Paint brushes, some visual comparisons

[Pingo]

So my old Winsor & Newton series 7 size 1 finally died.

 

Last year (or possibly longer ago) there was some concern about US Fish and Wildlife importing regulations making kolinsky sable paint brushes much harder to find in the US.  As a result, I bought some brands I hadn't tried to test out should trusty old Winsor and Newtons become unavailable.

 

I've had good experience with Old Holland paints, so I decided to try their brushes too.

 

Brush size has no standardization or consistency from brand to brand.  Each picture below shows a new Old Holland Series 7001 Kolinsky Size 4 brush (above) and a new Winsor and Newton Series 7 Size 1 brush (below), and as you can see they are pretty much the same size.

 

Before washing (as came from store):

 

Washed, with centimeter scale:

 

The Old Holland brush has a much longer handle and a thicker grip near the business end:

 

Details of markings:

 

I haven't tested them in painting yet, but while washing them they seemed to have about the same amount of "snap".

 

[dsmiles]

I definitely like the handle on that Old Holland better. The thicker grip would be perfect for my big, fat fingers. Well, for parts of the painting, at least. Sometimes, I get all the way up on the ferrule to stop the shaking.

[Gadgetman!]

Have you tried the Army Painter brushes with triangular shafts, or even those triangular 'pencil grips' people put on pens?

[dsmiles]

Have you tried the Army Painter brushes with triangular shafts, or even those triangular 'pencil grips' people put on pens?

The shafts on the AP brushes are fine. The brushes themselves, OTOH... 

[Gadgetman!]

I wouldn't know if they're good or bad, really. They're the best I have right now.

(Waiting for the Norwegian Krone to recover a bit before ordering Raphael 8404 brushes)

 

Anyway, the important thing is that the triangular profile makes for a much better grip, and that again translates to better brush control. 

And if you could fit one of those triangular rubber grips onto your brush, you should experience the same, really.

[arclance]

Anyway, the important thing is that the triangular profile makes for a much better grip, and that again translates to better brush control. 

And if you could fit one of those triangular rubber grips onto your brush, you should experience the same, really.

I should be possible to make a appropriately sized triangle grip out of green stuff to fit any brush.