Scale 75 Konlinsky Tajmyr

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

anyone out there using these brushes? I've never heard of Tajmyr so I did some research and a set of three Exodus Tajmyr can retail for $300. One review from a water color artist claimed they were the absolute best. Since it is Scale75 I am assuming it is great, just want to see if it's possible that there could be a brush better than my W&N watercolor series seven size 1.

 

[Ritual]

If you use W&N brushes and are happy with that, I see no reason to go hunting for other brushes. Even if you do find an even better brush, the difference would be marginal. It's better to spend your time and energy on painting and improving your skills. That will make much more difference in the end. And it will save you money...

 

[MAXXxxx]

If you use W&N brushes and are happy with that, I see no reason to go hunting for other brushes. Even if you do find an even better brush, the difference would be marginal. It's better to spend your time and energy on painting and improving your skills. That will make much more difference in the end. And it will save you money...

true,

but as I heard here from others, in the US kolinsky brushes are basically banned. Leading to a shortage of WnN and Raphaell for example.

If they are really good, then they could be a viable substitute for those who can't get the old favorites.
Also even though I still have a reserve of 3-4 WnN brushes (so I won't need a new brush for years) I'd be interested in how good they are and if it's worth trying them.

What I'm waiting atm is some new figure from scale75 I like, so I can save a bit on shipping.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

If you use W&N brushes and are happy with that, I see no reason to go hunting for other brushes. Even if you do find an even better brush, the difference would be marginal. It's better to spend your time and energy on painting and improving your skills. That will make much more difference in the end. And it will save you money...

Very true what Maxxx says about K sable brushes being hard to get. But I have found some sources to order from that have decent selections.

Obviously i I am not going to find a magical brush that paints the mini for me. This is not the expectation. However, I only have a W&N size 1. All of my smaller brushes are Reaper's Kolinsky Sable. While decent brushes, they are noticeably inferior to W&N. That being said, I am in the market for a fine detail brush, and possibly even a size 2. This is what motivates my query. Not some unreasonable expectation for a shortcut to greatness

If anyone has used a Kolinsky Tajmyr, either Exodus or Scale 75, please let me know your thoughts

 

[Dragonsreach]

When and how did this ban come into place?

And if people in the USA want them well brushes are still available over here and I'm pretty sure some kind sole could post them over DISCREETLY.

 

[gohkm]

Is it truly banned? I only thought it was restricted.

This came into place a couple of years back, I think. The animal from which kolinsky sable comes from - some kind of weasel, but I don't remember its name any more - got put on the CITES list. So trading in the animal's components became more controlled.

Maybe it got upgraded to a full ban? I wasn't paying attention if this happened.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

No I don't believe it is a full ban. Whatever it is, it is very strange. For instance, my FLGS, a huuuuge place, has stacks of Reaper Kolinsky Sable but I ask them to order some W&N and they responded that their distributor was out of stock. So I search online for USA stores that carry W£N and they all have extremely limited stocks, as if they have not re-ordered in some time. But I could find surpluses of some other brands.

So something is going on, but there is not a ban. I ordered my W&N from PK-Pro, by the way. There was a custom form attached when it arrived, so it was looked at and not confiscated.

The he weasel that KS is made from is from Siberia, if I recall correctly. Though I have heard that this weasel is actually not even used in modern day KS brushes. You can order just the hairs alone from China. I'm curious though and would like to know the intricacies of this situation.

 

[Kretcher]

Kolinsky sable comes form Russia I believe and there is embargo towards trade with Russia due to Ukrainian crisis. I am not sure if that also effect things or not. Have not followed this "conflict" too close.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

Hmm....this shortage preceded the conflict between the Rooskies and Ukraine. Plus if this was the case it would be a world shortage and not just the US of A.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

Actually, here. This explains it all. Email traffic between a painter and W&N that explains how the Department of Game Fish and WL wants to further research the harvesting of sable, so imports have been discontinued. Oh yeah, and it's indefinite. So I suppose I broke the law, and so has my FLGS. It seems that every manufacturer has not complied though. Ah well. So original question still stands, BTW

http://arcanepaintworks.blogspot.ca/2014/01/importing-kolinsky-sable.html?m=1

Edit: Ooops. Sorry read my own article finally. It's NOT categorically illegal to personally import. Also it seems it's the Chinese Kolinsky that is a problem. Certain manufacturers have imported hairs from Chinese companies that haven't provided the appropriate documentation that guarantees compliance with international law concerning endangered species. Explains why we can order from some companies while W&N is so difficult to find.

Oh and the author of this email is the famous Meg Maples!!!