Thread: "Tying" a brush knot?

Da Vinci is a great brush company and makes very high quality oil painting brushes. I've seen other videos of tying brush knots and they are all similar. I know the brush tiers aprentice for a considerable amount of time before they are aloud to work out on the floor, but I'm also pretty certain most of that training has to do with the tying of watercolor brushes, which require a special point that is all done by hand. By the looks of the video, the badger brushes are shaped by the use of a template rather than by hand. If you can get your hands on some raw badger hair, I imagine it would be possible to tie a knot, (providing you had the template).

So just watch it. if I see a bizarre news story of a bunch of naked badgers running around I know who to report.

When you catch one,Just take the neck hairs,thats the best silvertip,have a friend with you to take some vids of the action.Bring some dog bisquits,badgers love themyou have to first make friends.

If you live in an area with horse farms you may have better luck making a horse hair brush

Kremer pigments used to carry a book on how artist brushes are made. If you can find a copy it has some interesting information.

Charlie

Don't be so cityfied. Most of our States allow hunting and trapping of Badger. This means that there are pelts available.

A green pelt is not preserved beyond salting and drying-and is where i'd start. Find you some buckskinner types or othersuch and they might lead you to pelts. From the pelt, select and remove the hairs to pack and stack! tie/set, etc.

That is how i do it in my mind. Haven't acquired the pelt yet. Probably wise to make the first knot or two from the "lesser" hairs of the critter. Save the holy grail silvertips for your third or fourth attempt.

Small problem for me is that badgers don't populate east of the Mississippi nor South of the Ohio. Any where else (US)...can be found as roadkill. But i've skinned roadkill (mink) and only recommend that for the hardcore.

wp

hey anybody-why do my paragraph breaks go away when i post? what button i gotta push to separate sentence strings. "return" ain't doing it. (i changed from WSIWYG and it's all better now)

S3ntyn3l,

Update please, did you ever find a Badger skin or hair, as Wade suggested, and tie a knot, or anyone else have any luck?

That is some gorgeous knot in the video. It seems like you could make a template with a piece of PVC and a ball. In one of the early threads there is a photo of a hand tied knot used for re-knotting.

I have been reading “The Brushmaker’s Alcove” from the beginning, a very interesting and entertaining thread, as usual packed full with great information, tips and photos.

Is a vid somewhere on the net from the Simpson Company showing how it is done.
I think it would be difficult to do,an art form of sorts IMO

Did a quick online search and you can buy a full Badger pelt from 100 to 300 dollars. I would imagine you could cut the hair off or shave it and tie it as on the video. As you say, I’m sure it must be an art form and the video does make it look easy, too easy.

Just wondering if anyone here has tried it, as someone is always doing something amazing here.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Did a quick online search and you can buy a full Badger pelt from 100 to 300 dollars. I would imagine you could cut the hair off or shave it and tie it as on the video. As you say, I’m sure it must be an art form and the video does make it look easy, too easy.

Just wondering if anyone here has tried it, as someone is always doing something amazing here.

Not me man The other downside is hand tied knots are a Pita to set