A recent post by Big Lee about the incredibly crap Games Workshop brushes - and a conversation with Russ about his recent acquisition of a Winsor Newton brush (I think) for the princely sum of £10 - got me thinking about brush quality.
I must have - conservatively - over 150 brushes of various types (most never used). Most are cheap nylon types but they tend to do OK and last a long time. But I've never (until today) spent more than £2.50 on a single brush.
But Russ' insistence on the different exprience a quality brush offers meant that I bought two £3.95 Daler Rowner brushes today. Time will tell if this is a good investment or not but they look very nice! Not quite Russ' tenner - but a step in the right direction.
The issue I suppose is how good a job they do vs. how long they last vs. initial cost. If we weight the quality (1 poor, 10 good), longevity (1 poor, 10 good) and price (1 expensive, 10 cheap) then we can look at how they stack up:-
Typical nylon brush : quality 5, longevity 6, price 6 = 17 out of 30
Expensive quality brush : quality 9, longevity 8, price 2 = 19 out of 30
Games Workshop brush :quality 1, longevity 1, price 3 = 5 out of 30.
You can add your own weighting system but that looks like conclusive proof that quality does pay, and Games Workshop brushes should be avoided like the plague!
I must have - conservatively - over 150 brushes of various types (most never used). Most are cheap nylon types but they tend to do OK and last a long time. But I've never (until today) spent more than £2.50 on a single brush.
But Russ' insistence on the different exprience a quality brush offers meant that I bought two £3.95 Daler Rowner brushes today. Time will tell if this is a good investment or not but they look very nice! Not quite Russ' tenner - but a step in the right direction.
The issue I suppose is how good a job they do vs. how long they last vs. initial cost. If we weight the quality (1 poor, 10 good), longevity (1 poor, 10 good) and price (1 expensive, 10 cheap) then we can look at how they stack up:-
Typical nylon brush : quality 5, longevity 6, price 6 = 17 out of 30
Expensive quality brush : quality 9, longevity 8, price 2 = 19 out of 30
Games Workshop brush :quality 1, longevity 1, price 3 = 5 out of 30.
You can add your own weighting system but that looks like conclusive proof that quality does pay, and Games Workshop brushes should be avoided like the plague!