The power of Kolinsky Sable and Russian Black Sable
Russian winter male Kolinsky Red Sable fur makes the world’s best watercolor brushes because of its unique water-carrying properties. It’s extremely soft and supple, strong and elastic. Carefully crafted to take advantage of these special qualities, our brushes are made with a longer than average tapered hair length, hand-cupped by expert brushmakers to produce the precise point. A dense hair count and full, tapered belly maximize the water-holding power. The hairs are deeply set into the ferrule, producing excellent spring and control, and return to a point immediately when raised from the paper.

Our New Russian Black Sable Oil Brushes are wonderful all-purpose tools for oil painters—great for delicate blending and smoothing out ridges left by bristle brushes—invaluable assets for portrait and realist painters. The larger sizes have great color-carrying capacity. Black Sable hair is so smooth that only certain master brushmakers can hold onto it without it slipping through their fingers. The hair combines the advantages of controlled, bristle-like strokes with a smooth application that won’t mark paint layers. Softer than Chungking hog bristle but stiffer than Kolinsky Red Sable, Russian Black Sable combines the advantages of controlled, bristle-like strokes with a smooth application that won’t mark paint layers.

Dan Smith Autograph Series 44-14 Kolinsky Sable Watercolor Round - Size 000