Is It The Real Thing? ...or Is It Better?

There has always been a lot of controversies centered on the use of natural versus synthetic brushes in watercolor. For years, professional watercolorists have continued to make the claim that full natural hair watercolor brushes are the best, even though, they can be the most expensive and most difficult to learn to use.  Natural hair brushes are, in fact, very absorbent and will hold an enormous amount of water and paint. The quality of a natural hair brush has been appreciated throughout time.  Even the Queen of England demanded the best natural hair for painting, over 200 years ago when the Winsor & Newton Series 7 brush line was introduced as the Royal standard in watercolor brushes. Of course, at that time, and as was unfortunate for the harvested animals, there were no other options of the synthetic variety. And because of the cost of the Kolinsky Sable Hair used in these brushes, they were and still are only offered in rounds and not available in a wash brush. Other animal hair like goat, sheep, and squirrel was ultimately used to make larger flat brushes to create bold washes across large areas of the watercolor paper.

The original Robert Simmons White Sable

It wasn’t until 1972 that the original synthetic artist’s brush, The Robert Simmons White Sable, was developed to offer a synthetic option that could compete with the increasingly expensive Kolinsky Sable brushes. The original brush was made from different thicknesses of synthetic filaments. It could hold ample amounts of color and had excellent snap and spring. Robert Simmons pioneered a revolution in synthetic brushes, creating a unique blend of filaments that perform so remarkably like pure red sable that they earn the name “White Sable.” They are still very popular and are still in production today.

The synthetic brush industry is now in its 41st year. Brush manufacturers have continued to research and develop synthetic filaments so we now have hundreds or even thousands of synthetic brush options. They come in many shapes, sizes, and designs, as well as, colors and characteristics. There are golden nylon, golden Taklon, white sable, Golden Fleece, Interlocked Synthetics, White Synthetics, and many more synthetic options. The full synthetics brushes have greatly improved, however, they still lack the extreme holding capacity of the naturals.

Isabey 6421 Full Squirrel Hair Wash Brush

One of the most expensive and best-made squirrel hair brushes would have to be the Isabey 6421 Full Natural Squirrel Flat Wash. Pricing in at nearly $100.00 per, this 2-inch size wash brush is quite the investment! It is a premium-made, wonderful quality brush, but a pure luxury for most of the painting community. An alternative to this expensive choice is the blends of natural squirrel and synthetic hair, like the Silver Brush Black Velvet Wash Brush. The blends can pick up even more water and paint than full synthetics, however, they are still just an upgrade, and don’t quite compare.  We, now, have to ask the Real Question, “Will there ever be a true squirrel substitute that is as good or better than the real thing?”

Well, now there is one very unique line of wash brushes that may just change all of the hype given to natural squirrel hair wash brushes, at least for the time being. Cheap Joe’s has introduced a new line of synthetic, or dare we say, faux squirrel hair brushes called the Miller’s Pseudo Squirrel Synthetic Wash Brushes. They come in three great sizes; 1 ½ inch width, 2-inch width, and a generous 3-inch width. In my opinion, they are the Most, Real, Genuine, Cost-Effective, Alternative, Substitute to the Full Natural Squirrel Wash Brush,  Bar None!
I have to tell you, after conducting the following comparison, I think these wash brushes are definitely better than the Real Thing!

NEW Miller’s Pseudo Squirrel Wash Brushes

First, I selected several different brands and options that would compare to the pseudo squirrel line, including the best natural and synthetic blends, as well as, the most popular full synthetics.
Full Natural – Isabey 6421 Series 2? Wash Brush
Natural Squirrel/Synthetic Blends – Winsor and Newton Sceptre Gold 2? Wash Brush and Silver Brush Black Velvet 2 ”
Full Synthetics – Robert Simmons Sienna Sky Wash, Cheap Joe’s Golden Fleece Wash Brush, Cheap Joe’s  White Synthetic Wash Brush

The Challengers

I compared them for the following criteria:

Hair quality – thickness of the hair, texture, softness, resilience
Capacity – the amount of liquid in a full charge of the brush
Absorbency – the amount of liquid that will wick into the brush in 10 sec. with only the tip in the water.
Chisel Edge – the sharp edge of the brush
Ferrule – stability
Hair Stamina – Width to hair length comparison- measurement of width versus length of hair

Here is how they compare:

The Isabey 6421 2? Wash Brush

NATURAL –
Full Natural Squirrel Hair 2? Wash Brush
Isabey 6421 2? Wash Brush
Hair Quality – This full natural squirrel hair is soft, full-bodied, ample amount of hair. Hair did not spring back when water was depleted and kinda had a weird smell when wet.
Capacity – 5 ml. of  liquid to full charge
Absorbency – 3 ml. of liquid in 10 seconds in water.
Chisel Edge – Nice sharp chisel edge. Great for rooftops.
Ferrule/ handle – very stable, nickel ferrule, lacquered handle, smaller squirrel tail shaped handle than most wash brushes.
Hair Stamina – Natural hair can break and shed when the brush is new but normally subsides when the brush is broken in. This is to be expected with all-natural hair brushes.
Width to hair length comparison – 2? wide, 1-1/8? length hair, Provides more control for width of the brush.

BLENDS –

Winsor and Newton Sceptre Gold 2? Wash

Blend of Natural Squirrel/ Synthetic 2? Wash Brush
Winsor & Newton Sceptre Gold II Series 606 2? Wash Brush
Hair Quality – This blend is soft, light to medium-bodied, less hair. Good spring back due to more synthetic filaments.
Capacity – 4 ml. of  liquid to full charge
Absorbency – 2 ml. of liquid in 10 seconds in water.
Chisel Edge – Nice sharp chisel edge. Great for rooftops.
Ferrule/ handle – very stable, nickel ferrule, squirrel tail shaped lacquered handle – ferrule can scratch paper if not careful.
Hair Stamina – Natural hair can break and shed when the brush is new but normally subsides when the brush is broken in. This is to be expected with all-natural hair brushes.
Width to hair length comparison– 2? wide to 2? length, Wider stroke when compressed

Silver Brush Black Velvet 2? Wash

Blend of Natural Squirrel/ Synthetic 1-1/2? Wash Brush-
Silver Brush Black Velvet 1 1/2? Wash Brush
Hair Quality – This blend is soft, full-bodied, ample amount of hair. Good spring back due to the synthetic filaments.
Capacity – 3 ml. of  liquid to full charge
Absorbency – 1 ml. of liquid in 10 seconds in water.
Chisel Edge – Nice sharp chisel edge. Great for rooftops.
Ferrule/ handle – very stable, nickel ferrule, squirrel tail shaped lacquered handle-  Only goes up to 1 1/2 in wide, no larger widths.
Hair Stamina – Natural hair can break and shed when the brush is new but normally subsides when the brush is broken in. This is to be expected with all-natural hair brushes.
Width to hair length comparison – 1-1/2? wide to 1 1/2 length, Wider stroke when compressed

FULL SYNTHETICS

Robert Simmons Sienna 2? Wash

Robert Simmons Sienna Skyflow 2? Wash Brush
Hair Quality – This golden nylon brush is soft, full-bodied, ample amount of filaments. Good spring back.
Capacity – 2 ml. of  liquid to full charge
Absorbency – 0 ml. of liquid in 10 seconds in water only drips, no real quantity.
Chisel Edge – Nice sharp chisel edge. Great for rooftops.
Ferrule/ handle – very stable, nickel ferrule, lacquered squirrel tail shaped handle-
Hair Stamina – Synthetic filaments rarely shed, although you can experience a filament broken by the crimping process. This is to be expected with any new brush. They usually wear very slowly and are resilient with years of use!
Width to hair length comparison – 2? wide to 2? length, Wider stroke when compressed

Golden Fleece 1 1/2? Wash Brush

Cheap Joe’s Golden Fleece 1 1/2? Wash Brush
Hair Quality – This golden toray nylon brush is soft, full-bodied, ample amount of filaments. Good spring back.
Capacity – 1 ml. of  liquid to full charge
Absorbency – 0 ml. of liquid in 10 seconds in water only drips, no real quantity.
Chisel Edge – Nice sharp chisel edge. Great for rooftops.
Ferrule/ handle – very stable, nickel ferrule, lacquered squirrel tail shaped handle-
Hair Stamina – Synthetic filaments rarely shed, although you can experience a filament broken by the crimping process. This is to be expected with any new brush. They usually wear very slowly and are resilient with years of use!
Width to hair length comparison – 1-1/2? wide to 1 1/2? length, Wider stroke when compressed

Cheap Joe’s White Synthetic Wash

Cheap Joe’s White Synthetics 2? Wash Brush
Hair Quality – This white nylon brush is soft, full-bodied, ample amount of filaments. Good spring back.
Capacity – 3 ml. of  liquid to full charge
Absorbency – 0 ml. of liquid in 10 seconds in water only drips, no real quantity.
Chisel Edge – Nice sharp chisel edge. Great for rooftops.
Ferrule/ handle – very stable, nickel ferrule, lacquered squirrel tail shaped handle-
Hair Stamina – Synthetic filaments rarely shed, although you can experience a filament broken by the crimping process. This is to be expected with any new brush. They usually wear very slowly and are resilient with years of use!
Width to hair length comparison – 2? wide to 2? length, Wider stroke when compressed

Miller’s Pseudo Squirrel 2? Wash Brush

Miller’s Pseudo Squirrel 2? Wash Brush
Hair Quality – Thick and ample amounts of a multi-diameter blend of straight and unique Wave-shaped filaments to more closely mimic and resemble the natural look and feel of the squirrel tail hair. Made in the European Tradition
Capacity – 6 ml. of liquid to full charge! More than the Real Full squirrel hair!
Absorbency – 4 ml. of liquid in 10 seconds! Incredible wicking power in this one! Again, more than Real Squirrel!
Chisel Edge – Nice sharp chisel edge. Makes great lines on the edge.
Ferrule/ handle – very stable, High-Quality Stainless Steel Ferrule for years of use!
Hair Stamina – Synthetic filaments rarely shed, although you can experience a filament broken by the crimping process. This is to be expected with any new brush. They usually wear very slowly and are resilient with years of use! The Pseudo Squirrel filaments are made from the thinnest available and include a unique wavy fiber for the most absorbency ever!
Width to hair length comparison – 2? wide to 1-1/8? length, Great Control!

Looks like a round, but it is really the side view of the wash brush!

Basic filament choices

I really love these brushes! You won’t believe Miller’s Pseudo Squirrel Wash Brush is not natural squirrel hair. In fact, you might argue that it’s better than natural squirrel hair brushes. Using the newest processes for synthetic brush manufacturing, the Pseudo Squirrel is thirstier and more resilient than its natural counterpart. This means no shedding, no breakage, and best load-carrying ability but with added control for sharper edges. Available in 1-1/2?, 2? and 3? widths. I, hereby, challenge you to purchase this brush and if you are not completely satisfied with the results, by all means, let us know and send it back! We guarantee that you will find the Miller’s Pseudo Squirrel Wash Brushes to be as good or better than the Best Natural Squirrel Wash Brush we sell!

Artwork by Frank Francese, NWS

Recently our good friend, professional watercolorist, Frank Francese took the challenge and tried out the Miller’s Pseudo Squirrel wash brushes, and let me tell you, He didn’t send them back! This is what he said about the new brushes, and I quote:

“The Pseudo Squirrel will hold an amazing amount of water and color. I am able to mix a large puddle in my palette and load the brush and apply it to the paper. And with one loaded brush of color, I am able to complete one pass over a full sheet of paper. So you don’t always have to stop half way across the paper to recharge the brush.”
Frank Francese

For Frank’s website visit www.ffrancese.com for more information!

I would think squirrels, everywhere, will appreciate the efforts of our brush manufacturers to find a clear and “Pseudo-able” substitute for squirrel hair wash brushes. We hope, in fact, that they are not offended, if dare we say, we have found a synthetic filament that is equal to, if not, superior to their natural tail hair. I know they will appreciate, also, your choice in completely switching over to the Miller’s Pseudo Squirrel Wash brushes, for good, and for the good of all squirrel species everywhere.

Squirrels, all over the world, are coming out of hiding and, at last, and are not looking over their shoulders to see if their tails are still there! 

I sincerely hope you will take a serious look at these new Miller’s Pseudo Squirrel Wash Brushes. I guess I would not have ever believed that a synthetic brush could and does outweigh natural hair. There really isn’t any reason to choose anything else. The price is right, the brush is great, and the comparison is real and it’s up to you to decide for yourself! To all of you squirrel lovers out there. Chalk one up for the little guys! Hip Hip Hoooray! for squirrels all over the world! Happy “Give a Squirrel a Hug” Day! Keep your Pseudo Squirrel Wash Brushes Wet and your Real Squirrel’s Tails Covered!