Questions and Answers on our Brushes

Q ...I notice that sable brushes vary from being very cheap to extremely expensive. Why do they vary so much?

A. I often wonder about the very cheap ‘sables’ as they seem be made from almost anything. Other descriptions can also be a little confusing; ‘Sableline’, for example, is produced from dyed Oxhair.

Descriptions such as ‘Sable’, ‘Red Sable’ and ‘Fine Sable’ usually relate to other members of the Weasel family than the Kolinsky’ or ‘Siberian Weasel’.

Without a doubt the Kolinsky has long been considered the finest of all brushes; although this sentiment will not be shared by the animal. The male of the species (along with anything else that steps into the trap), is ‘harvested’ in the Winter in Siberia and Northern China. The hairs for the finest ‘Kolinsky’ brushes coming from its tail.

Few artists realise that the Kolinsky is on the endangered species list. They should! If you wouln’t wear it, why paint with it? For this reason, and because of the method of killing, we will only ever offer synthetic brushes.

To this end we spent many years searching for an alternative to the animal product. A recent break-through by a small UK company has given us what we feel is a synthetic brush that is as close as it gets to the most expensive ‘Kolinsky’.

Q ...I get confused between the different types of brushes. What, for example is a Filbert, and what is a Swordliner?

A. Filberts are basically flat brushes with arounded tip. They will do much the same job as a flat (washes etc.). Some artists find that they leave a softer edge to the paint than a flat would. It is a matter of preference really. Sword liners, are also called ‘riggers’. They hold a lot of paint and are used to give very long, very thin lines. They are sometimes called ‘‘riggers’ because they used to be employed by artists to depict the rigging when painting sailing ships. They might also be useful when painting a bowl of spagetti; but that’s another matter.