Overview of Materials

We are often asked about the type and origin of the brush hair used for our quality artist brushes. As a special service we have compiled this small encyclopedia of brush hair & material for you.

Kolinsky Red Sable Hair

The highest quality hair type is kolinsky red sable hair. It comes from the tail of the male sable native to Northern Siberia and Northern China. These regions are dominated by severe cold. The animals must adapt to these natural conditions and thus grow a very thick hide. That is why the valuable kolinsky red sable hairs are the best for premium brushes. They have extremely fine tips, a relatively light colour and favourable elasticity and resilience.

Red Sable Hair

The hair of the red sable comes from those species of sable that live in more southerly regions. This hair quality is traded on the world market somewhat less expensively; it is not as strong and somewhat darker than the kolinsky red sable hair. It is also one of the highest quality hair types that can be used for artist brushes.

Squirrel Hair

Squirrel hair comes from the tail of the Canadian and Russian squirrel. There are blue squirrel hair and Kazan squirrel hair, which is primarily used for porcelain and ceramic brushes. In general, squirrel hair is very soft and has a favourable paint absorption quality. However, its resilience is lower than that of the red sable hair.

“Toray” Synthetic Hair

The only synthetic hair suitable for the manufacture of artist brushes is called “Toray”. Like all natural hairs, it has a conical shape (i.e. it becomes narrower towards the tip). It possesses a high degree of elasticity and favourable resilience; however, in comparison to natural hair, it lacks the natural scaly structure, which means paint comes out of the brush head faster. “Toray” hair is available in all conventional colours.

Natural/Synthetic Hair Blend

We can also provide you with brushes having a natural/synthetic hair blend. These brushes combine the advantages of both types and are becoming ever more popular.

Chungking Bristles

For lineo brushes, only the best Chinese bristles from the city of Chungking are used. These bristles are white, very robust and are characterised by favourable paint absorption and elasticity.

Goat Hair

The quality goat hair used for our brushes comes from Asia and is mainly used for sturdy flat or school brushes, as well as special mending brushes.

Ox Hair

The light, brown and black ox hairs come from the ears of special breeds of ox. These hairs are strong as well as elastic, and thus make a very good choice for oil and flat brushes.

Ferrules

Ferrules are the metal sheaths that connect the brush body to the handle. There are seamless nickel and aluminium ferrules and tin ferrules with soldered or crimped seams. For all high-quality brushes, we exclusively use seamless nickel ferrules made from drawn brass tubing. They retain their shape, provide a firm and lasting connection between handle and brush head.

Handles

All lineo brushes have handles made of genuine natural wood. Depending on the brush series, we use either not-lacquered or low-maintenance, lacquered handles.

Gumming

At the end of a production sequence, all high-quality lineo artist hair and bristle brushes are treated with an arabic gum solution, so that they will be protected during transport and reach the customer undamaged.

Protective Hair Covers

To better protect the brushes, especially during shipping, we use protective brush hair covers made from transparent plastic.

 

lineo brushes are manufactured mostly by hand. We are only using tested raw materials and only the best hair types. We are at your service: For any questions about our production and the materials we are using, feel free to contact us!