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With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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http://ask.metafilter.com/143049/Are-they-killing-sables-to-make-my-brushes Dippy - sorry, no. To start with, no animal is kept to provide the hair for sable brushes. The brushmakers receive pelts or rather parts of pelts from the fur industry to make sable brushes with. They're not farmed for artistic purposes - they're not farmed in that sense at all, they're trapped, or bred specifically (which is at least less destructive of the species in general) and are then killed. Or, as they charmingly put it, are "harvested". As well as the link above, there was an article on the Rosemary & Co website which is quite specific about the source of sable and, when she still provided it, mongoose hair. Mind you, you have given me a certain amount of entertainment with the idea of shaving a weasel - you try it, I can't resist suggesting, and the best of luck. We need to be quite clear where these products come from and how they're made: then, we can decide whether to use them or not, and justify that to our conscience as best we can - some manage, some don't. The lure of a sable brush is hard to resist if watercolour is your passion. It's better, in any event, to know the truth than not. Just don't ask about angora sweaters ... it's even worse. http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net http://www.wightpaint.blogspot.co.uk
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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Again, Philip - you try that, boy: and your present problems will be replaced by the immediate issue of how to replace the left nipple....
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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I've seen lots of wild mongooses in India, but never seen a wild marten in any country - a few Doc Martens have passed my way. I thought that most brushes now come from China, where there is little sympathy for wildlife other than Pandas. But what about the squirrels - I'm sure there are not many watercolorists without a squirrel mop brush?
michael

Michael Edwards

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I've avoided squirrel mops - so cruel - how will they clean their dreys without them?

Sylvia Evans

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Michael /Phil you both get worse......... Splosh there are Pine Martens in north Wales sweet pretty creatures. Though thanks to the ministrations of those other creatures, game keepers they are virtually extinct , Maybe we should try Game Keeper thatch. ? they are nasty creatures.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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Kazan or Sacamena squirrel hair, from Russia - that, they tell me, is what makes up a squirrel hair mop. We have red squirrels on the Isle of Wight, no greys - and we try hard to keep it that way. Greys carry squirrel pox, which sounds charming ... unfortunately, our native squirrels don't have the resilience in the hair to make good brushes, largely because they don't need it: it doesn't get cold enough here. This is just as well for the reds, but it's at least a use to which the poor old grey could be put if only their hair were strong enough. I rather like 'em, in moderation - I was at a boring conference in Winchester, staying in an hotel overlooking the cathedral close - I watched every morning as the grey squirrels leapt from tree to tree; much more entertaining than the conference. But anyway - most of these fur-bearing animals from which we derive hair for brushes come from the colder regions of Russia and China, I believe. And to describe the fur-farmers in those countries as unsentimental about wildlife would be to indulge in the deepest possible under-statement.

Usman Bin Tariq

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They are just good brushes to use anywhere.

Alan Owen

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hi every one .morning I have watched a trailer of Steve Hall on the tube ,(,you probably know he is a fan of Edward Wesson and has wrote a couple of books on him) he shows a wrap of brushes used by Ted . and you can see Ted used a few flats and synthetics ,more so than the squirrel in his trailer Steve shows a brush similar to one of Teds in his roll , a detail brush .. Steve sells one of these detail brushes ,(the same sold by Bromleys a little cheaper ,I want to ask,,,,, has anyone used the..Escoda, Pera,white ,toray.Synthetic brush .for detail. and what did you think of them?? thank you Alan

Alan Owen

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Hi every one // I received one of the detail escoda brushes and I am a bit surprised,, that a none sable brush can be so good,,, the stiffness should be ideal for oil painting ,,it points very well .,,how long it will last we will have to see .
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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I've never used the Escoda brush Alan specifically mentions, but I have used others of theirs and found them of the first quality. Agree with Syd too - this brush sounds as if it would be good for acrylic as well (but then, most brushes are: the snag isn't so much that the brush isn't good for acrylic, but that acrylic isn't good for the brush - e.g., I'd never use my sables with acrylic. Synthetics should be fine, though). http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net http://www.wightpaint.blogspot.co.uk
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