Badger brushes appear
bushy as the hair is conic shaped with a thick belly near the tip and thin near
the root. Actual badger hair will be light gray with a dark brown-black stripe
through the center. This hair is primarily used in making blenders.
Bristle comes from hog, boar
and pig hairs which are stiff and coarse with a natural curve and split ends called
flags. These flags provide multiple tips which grab heavy paint and hold it and
also allow the paint to be evenly spread onto a surface. Bristles from the Chungking
province of China are considered the best because they are very resilient and
have long, deep flags.
Camel hair is a trade term
for various inexpensive hairs such as pony, bear, sheep, and lesser grades of
squirrel mixed together and supposedly named after the man who originated it.
Actual camel hair is not used.
Fitch Hair comes form the
polecat and is similar to but coarser than weasel hair (red sable). The hairs
have fine points and thick bellies but the coarseness restricts its use to oil
painting. Fitch hair is also referred to as Russian or black sable.
Horsehair is popular in Oriental
watercolor and calligraphy brushmaking because it can get so long. It does not
have the ability to stay together when wet, so it is often partially starched
or covered with an outside layer of sheep hair. It is strong, slightly coarse,
resilient and with the exception of sheep hair is the most absorbent.
Kolinsky is the name used
to denote the hair taken from the tail of the Mustela siberica which is a species
of mink and a member of the weasel family native to Siberia and northeastern China.
This conic-shaped hair makes the best watercolor brush due to the length, strength,
thickness of belly, spring, and fine point.
Mongoose hair points well,
is very resilient, has excellent snap and wears very well. Softer than bristle
but more coarse that sable, it is ideal for oil painting but too stiff for watercolor.
Mongoose hair is similar in appearance to badger but has a dark tip whereas badger
has a white tip.
Red Sable includes "seconds"
of kolinsky and hair from the weasel
and gets its name from the reddish tint
it possesses. It has slightly less spring,
is a little stiffer, has a thinner belly
and the tips are not as pointed as the
kolinsky.
Sabeline is made of light
ox hair taken from the ears of oxen and then dyed to a reddish tint to resemble
red sable. The hair is cylindrical in shape and has a blunt tip but has spring
similar to sable.
Sable brushes (which are not
designated as either kolinsky or red sable) are made of hairs from varieties of
the marten or are seconds from the production of other sable brushes. The quality
of these brushes range from medium to student grade in watercolor and illustration.
Sheep or Goat hair is long,
very absorbent, points well but has no spring. It works fine for wash brushes
but not for detail or rendering. It is used mainly for Oriental watercolor and
calligraphy.
Squirrel hair is thin, soft,
absorbent and can come to an exceptionally fine point, however, it has virtually
no spring. There are different qualities of squirrel hair ranging in thickness,
length, etc. It's particular qualities make it ideal for watercolor wash, lettering
and making a smooth finish.
Synthetic filaments make an
excellent alternative to the natural hair brushes. They have a lot of spring and
snap and point well but are not as absorbent and tend to feed color more rapidly
to the painting surface. The points of synthetic hairs will appear to curl as
they wear instead of wearing away as do natural hair brushes.
Tips
& Techniques
