Home › Forums › Explore Media › Watercolor › The Learning Zone › Kolinksy Sable Acrylic Nail Brushes
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February 1, 2013 at 2:47 pm #990568
When I was first looking to invest in sable brushes I noticed the ones made for acrylic nail art on eBay and Amazon. I tried to find information on how they might work for watercolor and all I saw was negative input, although none of the people commenting had actually tried them.
So I got two brushes, a size 14 round and a size 14 flat (3/8″). I have to say I have been very pleased with both of them. The round has a very full belly, did not shed and is fantastic for background washes. You can twirl the end and get a nice point, although it’s not a razor sharp point. The only negative is the length – it is only 5 3/4″ total, but that doesn’t bother me. In fact I’ve noticed most watercolor artists hold their brushes more like a pencil, closer to the ferrule. It did have a funky smell from the glue so I soaked it in some baking soda and let it air out for a few days. This is what it looks like:
The handle is acrylic and says Kyoko Kolinsky Japan on it.
The other brush is a flat sable with a normal length handle (8 1/2″) and says Fuji Kolinsky Sable Germany:
You have to read the description carefully…some are 100% sable and some are a mix. Mine were both 100% and I paid about $12 for each of them (free shipping). I gradually added some traditional sable brushes to my collection (daVinci, Escoda, and WN) but I use these constantly. The little 14 round is really great for mixing up a puddle of paint.
These have been wet many times and never shed or loosen. I guess time will tell how they hold up compared to the expensive brands.
Jan
February 1, 2013 at 3:31 pm #1180786I bought a set of 4 Kolinsky sable nail art brushes last year like these for about £6 delivered. I figured that at the price I couldn’t lose.
I had two,and DS had two. No idea whether they are real Kolinsky, but they are great to use, have lovely points and certainly behave like my other sable brushes. Being travel brushes they are perfect for plein aire and I don’t have to worry about losing an expensive brush :thumbsup:
February 1, 2013 at 3:45 pm #1180792Great idea to use them for travel brushes. I found a similar set on the US eBay site: Detachable Kolinsky Sable Brushes
They are the cat tongue shape with the flattened ferrule which is kind of the best of both worlds. I emailed the seller to see if they are 100% sable or a synthetic/sable mix.
Jan
February 1, 2013 at 5:04 pm #1180787They look like ours The only problem we had was the lack of vent hole in the cap which can lead to mould if the brush is capped when wet/damp. Soon sorted, OH drilled a little hole and sanded smooth :thumbsup:
It will be interesting to hear what the seller says
February 1, 2013 at 5:52 pm #1180790I see the prices have gone up. They must have heard watercolorist have been using them.
I have the silver detachables and the size 18 long handles from Germany. At $8, can’t go wrong. As for ventilation for the silver ones, I rubbed the cap ends on sandpaper until I see a hole.
February 8, 2013 at 8:17 pm #1180793I just got three brushes that I ordered to try out. The ones with the clear acrylic handles are a little over 8″ total length and the black wooden handle is 9″ total length.
The acrylic handles (which has a nice bevel at the back which can be used for scraping) have a slight crimp in the ferrule, but it still behaves more like a round than an oval.
I washed these thoroughly and then soaked in baking soda to help remove some of the glue smell. I’ve never noticed a strong smell in watercolor sable brushes, but these are made to handle very strong cleaners for removing nail polish so they probably use a hefty glue. It smells exactly like the glue my dad used for fletching wooden arrows.
After rinsing again, I did a little test sheet to see how wide the stroke was when the brush was pressed down, then checked the line width. These don’t have super sharp tips, but they are adequate for everything but detail. Between the three of them I saw one hair after washing, rinsing and squeezing out several times. They don’t collapse when they run out of water.
The size 22 sable was great for a quick wash over a large area, but had enough of a point that I could still define boundaries (unlike my mops). Considering a da Vinci Maestro of the same size is $350, I can handle the lack of a sharp point. (I paid $20 for this one.) I was after a large wash brush that could hold a ton of paint and still have a reasonable tip. The other two were $10 and $8. They’re exactly what I wanted for some looser paintings I’m working on.
Here’s a picture of the stroke and line widths. Sorry it’s not very good – cell phone in a poorly lit room
Jan
February 8, 2013 at 9:27 pm #1180788@Chito and @Jan == any links to your wonderful finds?
Thanks…Carlos
C & C welcomed & appreciated!
WC Theory: handprint.comFebruary 8, 2013 at 9:32 pm #1180794Here are the links I used:
Fuji Kolinsky #22 Round
Fuji Kolinsky #12 ovalLots of different sizes come up if you do a search.
Jan
February 8, 2013 at 10:07 pm #1180791Unfortunately, I could not find the red handled brushes anymore. I did however just ordered a size 24 of this
I’m hoping it would be as good as the other, I just have to wait and see.
February 9, 2013 at 10:52 am #1180789Thanks to both, I will do my searches too…
Jan those black handle brushes look awesome!Carlos
C & C welcomed & appreciated!
WC Theory: handprint.com -
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