush dipped like with other brushes I'm sure it would've provided 4-5 passes if not more.
Tip Softness:
Scrubby. Find no difference between this and 14833. It wasn't prickly which is nice.
Bristle Stiffness:
Very good backbone. Shedded 4 times thus far.
Knot Density:
Very dense. At no point during lathering did I feel this to be flaccid. Very strong backbone in spite of hair being 2 1/4" long.
Overall impression:
My first horse hair brush and am really impressed. Very easy to lather with. Not a shedder thus far. I couldn't really remember if there was typical "funk" you'd find in boar.
As similar as this might be to 14833, the latter is slightly larger. Add to that, the tips tend to be darker from tips down to its shaft. The brim where it forms on handle's neck is more accentuated as well. Vie-Long is force to be reckoned with.
Click for larger:
13061
20100504
Black Badger Shaving Brush 16590 by Vie-Long
*Ht: 94 mm Loft: 54 mm Base: 40 mm Knot: 20 mm
Craftsmanship:
It's smells like Vulfix brush out of the box.
The tips are said to be soft as Super Badger and backbone with "coarser shaft" equivalent to that of its Best Badger counterpart.
The handle is 3 different colors of methacrylate material: a ruby-like red fused to a clear transparent lucite that is embedded with swirls of white. Upon first glance one would initially think it's resin but isn't the case. The shape is
perfect for a secure grip with an indentation around its waist so that thumb and forefingers allow for seamless grasp. The flat bottom of the
handle has a round edge that fits into the contour of the hand making it grip friendly.
Lather Making Ability:
Good. Used with Olivia Bayrum cream. As usual, allowed it to drip then gently shaken 3x. Didn't lather as fast as 13061. However held lather longer. Perhaps due to its greater amount of hair dipped into cream as can be seen on picture.
Distribute lather evenly. No trouble at all. Like the 14833 the dye had dripped profusely. But this wasn't so with 13061 perhaps it's only true with badger brushes.
Tip Softness:
Wasn't prickly that's for sure. If I had Super badger perhaps I can say it's just as soft.
Bristle Stiffness:
Good. Wasn't too flaccid. It's just perfect. Only shedded once. Very nice backbone. The length is between 2" - 2 1/4" long.
Knot Density:
Very dense. This feels like one of those buffing cloths. I have some microfiber cloth and it's kinda like that.
Overall impression:
Very good considering initial use. I tend to lean towards boar in general with it's exfoliating properties, lathering ability and so forth. This hasn't disappointed me yet.
16590
Vie-Long says the grade of badger in their mix is equal to "pure" and horse hair is collected either in Europe or Argentina. We've asked Vie-Long the same questions you've expressed regarding the badger hair and are awaiting an answer. We're also aware of the forum information but can't corroborate it at this time, but can say that it is unusual for a manufacturer to identify their suppliers or suppliers of their competitors. If and when we can corroborate we'll let you know. Hope this helps.
I usually do 14 shaves before posting actual review (broken in or not). It's going to take forever so might as well post up initial impressions.
In general when I use creams I don't leave the bristles as dry as one would expect. With exception to one cream that's hardly forgiving but that's another issue.
I generally soak for few minutes in hot water and re-soak again let it drip and once it stops I gently shake it 3x and put some cream be it almond size or brush dipped. Your methods might differ from mine.
These were taken with mobile phone. Pardon the lack of quality.
Here's my initial pre-review:
Badgers from my understanding come with plastic stands while boar and horse unfortunately do not.
12315, 13061, 14833, 16590
20100425
Boar Bristle Shaving Brush 12315 by Vie-Long
*Ht: 98 mm Loft: 54 mm Base: 44 mm Knot: 19 mm
Craftsmanship:
Like my Omegas the bristles are naturally tapered rather than being trimmed like other brands.
Handle is slim waist with raised ring thus providing good grip. It is
muted gray but also available in maroon.
Lather Making Ability:
Excellent. Not bad for initial use. Used in conjunction with NanaJune's Bayrum soap.
Lasted 4 passes.
20100512
Used w C.O. Bigelow dollop sized. Yielded 5 Passes. Got thinner on last pass.
The problem with this cream is that regardless of whatever brush I use, it tends to get
dry within minute or two even after having reworked the lather by dipping gently into hot water.
I've not had any problems with other creams-not even that of Old Progress Vulfix Sandalwood.
Tip Softness:
Not prickly but definitely scrubbly. Very exfoliating. So awesome
Bristle Stiffness:
Very stiff. Excellent backbone. No shedding thus far.
20100512
Shed once.
Knot Density:
Not as dense but covers a lot of ground when face lathering.
Overall impression:
In spite of the lack of aesthetics, this brush performs really well! This will be in my rotation for very very long time. Look forward to using this and see how it fares with creams.
1st pass
2nd pass
C.O. Bigelow
1st Pass
2nd Pass
3rd Pass
4th Pass
5th Pass
Post-bloom
Horse Hair & Badger Shaving Brush 14833 by Vie-Long
*Ht: 108 mm Loft: 58 mm Base: 50 mm Knot: 23 mm
Craftsmanship:
It's smells like Vulfix brush out of the box.
Slighly larger than 13061. The brim where it forms on handle's neck is more accentuated. Handle is 3 different colors of lucite-red ruby-like fused to clear transparent lucite with swirls of white embedded on bottom. Pictures won't ever do these handles justice.
The dye bled and must lather few times to rid of it lest you want black dye on your face.
Lather Making Ability:
Good. Used with Old Progress Vulfix Sandalwood cream. Compared with 13061 this didn't generate lather as fast. The problem with this is not the ability to create lather but its ability to spread it evenly.
I found this to be slight irritating not on the face but the way it performed like Semogue 1470-just turned flaccid.
Tip Softness:
This is reminiscent of my Vulfix 2006 but with somewhat of backbone but not by much. A little springy if you will.
Bristle Stiffness:
Not as coarse as one would expect. Shedded once thus far.
Knot Density:
Very dense. In spite of this density it didn't help backbone at all. If it had just a little more coarse this would be a winner for sure.
Overall impression:
It could be better. Perhaps if it had more backbone. I'll have to give it another go but my initial impressions of 13061 and even 16590 were far more superiour in performance.
As similar as this might be to 13061, it is slightly larger.
20100427
Left-Right 13061, 14833
13061 lather:
14833 lather
Post-shave bloom:
20100427
Horse Hair Shaving Brush 13061 by Vie-Long
*Ht: 106 mm Loft: 58 mm Base: 48 mm Knot: 23 mm
Craftsmanship:
It's smells like Vulfix brush out of the box.
This is said to feel like best badger since I don't have their badger I can't confirm that. The handle is same on 16734 black badger and 16510 silvertip.
It's indeed very unique and exotic. Base is clear with white swirls and upper body dark maroon. The white swirls inside the clear lucite is random and no two brushes are similar.
Base handle has rounded edge that fits very comfortably into contour of hand thus grip friendly.
Lather Making Ability:
20100504
Used with Olivia Seife Bayrum cream. Generate lather faster than 16590 but failed to hold lather longer. Perhaps didn't have much cream when brush dipped.
20100427
Used with Old Vulfix Sandalwood. Used bout pea size. Lathered faster than 14833 horse/badger mix.
Lather lasted 2 passes just like 14833. Had I brush dipped like with other brushes I'm sure it would've provided 4-5 passes if not more.
Tip Softness:
Scrubby. Find no difference between this and 14833. It wasn't prickly which is nice.
Bristle Stiffness:
Very good backbone. Shedded 4 times thus far.
Knot Density:
Very dense. At no point during lathering did I feel this to be flaccid. Very strong backbone in spite of hair being 2 1/4" long.
Overall impression:
My first horse hair brush and am really impressed. Very easy to lather with. Not a shedder thus far. I couldn't really remember if there was typical "funk" you'd find in boar.
As similar as this might be to 14833, the latter is slightly larger. Add to that, the tips tend to be darker from tips down to its shaft. The brim where it forms on handle's neck is more accentuated as well. Vie-Long is force to be reckoned with.
Click for larger:
13061
20100504
Black Badger Shaving Brush 16590 by Vie-Long
*Ht: 94 mm Loft: 54 mm Base: 40 mm Knot: 20 mm
Craftsmanship:
It's smells like Vulfix brush out of the box.
The tips are said to be soft as Super Badger and backbone with "coarser shaft" equivalent to that of its Best Badger counterpart.
The handle is 3 different colors of methacrylate material: a ruby-like red fused to a clear transparent lucite that is embedded with swirls of white. Upon first glance one would initially think it's resin but isn't the case. The shape is
perfect for a secure grip with an indentation around its waist so that thumb and forefingers allow for seamless grasp. The flat bottom of the
handle has a round edge that fits into the contour of the hand making it grip friendly.
Lather Making Ability:
Good. Used with Olivia Bayrum cream. As usual, allowed it to drip then gently shaken 3x. Didn't lather as fast as 13061. However held lather longer. Perhaps due to its greater amount of hair dipped into cream as can be seen on picture.
Distribute lather evenly. No trouble at all. Like the 14833 the dye had dripped profusely. But this wasn't so with 13061 perhaps it's only true with badger brushes.
Tip Softness:
Wasn't prickly that's for sure. If I had Super badger perhaps I can say it's just as soft.
Bristle Stiffness:
Good. Wasn't too flaccid. It's just perfect. Only shedded once. Very nice backbone. The length is between 2" - 2 1/4" long.
Knot Density:
Very dense. This feels like one of those buffing cloths. I have some microfiber cloth and it's kinda like that.
Overall impression:
Very good considering initial use. I tend to lean towards boar in general with it's exfoliating properties, lathering ability and so forth. This hasn't disappointed me yet.
16590
