Artificer Brushes

[INKS]

I am sure these have been around for a while and I just did not notice., But are these worth the money? Has anyone bought and tried them? What is an alternative to this level or product for other refrences

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

They essentially a Winsor & Newton Series 7 with a different handle/ferrule (according to Tom Hibbert), with all that entails.

 

Speaking from a UK perspective, they're priced at around the RRP of a Series 7, so they work out a little pricey due to the common discount in art stores, but work out more easily available (there aren't many art stores).

 

I've seen complaints in the past about W&N's quality control on the Series 7 line, but I haven't seen anything about the Artificer line - it may be possible GW is doing some extra checking.

 

In terms of alternatives, Raphael 8404 and DaVinci Maestro Series 10 or 35 are probably the ones to look at. Which is best for you is down to personal preference (the Series 10 is shaped more like a dagger, whereas the Series 35 and 8404's are more like a flame).

Edited July 3 by Firedrake Cordova

[INKS]

Thanks so much, this is exactly what I wanted to know and was looking for!!!

[sitnam]

I have the small drybrush and it’s my favorite drybrush. I’m tempted to pick up an extra one

 

it has taken abuse and frayed a bit, but I’m terrible at brush care and it still works

Edited July 3 by sitnam

[INKS]

1 hour ago, sitnam said:

I have the small drybrush and it’s my favorite drybrush. I’m tempted to pick up an extra one

 

it has taken abuse and frayed a bit, but I’m terrible at brush care and it still works

Thank you, this is helpful and good to know.

[Bung]

11 hours ago, INKS said:

I am sure these have been around for a while and I just did not notice., But are these worth the money? Has anyone bought and tried them? What is an alternative to this level or product for other refrences

 

 

Look for Kolinsky Sable Brushes.

You can get really good ones for 1/3 of the price of the GW Artificer Brushes.

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

3 hours ago, sitnam said:

I have the small drybrush and it’s my favorite drybrush. I’m tempted to pick up an extra one

The Artificer line only has 3 Layer brushes within it. Are you sure you don't mean the STC line (synthetic bristles and a white handle) or the regular line (ox/synthetic mix and a black handle)?

Edited July 3 by Firedrake Cordova

[INKS]

43 minutes ago, Bung said:

 

Look for Kolinsky Sable Brushes.

You can get really good ones for 1/3 of the price of the GW Artificer Brushes.

 

thank you I will look into these

[Tyriks]

I had an Artificer Brush years ago, and it was good, but I think there are better options. I have some Series 7 now and they're all great, but I really rely on Monument Hobbies brushes now. I use them constantly and they hold up great while being about half the cost. I don't know if that is true outside of the US, though.

[INKS]

14 minutes ago, Tyriks said:

I had an Artificer Brush years ago, and it was good, but I think there are better options. I have some Series 7 now and they're all great, but I really rely on Monument Hobbies brushes now. I use them constantly and they hold up great while being about half the cost. I don't know if that is true outside of the US, though.

Thank you I will add this to my list of hobby items to look at. I moved recently and I more or less have to buy everything over again. While I am not trying to cheap out or anything I am trying to be a little conservative on how much stuff I buy.

[sitnam]

3 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

The Artificer line only has 3 Layer brushes within it. Are you sure you don't mean the STC line (synthetic bristles and a white handle) or the regular line (ox/synthetic mix and a black handle)?

 

You are correct, it is the STC line..I didn't realize it was seperate

[Firedrake Cordova]

On 7/3/2024 at 7:28 AM, Firedrake Cordova said:

In terms of alternatives, Raphael 8404 and DaVinci Maestro Series 10 or 35 are probably the ones to look at. Which is best for you is down to personal preference (the Series 10 is shaped more like a dagger, whereas the Series 35 and 8404's are more like a flame).

It would appear that I forgot to mention Rosemary & Co Series 33s.  I'm not sure what availability is like outside the UK, though (I know they don't ship direct to US consumers for legal reasons)... 

Edited July 4 by Firedrake Cordova

[INKS]

48 minutes ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

It would appear that I forgot to mention Rosemary & Co Series 33s.  I'm not sure what availability is like outside the UK, though (I know they don't ship to the US for legal reasons)... 

I will write all these down and see which I can get my hands on and for how much in my area. I appreciate all the responses.

[rpraetor]

In the US, Michigan Toy Soldier sells Rosemary & Co Series 33 brushes.

[Orion]

For Australia I found Rosemary and Co 10x cheaper and better than W&N S7.
I prefer the longer bristles from the R&C.

 

Price difference between brushes gets kinda insane as well.
A single series 7 size 2 is $130 in art stores.
R&C 33 size 2 gets down to $12.

 

I guess shop around.

[Firedrake Cordova]

That's a staggering difference, @Orion!  

 

Over here, a Series 7 size 2 is £24.50 (RRP £33.35), and a Series 33 size 3 is £8.55, which is much less of a difference! (the Series 7s tend to be graded a bit large compared to Series 33, hence comparing against a R&C brush "one size up" - both have ~15mm long bristles with a belly of ~2.4mm)

Edited July 4 by Firedrake Cordova

[Tyriks]

The only time I've found Rosemary & Co in store here in thr US they were something like $15 a brush when W&N were $18-20 so I never bought any. Crazy how much variation there is!

[Firedrake Cordova]

1 hour ago, Tyriks said:

they were something like $15 a brush when W&N were $18-20...Crazy how much variation there is!

Obviously I don't know when you're talking about, but Winsor & Newton brushes have increased in price substantially in recent years - the last time I bought a Series 7 (2019) I paid £9.80* for a Series 7 size 2 (the RRP is now £33). In 2021, a Series 33 size 3 was £5.55 (they're now £8.50), which is a much smaller increase in price.

 

Raphael are another brand which has seen a steep increase in price - I paid £6.32* for an 8404 size 1 in 2019, and they're now £18.10.

 

* It's probably worth pointing out that these were sale prices, so would have been discounted below the day-to-day street price, so the comparison I'm making to their current price is inherently distorted.

 

 

Edited July 4 by Firedrake Cordova

[Valkyrion]

What makes a £20 brush better than a £5 brush?

I don't mean so much that it's made from the fallen locks of Rapunzel herself, but from my point of view as the user of it, could I tell the difference? 

[Tyriks]

37 minutes ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

Obviously I don't know when you're talking about, but Winsor & Newton brushes have increased in price substantially in recent years - the last time I bought a Series 7 (2019) I paid £9.80* for a Series 7 size 2 (the RRP is now £33). In 2021, a Series 33 size 3 was £5.55 (they're now £8.50), which is a much smaller increase in price.

 

Raphael are another brand which has seen a steep increase in price - I paid £6.32* for an 8404 size 1 in 2019, and they're now £18.10.

 

* It's probably worth pointing out that these were sale prices, so would have been discounted below the day-to-day street price, so the comparison I'm making to their current price is inherently distorted.

 

 

Ouch! I haven't bought and W&Ns since probably around 2019-2020 so I missed that. Looking at prices on Blick art supply, seems like the sticker price has doubled or more on some, but they're all marked down significantly so I'm not sure how much the price has effectively changed here.

 

Looking at Monument Hobbies brushes, their sables were all $10-12 in 2020-21ish (whenever I bought mine), now they look to be more $12-15, so not a terrible price increase, but I don't know about availability or cost elsewhere since they're based here in the US. I will say mine have held up great since I bought them.

 

23 minutes ago, Valkyrion said:

What makes a £20 brush better than a £5 brush?

I don't mean so much that it's made from the fallen locks of Rapunzel herself, but from my point of view as the user of it, could I tell the difference? 

I always bought cheap brushes and threw them out aftet awhile because I was convinced there was no difference. I eventually bought a nice brush and never used it out of fear of ruining it. Eventually I did try it and wasn't impressed - it didn't behave like they did in youtube videos.

 

At some point I figured out that what I wanted was a well conditioned brush - pretty much no brush behaves the way they do on YouTube videos unless you use brush conditioner. I started doing that and there is absolutely a difference! Cheap brushes are harder to get a good point on and they don't want to stay pointed. My nicer brushes have kept a good pointed tip for years now. So if you are willing to use conditioner, and spend time on caring for the brushes, you get a LOT more mileage out of nicer brushes. If you don't take good care, there's not any difference.

 

Master's brush soap is apparently the most popular conditioner, but there are a few that are really good. Just get it wet, work the brush into it so it softens and gets in the bristles, work it to a point and let it dry.

[Firedrake Cordova]

As with most products, there's multiple grades of Kolinsky sable (and other) hair. It's possible that the more expensive brush may:

• hold a finer point
• have better "spring" or "snap"
• hold more paint or releases it more evenly
• last longer

You may also notice a difference in the materials used, which affects how it feels in the hand.

 

Finally, some manufacturers don't sell via retailers, so they can afford to price their brushes lower (they don't need to factor in a mark-up for the retailer when working out their RRP), which can distort perceptions somewhat.

 

++EDIT: As @Tyriks says, natural hair brushes benefit from being taken care of as hair. The Master's brush soap is great for cleaning and conditioning, as is Jo-Sonja's (personally I prefer Jo-Sonja's due to it being liquid).

Edited July 4 by Firedrake Cordova

[INKS]

41 minutes ago, Valkyrion said:

What makes a £20 brush better than a £5 brush?

I don't mean so much that it's made from the fallen locks of Rapunzel herself, but from my point of view as the user of it, could I tell the difference? 

From the perspective of a very very low mediocre painter, it's about how well it will retain that point and for how long. I have found that paying just a little more (I am not talking tons of money here) does matter in terms of how well it allows you to control the paint on the brush to get just a nicer coverage, without it just slopping all over the place.

[Grotsmasha]

1 hour ago, Valkyrion said:

What makes a £20 brush better than a £5 brush?

I don't mean so much that it's made from the fallen locks of Rapunzel herself, but from my point of view as the user of it, could I tell the difference? 

 The most noticeable difference is they hold the point longer, and you'll be able to paint longer because the belly of the brush holds, and dispenses paint better/smoother.

[Bung]

13 hours ago, Valkyrion said:

What makes a £20 brush better than a £5 brush?

I don't mean so much that it's made from the fallen locks of Rapunzel herself, but from my point of view as the user of it, could I tell the difference? 

Mostly the used hair.

Kolinsky Sable hair is different too pork bristels and other Hair used in natural hair paint Brushes, Others have already mentioned how they behave different.

 

The prices differ for various reasons like There is the supply and demand gap. Kolinsky Sable hair isnt supplied in enough quantities to make enough cheap Brushes, as they are used for cosmetiv brushes too for example.

 

Then there is the manufacturing process which is more refined with expansive Brushes.

 

 

[KAINE-77]

Late to the discussion, but thought I'd add my experiences with the GW Artificer brushes.

 

Long story short, bought a set, and they were awful.

Now, it was a long, long time ago, so it'd could've been a bad batch, but couldn't hold a point, split and fell apart.

I've been wary of expensive (to me) brushes since. But, as I say, could've just been bad luck, and they may have improved!

 

On a whim, I bought a cheap Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolour brush from WHSMITH ( UK Newsagent/Stationary Shop) and they have been my go to brushes for the last 15 years!