Today’s coarse brush is my other Vie-Long horsehair, whose knot is somewhat shorter than the other. Both brushes are quite nice, with a comfortably coarse feel on the face. I soak horsehair knots prior to use just as I soak boar knots. The lather the brush produced from Chiseled Face’s Sherlock was extremely good — you can read the ingredients on the label and their prominent display suggests that the maker is (rightly) proud of what has gone into his product. The lather certainly supports a good razor action and also has the benefit of a fine fragrance, described by the maker as “a warm tobacco based scent blended with toasted caramel, black pepper, moist dirt, and finished with a touch of leather, moss, mandarin, honey and rose.”
Three passes with the Marvel, which has a very pleasant feel, left a smooth result to accept a good splash of Sherlock aftershave, whose menthol content is indeed noticeable.