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Hi all

I know there are a million brush threads but....

I am looking at Raphael brushes, been using cheap ones up to now but the sizes seem consistent. Generally using a 00 and 000 for most detail. People seem to be suggesting however that the quality brushes hold a much finer point hence the bigger brush sizes offer far better control than the cheap ones.
The suggestion seems to be that you can skip up a couple of sizes, so does anyone use Raphael and should I be looking at a 0, 0/2? Any recommends from current users?

My size 1 and size 2 from the 8404 line see the most use. With human-sized minis I use the 1 pretty much exclusively. It is absolutely true that a good kolinsky sable can hold a better point than a smaller synthetic.

I would suggest also considering the Da Vinci Maestro line. Their size 2 is comparable to the Raphael size 1, although a bit longer, and so far has held a better point after significant use.

 catbarf wrote:
My size 1 and size 2 from the 8404 line see the most use. With human-sized minis I use the 1 pretty much exclusively. It is absolutely true that a good kolinsky sable can hold a better point than a smaller synthetic.

I would suggest also considering the Da Vinci Maestro line. Their size 2 is comparable to the Raphael size 1, although a bit longer, and so far has held a better point after significant use.

Thank you that’s really useful

If you're in the UK, check out Rosemary and Co. They make fantastic brushes at great prices.

Also, Jackson Arts occasionally has a brush sale, and free or low shipping on brush-only orders. Get onto their mailing list and wait.

It *is* all the tip, so the size doesn't matter. A higher brush size holds more paint. OTOH, When I do use an expensive brush, it's for detail work, so I don't need much paint. I also sit on a stool and anchor my lower wrists to the table, for better brush control. This also means that there's a short distance between myself and the paint, so reloading my brush doesn't take any time at all. I also have a stock of cheap 00 brushes from Amazon, for painting metal, primer, basecoats, washes, glue, putty, etc. I paint to advanced tabletop, so take that into consideration.

I use size 3 for my workhorse, and size 2 for things like detailing, edge highlighting, eyes, lettering, etc.

I very rarely have to go smaller.

Size 0, size 3, size 7.

Size 3 is a really good brush for bascoating; the tip is easily fine enough to do pretty much any of that kinda of work. You could comfortably go down to a 2 for that purpose, but I prefer being able the ability of the size 3 to hold more paint. For eyes etc. I prefer something small; smaller than the 0 preferably. Pretty much anything else can be achieved with the 0 I think, but again you could probably go to 00 if you prefer a smaller brish. The 7 wasn't bought for mini painting, but honestly the tip is good enough you could even use it to basecoat a space marine.

I only use WN series 7 brushes now (not the miniature ones) and only really the size1 and 2 at that, they hold a mean point that you just don't get with cheap brushes.