Brushes - Damaged tip?

[Royzen]

Hello,

I've read about brush care here on the site, but nothing about repairs. So I'd like to ask if anyone knows how to do a quick fix on brushes, especially those that have become hooked at the tip.

I've tried snipping off the bent portion with a craft knife (just the very, very point that's bent). But I found the brush no longer makes a fine point... This is insane cause my brushes are fairly new and I'm quite careful and all, but it seems inevitable.

Thanks,

 

[Egrimm van Horstmann]

Hi Royzen,

What type of brush is it ? I know hooked tips only from synthetic brushes. Every brush of this type develops a hooked tip over time.
When that happens, it's time for a new brush. You can use the old one for other purposes like drybrushing, mixing paint or even for
applying base coats or for areas, where precision is not required. I also found the following article, where hooked tips are considered
useful for certain purposes:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/articles/1154-fun-with-a-bendybrush

I recommend getting a good Kollinsky Sable brush like W&N Series 7. You don't even need a small one, sizes 1 and 2 will do. You will receive
a very fine point and a proper reservoir of paint. It may seem expensive in the first place, but these brushes, when treated nicely live long. I have mine in use for over a year now and it still does not show any deterioation.

 

[Royzen]

Hello, thanks for the reply.

No, my brushes are synthetic (the brand says "Skyists", China...). Well, they have a nice tip and do alright as far as painting goes, but for a limited amount of time (roughly 2 or 3 minis before I get the hooked tip happening). But they're cheap! I've got a cup full of these damaged brushes, so I won't be worrying about brush shortage for heavy duty work, eheh.

I don't have the W&N Kolinskies, as I can't find those in my town. But I have seen some from a brand called "Springer Pinsel" and it says Rotmarder-Kolinsky. I should look it up and see if they're any good.

Thanks.

 

[Egrimm van Horstmann]

Hi Royzen,

I don't know your level of painting, but once you are approaching advanced techniques like blending and did so with a proper brush, you will never again want to do that with a cheap synthetic brush. And the "cheap" is relative. Spending 2€ per brush and consuming one brush per month ist not really cheap compared to spending 10€ per brush and have fun with it over a year.
Regarding the Kolinskies, it's best to get the Series 7 or Raphael 8404. These have been properly tested by experienced painters. I recently bought a cheaper Kolinski and it was no good. So the name of the bristles alone does not automatically imply quality.
Try getting a good brush over the internet, if you don't have a shop nearby - it's worth the result!

cheers, Egrimm

 

[gohkm]

I second that W&N Series 7 and Raphael 8404 brushes. My W&Ns have been subject to fairly heavy use over the past couple of years, and they have sprung back into shape after some TLC with proper brush soap. It's only after I moved countries that the brushes were physically damaged in transit, and I've only recently replaced them but yet to get back into painting.

Jennifer Haley remarked that the W&Ns were the sort of brushes that she made blood sacrifices to - and amen to that, they are worth every single cent.

Caveat, though: test the brushes in the shop. W&Ns are known to have particularly bad batches, so make sure you don't wind up with a lemon.

 

[RuneBrush]

Just repeating what has been said really. Synthetic brushes all will suffer at some point with the 'curled tip' issue. I've had some that lasted one use and others that have lasted a good six-months. Sometimes trimming (I use nail scissors) can return you a point, but more often than not they have to be retired to mixing brushes or drybrushes. You do get what you pay for as they say and in brushes that is pretty true.

W&N Series 7 are very good, but they do cost a small fortune. That said they are very nice brushes providing you don't get a dud.

Where about in the world are you? In the UK I can heartily recommend Rosemary and Co brushes (search on the forum for sizes and type), they're at least half the price and very comparable in quality to W&N.

 

[Einion]

This is insane cause my brushes are fairly new...

As with others I've had the brush tip curl over on the very first use - once watched it happen in front of my eyes, hadn't been using the brush for more than a few minutes :shock:

Some threads about the dreaded bent/curled tip:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/showthread.php?8820-Curly-brushes-what-am-I-doing-wrong
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/showthread.php?34606-Paint-Brush-Fix-a-Curved-Tip
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/showthread.php?37708-Decent-Synthetic-Brush
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/showthread.php?45427-Brush-Curling

Not all bad news though, since those bent tips can be used to paint certain details more easily because they've curled over (sort of painting around the corner).

If you're now in the market for quality Kolinsky rounds it would be worth doing a search as there are loads of threads with more suggestions (and a few warnings, about price, quality issues and other factors).

Einion

 

[Royzen]

Hello everyone above,

Thanks for all your pointers. Firstly, to answer everyone in one go, I'm quite new to the miniature painting/gaming hobby, been painting for about six months or so. At the moment I live in Macau (China), so there's not alot of miniature hobbyists here, hence the difficulty of finding proper hobby brushes. I've posted a thread about blending techniques, cause that's my worse enemy. I'm quite tidy and sharp with flats, but when the time comes to highlight and shading, I end up messing the whole mini. There's no solution really, the secret is practice, practice, practice...

But then again, aside from the right paint consistency, I know it all depends on the brush quality too. So I guess there's not much I can do except get out there and look for the right tools.

I order most my stuff at GW, England. I'm more of a LOTR fan, so at the moment I'm painting a Mines of Moria set, along with the Balrog. I'd love to post some of my stuff here for critique, but I based most of my character's color schemes on different people here on the site. I private messaged them to ask if they wouldn't mind me posting my work based on their artwork, but I haven't received reply from neither of them... So there it is.

But thanks anyway, I'll check out the links and see if I can manage.

 

[Royzen]

Oh, I see there's already alot of threads speaking of the same issue. I wonder how I missed this...

 

[Einion]

I order most my stuff at GW, England.

If you like their minis go for it, but it would be a very good idea to look elsewhere for anything in the realm of tools (their stuff is infamous for how overpriced it usually is).

At the moment I live in Macau (China), so there's not alot of miniature hobbyists here, hence the difficulty of finding proper hobby brushes.

What about art shops?

I don't know how Hong Kong is situated now for buying art supplies (was okay but not great when I lived there) but worth visiting there to see if you can find better brushes?

Einion

 

[me_in_japan]

I find it very hard to get art supplies here in Japan (except Tamiya. Noooooo problems there...) so I buy most all of my stuff online. This site is the best I've found for Winsor and Newton brushes. They deduct uk VAT for overseas customers, which makes a big difference.
http://www.artsupplies.co.uk/brushes-series-7-kolinsky-watercolour-brush.htm

Rosemary and co are also good, but shipping is a bit ouchy unless you're buying a few brushes.

Ps : I second what everyone has been saying about synthetic brushes. Once you use a good sable brush you'll never go back to synthetic.

 

[Royzen]

I don't know how Hong Kong is situated now for buying art supplies (was okay but not great when I lived there) but worth visiting there to see if you can find better brushes?

Einion

Oh, definitely. I'm sure there are art stores in Hong Kong with much better quality brushes than here in Macau. They might also have those Kolinsky brushes, I just have to explore better. But yeah, everywhere I go about this hobby I keep hearing about the Kolinsky brushes. So I'll definitely take everyone's word for it and put that on my quest list. So you guys are saying a size 1 and 2 will suffice?

 

[Einion]

Which brush sizes are good/optimal is one of those things where people differ widely (previous discussions on this too) but yeah, a 1 and a 2 would be sufficient for a lot of people, especially with some synthetics for backup. It might seem like you'd be hampered by not having a teeny brush like a 000 or smaller but the fine tips on quality rounds mean a large one can paint small details remarkably well.

BTW not to overlook that ordering the brushes online is definitely a viable option - savings of 30% and up on RRP are the norm.

Einion

 

[Einion]

This site is the best I've found for Winsor and Newton brushes. They deduct uk VAT for overseas customers, which makes a big difference.
http://www.artsupplies.co.uk/brushes-series-7-kolinsky-watercolour-brush.htm

Out of curiosity, have you compared to any of the bigger US vendors?

Ps : I second what everyone has been saying about synthetic brushes. Once you use a good sable brush you'll never go back to synthetic.

Do you not use synthetics for anything or are you just referring to detail painting?

Einion

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Has anyone tried Japanese writing brushes? Had the 'hook of doom' hit a lot of my brushes.

 

[me_in_japan]

@einion - a lot of the US sites have good prices for the brushes, but the shipping tends to be horrific. As for acrylic brushes, aye - I was meaning for detail work/blending. I have a nice wee Rosemary and Co acrylic brush that I use for a bunch of day to day stuff (everything from mixing colours to laying down base coats) that I'm very happy with. It has a hook tip, though

@Shawn - Ive never tried Japanese writing brushes (well, I've used em for doing Japanese writing, but not mini painting). I'd imagine they'd be way too soft for doing mini work with. There's bugger all spring to their bristles.

 

[Einion]

Has anyone tried Japanese writing brushes?

I used to use the Chinese equivalent quite a bit. They're made from a variety of natural hairs; some are totally awesome, others don't hold up over time and I've had one or two lose the sharp point very quickly which is why I stopped buying them - couldn't tell which level of performance you'd get from looking at them, and the price was no guide either.

Since you're in the US I'd recommend having a go with Blick's own Kolinsky brushes that I've recommended in some prior threads, prices are reasonable (more than they used to be unfortunately) and they're really good.

@einion - a lot of the US sites have good prices for the brushes, but the shipping tends to be horrific.

Ta. I'm surprised it's less from the UK! And with the lower prices on US sites, plus maybe an advantage in exchange rate, even with higher shipping I would have thought ordering from America would still have the edge, at least sometimes.

As for acrylic brushes, aye - I was meaning for detail work/blending. I have a nice wee Rosemary and Co acrylic brush that I use for a bunch of day to day stuff (everything from mixing colours to laying down base coats) that I'm very happy with. It has a hook tip, though

I'd expect as much ^__^

Einion

 

[airhead]

I know one good use for those hooked-tip synthetic brushes.

1. get a sharp x-acto (I prefer the #11 blade)
2. Use a proper cutting mat - not the bed spread or your Mom's countertop.
3. lay the brush on the cutting mat.
4. Take off about 1/3 of the bristle. Be as square (perpendicular) as possible to the brush when you do this.

Now, you have a brush good for dry brush techniques.
arty:

Actually, I prefer small square pointed brushes for dry-brushing. I have no real use for hooked synthetics.