the_eva•1mo agoTop Commenter

My chinese calligraphy brush totally fell apart mid-stroke yesterday

I was working on a character for a friend's wedding invitation, trying to get that perfect 福 character, and the bristles just separated from the handle halfway through a downward stroke. Ink went everywhere, ruining the nice rice paper I bought from that shop in Chinatown. I had been using that brush for about 6 months, got it for like 12 bucks online, and I guess the glue just gave out. After cleaning up the mess, I went to a real art store and spent 25 dollars on a proper one with a wooden handle that feels way more solid. Has anyone else had cheap brushes fall apart on them during a project?

2 comments

2 Comments

hayden5871mo agoMost Upvoted

Man that 12 dollar online brush thing is such a gamble. I bought a set of 3 brushes from Amazon for like 15 bucks once and the smallest one started shedding hairs on the second use. Ended up with little black fibers stuck in the ink on a character I was practicing for a birthday card. The 25 dollar wooden handle ones from a real art store are night and day different though. The one I got has a bamboo handle and the glue joint is so tight you could probably hang from it. Way less frustrating when you're trying to nail down a stroke and your tools aren't falling apart on you.

olivers281mo ago

Did you check if those cheap ones had the ferrule glued on tight before buying? I swear half the problem with those multi-packs is the metal part pops off after a few wet sessions, not just the shedding. The bamboo handle one you mentioned, does it have a metal crimp or is it just glued onto the wood? Because I'm noticing the good art store ones use a two-piece ferrule that actually snaps around the handle, not just a dab of epoxy. That little detail makes a huge difference when you're trying to do fine line work and the whole thing starts wiggling. Just curious what brand it was, because I've been burned by the wooden handle hype too.