Thread: Horsehair anyone ?

I was inspired by this thread and ordered 2 brushes from bestshave! I got the #1 and the #7 in blue, and I can't wait for them to get here! I remember just a few short weeks ago reading all the info on brushes and seeing some of the extravagant brush collections some members have and thinking "they have definitely lost their minds!"... Well I can now confirm that this site is like Meth and you fine people are the dealers! Thanks a lot!

There's a well known fella on another site who has well over 100 brushes.

I just want to add that all the brushes on Bestshave.net are horsehair. I've ordered 1 of each. And I'm also patiently awaiting a few more Vie longs to come in. As a note if your ordering from bestshave to avoid the small order charge You can add some nice Arko creams and they also stock perma-sharp, Rapira , astra, shark blades and alum block at a good price. So it's pretty easy to avoid the small order charge. They always send me something extra with my orders. I am slowly acquiring a stable of horsehair brushes and I couldn't be happier.

I've got a Vie Long horse hair brush. It's about half way between a badger and a boar. It's a pretty good brush.

Gosh... this thread made me revisit the market and spend a buck or two.

I picked up a pair of big knot Vie Long brushes. One boar and
another horse hair brush.

These biger knot brushes have made me a Vie Long brush fan.
Their boar brush is soft and lathers a hard puck of soap with
ease. Same for the horse hair brush. Works equally well with
soap or a cream.

Now I have three Vie Long brushes one boar and two horse hair... the
small knot horse hair brush will likely be my travel brush despite the
fact that it almost put me off horse hair.

They are fine brushes and fill their place in the market very well.

Who ever started this thread -- thanks.

My horsehair brush from bestshaving.net showed up yesterday. So I spent last night washing it out and this morning I gave it a whirl and was very impressed with it. I have been using arko as of late in stick form so its all about face lathering for me and it did this wonderfully. With my boar brush I was finding I had to go back and get water a lot but just a little add to the horse hair before each pass worked great. It also felt nicer on the skin then my boar brush but with the same backbone. Don't know if I can really compare it to my pure badger just yet cause I am not in a cream mood at the moment.

i'm glad i found this thread i saw some horse hair brushes at my local antique mall. still in the box for like three bucks. i'm going to have to pick one up.

I bought the Turkish horsehair brush. I'm very pleased with the way it performs, but there's still a faint odour to the brush which I don't like at all. Anyone else has that experience (with the same brand or others) ?

Originally Posted by decraew

I bought the Turkish horsehair brush. I'm very pleased with the way it performs, but there's still a faint odour to the brush which I don't like at all. Anyone else has that experience (with the same brand or others) ?

The Bestshave #6 does smell a little when new. It just needs some multiple cleanings with shampoo or dish soap, a bit of hair conditioner, some test lathering, and I've heard if you let it air out outside that helps. The scent will eventually go away. Most of the new brushes I've used whether badger, boar or horse do have an initial funk about them.

+1 to that. Having two new bestshave brushes, they both have a bit of a scent...even the more broken in of the two has a faint aroma. I'm going to try breaking in the newer one on some Williams Mug Soap A) It's super cheap ($.90) B) It has a stronger (than my usual soap) Citronella scent which I prefer, and C) It did a good job of removing the funk from my VDH Boar brush (though the VDH did not have the same degree of odor).

FWIW and YMMV though I'd be willing to post an update on how things go, say in a week? The more broken in brush only has the faintest of odor I only notice rarely, but it lather's a million times better than my VDH Boar. It's fantastic.