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What’s special about sable brushes

As one of the longest-standing paintbrush hairs, sable brushes are renowned for their extremely high quality and performance. The characteristics of natural sable hair offer a unique combination of flexibility and spring, allowing them to hold copious amounts of colour while still allowing you to control them for fine detailed painting.

This journal post will delve into why sable brushes are so popular amongst artists, their distinct characteristics that set them apart from any other hair type, and the painting techniques that you can use.

Why are sable paintbrushes so expensive?

As with any natural hair, sable hair needs to be sourced. The process of collecting the hairs can be very labour intensive and even then, there is a careful selection to make sure that only the finest hairs are used.

Sable is highly renowned for its ability to remain soft and flexible, while still retaining a spring- a characteristic that cannot be matched by any other hair. Because of this, they are able to hold a significant amount of colour and release it evenly on the pad without leaving any brush marks, perfect for watercolour and gouache painting. The characteristic of the hair also gives the brush the perfect shape- a wide belly for colour holding, and a sharp tip that gives the brush a fine point for detailed painting. This video reviews and shows the difference between real paintings using sable and synthetic brushes.

In order to manufacture sable brushes to the highest standard, Pro Arte brush makers must go through rigorous training for years before moving on to sable brushes. Each brush is then handmade, shaped and cut to size, a meticulous procedure that takes significantly longer than any other brush. This high level of craftsmanship ensures that the brushes are perfect and uniform, maintaining their performance over time

Sable brush advantages

  • Soft and flexible hairs allow for smooth and precise strokes, ensuring that no brush marks are left on the canvas- as seen in this reel
  • The shape of the brush head allows it to carry lots of colour while still retaining a sharp point
  • Despite the softness of sable brushes, the natural hair is very durable when properly looked after

Sable brush disadvantages

  • Sable brushes come with a hefty price tag. This is due to the sourcing of natural hair and more intensive brush manufacturing methods
  • As sable is a natural hair, there are ethical concerns regarding the sourcing, gathering and sustainability of animal welfare- questioning the ethics of art materials
  • Although sable is naturally durable, they are still very fragile and prone to damage from harsh chemicals and improper cleaning techniques. Our brush cleaning guide provides the proper guidance on cleaning sable paintbrushes.

How are sable brushes made?

Here at Pro Arte, we have specialised in paint brushes for over 50 years. Before the development of synthetic hair brushes in the 1990s, early brush ranges had to be manufactured out of natural hair. In order to do this, our brush making team went through rigorous training and development in how to make the perfect sable brush, and only after years of training could they become a fully-fledged brush maker.

The process:

  • Unlike synthetic hairs, sable cannot be mixed using a machine. Instead, we hand-mix each batch of sable hair to our own specifications. This ensures that mixes are consistent and can be hand-tapered for each brush.
  • The hair is then carefully laid out before a brush maker selects the correct amount. Too little and the glue sinks too deep and ruins the hair, too much the glue cannot penetrate the fibres. The hair is combed and tapped in a cannon to create the dome shape of the brush. Finally, the hair is tied and pulled into the ferrule.
  • Once the brush head has been made, the hair is cemented into place using glue. Following that, the head is attached to a preprinted handle that contains the brush information. This is done using a clenching method to bind the wooden handle and metal ferrule.
  • Finally, the brushes are finished – this means that they are shaped and capped for transport, with any marks being polished out.
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