I have recently had trouble with a couple of brand new sable hair brushes from very well respected brands. They split into a fork, almost immediately that I started using them.
I'd recently watched a video about how these brushes were made and I realise that a significant part of the manufacturing process is the quality control at the end to weed out those that are just not going to stay in shape. That's the reason for buying a more expensive sable hair brush rather than a more budget version.
This is mainly a review of sable brushes for painting miniature plastic figures using acrylic paint. Most of my painting with these brushes is on resin 3D printed 28mm to 32mm figures.
Criteria
My main requirements for a brush for miniature painting is that it has a tip that stays in a sharp point while holding enough paint to work with.
I have plenty of budget brushes which work well but they frequently need care during use to maintain the point.
The Brushes
Based on other people's recommendations, I've bought a number of different brand's sable hair brushes from their series most commonly used for miniature painting. I've ended up with a few different types because my experience of them is not as consistent as the reviews would imply.
For me, they all have a better feel to the spring of the bristles than a synthetic brush. My main issue with synthetic brushes is that they invariably end up with a curl at the end. Some sooner than others.
Brushes come in different lengths and style of bristles, flat, round, long, standard, short and a host of speciality variations. For miniature painting, like most people, I find it is the standard length round bristle brush that gets used the most. There is also a shorter length that appears to have evolved specifically for miniature painting.
It is the normal dimension bristles that I use for getting most of the paint on a miniature. I find the shorter versions are better suited to small details because they do not hold enough paint for larger areas. When I do this it is typically with a size 00 Winsor and Newton Series 7 miniature. There are a lot of small details on miniatures, so I do use this brush a lot and I am very pleased with it. The series 7 miniature is not to be confused with the series 7 (not-miniature) that the rest of this testing refers to.
Brush Care
I won't go into detail on this subject, but all the brushes have been well looked after. In use, I try to avoid getting paint beyond the belly. This minimises the paint that gets in to the ferrule which over time, in my experience, is the ultimate demise of most brushes.
Testing
As an initial test, I decided to try out the same paint task with all of the respected brands brushes that I owned in a size zero. Not a long test, a few details on two figures with each brush.
I've then gone on to use them over time and revisited this article to add additional notes.
The Results
To set the record straight at the start, all of these brushes are reasonably good. They are just not as consistent as I would like.
All of the split hairs shown could be reshaped and the brush was then usable again until the next time. Some split again sooner than others.
Da Vinci Maestro series 10
- Bristles: Sable
- Initial experience: Stray hairs almost immediately.
- Extended use: I was pleased with this brush and found myself selecting it for getting the initial layers on to a miniature where they had lots of detail to work round.
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| Da Vinci Maestro series 10 |
This series has a very slightly shorter bristle than the others I tested. A good compromise size between the very small miniature brushes that hold too little paint and the standard size. It might suit those wanting only one brush.
Artis Opus series S
- Bristles: Sable
- Initial experience: Good point but a stray hair after a short while.
- Extended use: I found this brush competent and was my go to brush for medium details. It's point split far less than the others I'm using.
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| Artis Opus series S |
Winsor and Newton series 7
- Bristles: Sable
- Initial experience: A stray hair and split into a fork after using for a short while.
- Extended use: This brush was probably my most disappointing. Winsor and Newton have a good reputation. I now have several series 7 brushes and they all split dramatically and far too frequently. I now only use them for painting larger areas.
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| Winsor and Newton series 7 |
Raphael series 8404
- Bristles: Sable
- Initial experience: Nice point but split into a slight fork after being used for a short while.
- Extended use: I have not used this enough to come to a conclusion.
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| Raphael series 8404 |
My biggest complaint with the Raphael brushes that I received, was the sticker.
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| Sticker on the Raphael brushes |
The sticker was difficult to remove and I could only get rid of the residue with WD40.
Rosemary and Co series 401
- Bristles: Sable blend.
- Initial experience: This is the only brush in the test which included some synthetic hairs in the mix. Guess what, the end curled! It also developed a fork.
- Extended use: It's a nice brush to use. I have to work round the curl but that can sometime be in my favour. I don't use it for the ultimate detail but it does everything else well.
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| Rosemary and Co series 401 |
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| Rosemary and Co series 401 |
Unlike the other brushes tested, when dry the bristles on the series 401 separate and do not hold their point. The point forms again when wet.
Conclusion
My expectations are too great!
All of them needed to be cleaned and reshaped from time to time. Despite the limitations I encountered, my observation is that sable hair brushes form and retain their point with less irritations compared to brushes with other types of bristle and release the paint with a comfortable spring.
Based on the individual brushes that I have, when I go to replace them, I am most likely to select something from the Artis Opus series S range.
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