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I have heard everywhere that kolinksy sable brushes are the go to brush for ones warhammer needs and I am in desperate need of some good brushes.

I was looking around dark sphere and wayland as they are the shops I trust the most/use often and was wondering are any type of kolinsky brushes good? Dark spheres and waylands are quite cheap and thought these brushes were quite expensive. Has anyone had any experience with these sable brushes or should I pay out for a decent one from Winsor and Newton or something as I heard they are some of the best.

Also whats the typical process of acquiring the sable hairs. Do they just shave the fur or kill the animals?

They die.

most brushes like W&N, Rosemary & Co., DaVinci, and Raphael are Kolinsky Sable...
prices vary between manufacturer...

as far as i know the hairs in the brush are from the winter coat, that has been shedded...
i've seen there is even a movement to collect the hairs in the wild, for "eco-friendly" brushes...

i don't think that they actually kill the weasels just to get some brush hairs...
as far as i know, it is just the tail hairs we are using in the brush...
which makes me chuckle as i put my brush in my mouth to shape the tip...
"this is some quality weasel butt hair", is the thought that goes through my head...

anyway, if you can get Kolinsky Sable brushes cheap, go for it...
worst case scenario, you end up with something to do metallics and drybrushing with...

cheers
jah

 jah-joshua wrote:
most brushes like W&N, Rosemary & Co., DaVinci, and Raphael are Kolinsky Sable...
prices vary between manufacturer...

as far as i know the hairs in the brush are from the winter coat, that has been shedded...
i've seen there is even a movement to collect the hairs in the wild, for "eco-friendly" brushes...

i don't think that they actually kill the weasels just to get some brush hairs...
as far as i know, it is just the tail hairs we are using in the brush...
which makes me chuckle as i put my brush in my mouth to shape the tip...
"this is some quality weasel butt hair", is the thought that goes through my head...

anyway, if you can get Kolinsky Sable brushes cheap, go for it...
worst case scenario, you end up with something to do metallics and drybrushing with...

cheers
jah

I wasn't kidding. They die.

Do you really think for 11 bucks a piece some dude is out there pulling a few hairs out of some weasels tail? Or digging around for molted hair?


From wikipedia

" The weasel is not an animal that is raised well in captivity, and is generally isolated to the geographical region of Siberia. Due to this difficulty in harvesting the hair, and the fact that other natural and artificial bristles are not comparable in quality, these bristles are extremely valuable and consequently expensive."

As jah-joshua said the hair is from the tail, specifically the very tip of the tail. The ultra-premium, high cost brushes use only the hairs from the very tip of the tail while the less expensive ones use them from further from the tip.

These hairs are peculiar because they come to a natural point so form and keep their fine point better than other brands.

I buy my brushes from local art stores. W&N Series 7 are my favourites for detail work but I use regular synthetic brushes for bulk work as they are cheaper to replace once worn out.

The weasels are difficult to raise in captivity so the main source for the hair is from hunting and the fur trade. That is why there are some import bans/restrictions on brushes labelled as Kolinsky. Whether the hair is used or not the weasels will still be killed because they are a nuisance to farmers as they attack and kill smaller livestock like chickens. They are both trapped and shot. They are not endangered at all even with the fur trade. The hairs for brushes is one of the smallest industries that uses Kolinsky pelts as they are also popular for fur clothing where most of the pelt is used.

Rabidmofo wrote:

 jah-joshua wrote:
most brushes like W&N, Rosemary & Co., DaVinci, and Raphael are Kolinsky Sable...
prices vary between manufacturer...

as far as i know the hairs in the brush are from the winter coat, that has been shedded...
i've seen there is even a movement to collect the hairs in the wild, for "eco-friendly" brushes...

i don't think that they actually kill the weasels just to get some brush hairs...
as far as i know, it is just the tail hairs we are using in the brush...
which makes me chuckle as i put my brush in my mouth to shape the tip...
"this is some quality weasel butt hair", is the thought that goes through my head...

anyway, if you can get Kolinsky Sable brushes cheap, go for it...
worst case scenario, you end up with something to do metallics and drybrushing with...

cheers
jah

I wasn't kidding. They die.

Do you really think for 11 bucks a piece some dude is out there pulling a few hairs out of some weasels tail? Or digging around for molted hair?


From wikipedia

" The weasel is not an animal that is raised well in captivity, and is generally isolated to the geographical region of Siberia. Due to this difficulty in harvesting the hair, and the fact that other natural and artificial bristles are not comparable in quality, these bristles are extremely valuable and consequently expensive."

i never said they didn't die...
i didn't have to say that they did, either, since you had taken care of that already...
i just explained which part of the weasel the hairs come from...

there actually was an article, linked here on Dakka last year, talking about an "eco-friendly" or "cruelty-free" brand of Kilonsky brushes, where the hairs where harvested off of bushes and shrubs after the weasel sheds...

personally, i'm not bothered by the use of parts of an animal that has been killed...
i used to trap with my Father in Alaska as a kid...
i would rather see parts get used, rather than wasted...

still, "weasel butt hair brushes" is pretty funny...

cheers
jah

Apologies, I misread the tone of your post.

Yes, I agree, I don't believe they are killing them for the hair for brushes, that is simply a byproduct of their slaughter.

I'd like to see brushes advertised as "weasel butt hair" from now on.


"Get your new Winsor & Newton: Series 7 Weasel butt hair brush for the low, low price of only your dignity."

That's right folks, when you order the new W&N brush the only price you pay is that of your dignity at using something labelled a Weasel butt brush!"

"Order yours now!"


I'd still buy one.

I was just at the art store the other day and they had a major shortage of Kolinsky sable brushes. They had a note saying something about regulations making it difficult to keep them in stock. Anyone in the US know more about this?

 Zuul wrote:
I was just at the art store the other day and they had a major shortage of Kolinsky sable brushes. They had a note saying something about regulations making it difficult to keep them in stock. Anyone in the US know more about this?

Yes, the US government has taken exception to the importation of kolinsky fur. Somehow they ended up on a list of endangered species that are illegal to import to the US, even though they are not endangered. Hopefully everything will get corrected, but since this is bureaucracy we are talking about, don't hold your breath. I brought it up on the other active thread about kolinsky brushes.

http://arcanepaintworks.blogspot.com/2014/01/importing-kolinsky-sable.html
http://arcanepaintworks.blogspot.com/2014/03/importing-sable-brushes-march-2014.html

Standard regulation from a position of ignorance.

Ah thanks guys for the input, I will order some from dark sphere and see how they are, they are only cheap so not too bad if they are rubbish.

Thanks also for shedding some opinions on the process, going to try and read up on some companies before I buy just to be sure. The only thing that bothered me was whether or not they are killed solely for fur. Collecting the fur as a byproduct from killing the animal if its a pest I have little problem with.