Badger Brushes: Where to get them and how to care for them

Hey Andy,

Thanks for your blind faith in me, I hope I can deliver! First of all - you obviously need to treat your Badger better - 1 should last a lifetime - they don't grow on trees you know! NEVER get the ferrule wet or the wood will swell and you'll experience Badger pattern baldness.

HOW TO CLEAN: Grab the hairs firmly between the full length of your index and middle finger. Now you can isolate and clean ONLY the tips with cool water - never hot. In this position, you can also very gently scrub the tips with a fingernail brush. You really would only need to do this if you allow the paint to dry on the end of the brush. I have gotten into the habit of wiping the tips of the badger with a damp microfiber cloth IMMEDIATELY after EVERY use.

HOW TO STORE: Fold a stiff piece of paper into a rectangle the same dimensions as the ferrule of the brush to make a sleeve with sharp folds and slide the brush into it to realign the hairs. Store your badger in this sleeve. You should be able to stand a proper badger upright on its hairs. 

Now that you know how to care for your badger, here's what's available:

DICK BLICK: https://www.dickblick.com/products/da-vinci-pure-badger-softener-bright/

PELI: https://shop.peliglass.eu/product-category/painting-needs/paintbrushes/badger-brushes/

New on the market SYNTHETIC BADGER: https://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-master-synthetic-badger-brushes/

Let me know what you think of the synthetic badger if you get one - I heard that they were in development but haven't tried one yet.

Best,

Ken

On 01/15/2021 8:21 PM Andy Gersh <andy@judsonstudios.com> wrote: Hi Kenneth.  I’m Andy.  I was the TA for the Narcissus Qualiata & Tim Carey fused class that took place a couple of years ago at Judson Studios …

… you have a few tricks up your sleeve and if you’re comfortable with sharing the info with us, we’d be very grateful. At any rate, I appreciate the time. 

New adventure for glass samples

My silver stain samples are going on a trip to Belgium to assist in a research project. 

These are the packing materials for customs

There are 3 trays of samples plus a cover

Crate dimensions: 30" H x 30" W x 6" D
Weighs: 51.8 lbs

TECH TIP: Mask for better silver stain application

Stains are corrosive to metals. I use brushes with plastic ferrels, a plastic palette knife, mix stains in plastic or glass containers and use a dedicated badger blender for stains.

Mask the area to be stained with contact paper.

Apply the stain broadly with a brush - keep the entire area evenly damp. The mixture should not be too wet. Consider this as a guideline: If you applied it to a horizontal surface the mixture would not drip.

Blend it with a badger blender.

Stop blending before the stain starts to dry. Dry the stain at this point with a hair dryer but be careful not to disturb it with too much "wind". When dry, remove the mask and watch for any stray flakes of dry stain that cling to the glass by static electricity. Remove these with a soft brush. Fire the stain face up in the kiln. It will contaminate the kiln shelf if fired face down. If you must fire the stain down use a removable barrier layer - like disposable fiber paper or a dusting of whiting.

You can blend the wet stain in a complex shape by masking as described above.

Here is another example of shading the application of stain.