da Vinci Brushes 5359 da Vinci Watercolor Russian Red Sable 5359-5 Brush Set-Includes Series 36 Sizes 0, 1, 2, 4 & 6-Round Shape

These Ussuri Sable brushes are truly an outstanding value for the money! A few stray hairs, but nothing that would change the performance and quality of the product! Other than some very high-priced Kolinsky Sable brushes, these are some of the best natural-hair brushes I have used (even better than some Kolinsky)! Certainly better than Rosemary Kol;insky sable and some of the other "hobby" brands out there. Good points, good control, good snap!

I rate a product as 5 stars or 1 star. If the item is delivered in the time promised AND is exactly what was promised then that is excellent and if not then the 1 star. As I said both of these conditions were satisfied. When I was in the Air Force many years ago we were told that when it comes to food preparation there is absolutely clean or filthy, no in-between so this how I judge. What I do want to comment on is the beauty of these brushes. Most of my painting has been either interior/exterior house painting or model airplanes so very large brushes or small disposable ones. These brushes are beautiful. Sorry to gush about them but the ad picture does not do them justice. The stem, barrel and especially the brush hair itself are quality all the way. Maybe someone with more artistic painting experience will differ with this opinion but I am truly impressed with the quality of these brushes.

But I received a #8 with my set as well! The brushes are great quality from the limited use I've given them so far. Nicer than the Games Workshop brushes I used years ago. It's been too long since I last painted to give a firm comparison of the two, but what I will say is these are definitely worth purchasing over the GW brushes. I also purchased a separate size #8, because I didn't know this set would come with one. Don't expect the same mistake to happen for you, but even without it this set is a great deal! Look up separate kolinsky sable brushes and then compare their price to this set. This set costs less than most single kolinsky sable brushes do!

Horrible. Almost turned me away from painting thinking all brushes were like this. Truly gas to be a scam, these brushes gave a huge following and I know that had nothing to do with these brushes I received. DONT BUY!!!! So I’m a man of acceptance so I know when I’m wrong and am not afraid to admit it. So it’s not that the brushes are horrible it’s that the brushes are amazing but the prep before use is horrible. I will tell u now. If u do not prep these brushes they will be the worst. But once washing and trimming all the loose hairs (which goes to me complaining about the prep and which took about 30mins each brush so I wouldn’t damage them) they are amazing. Stiff and the belly holds the paint very well. It’s not that’s it’s a long time because it’s not. It’s that it’s very disappointing for new painters who don’t know about prepping and washing the brushes prior to use. You guys and most brush companies should really tell the customers that and explain to them it’s the norm. Because if I didn’t do the research I would’ve been really bummed about ordering other brushes from u guys. Thinking they all came like this. But I’m a very happy customer and WILL be ordering more brushes.

Mainly I use these brushes for oils. I am doing my masters thesis on the techniques of Maxfield Parrish and these brushes are ideal for doing detailed areas in thinned oil. Even the size 6's are great for detail. They hold a lot of color and I don't have to recharge the brush every 3 strokes. Their points come down to a very fine taper. I ordered several sets (you never have too many brushes). I have a blog with some of my work up on Wordpress. look up "Parrish Project" and the painting called "Warmouth". The foliage of the trees were done with these brushes. Also i have a set that I use for watercolor and gouache. Love em.

I must have received a "lemon" from the seller since so many 5-star reviews have been posted for this item. One previous reviewer shared my experience, so initially I felt my review might be most helpful if it appeared as a comment linked to the only other 1-star rating rather than buried amongst all the product praise. However, you have to click on "comment" to see it, so I am uploading it now as a separate review. Within a week or two of using these brushes for the first time, I noticed the hair on the smaller sizes was thinning, and before four weeks were up, the hair on the 3 smallest brushes was virtually gone, save a few stragglers. Soon after that, the second-to-largest brush also went bald, and although the largest size is technically usable, there is no point left to the tip, and the remaining hairs are broken off at different lengths creating the 'frizzy' texture referenced in the review I am commenting on. Although I paint often, I only used this set with watercolor. I can only imagine the result if they were exposed to other media like acrylics that are harder on natural fiber brushes. I should have returned the brushes to the seller at the first sign of trouble. Unfortunately, I kept the product because I considered the price I paid, which, at the time, was only about $25.00, to be reasonable for even one sable brush. Once the time for returns had elapsed, I looked for a place to lodge a private comment in case the seller wished to remedy the situation, but if there was such an option, I couldn't find it. If you decide to purchase these brushes, my recommendation would be to return them right away if you notice yours are damaged. Look for any irregularities in the tapered shape of the brush tip, or wet the tip and press the brush hairs down to the ferrule to see if they "splay" and whether the brush snaps back to its original shape immediately upon release like natural sable fibers should. Even at the current price, the product is still a relatively low risk investment, especially since the odds seem good that you will receive the higher quality brushes other reviewers have written about. If you want to be completely safe, and your goal is to build a collection of high quality natural fiber brushes that will last, you may wish to consider putting your $34.00 toward the purchase of a genuine male Kolinsky "sable" brush in the size you use most often (many are offered here from Amazon direct and other sellers they represent). Licensing issues are currently impacting the importation of genuine Kolinsky brushes, causing an increase in prices, thus the real thing is not likely to get any cheaper in the short term, at least not until those issues are resolved.

I️ came across these brushes while looking at Windsor & Newton Series 7 brushes. I’ve used every brush in this set aside from the largest, and each has kept its point over the past few months that I’ve used it. For me, this is really saying something, as I️ use my brushes often (daily in most cases), and can be rough with them at times. They have a great reservoir so you don’t constantly have to load paint into the brush. I️ was admittedly skeptical due to the low price, but these are my go-to brushes from now on. I️ use them for miniature figure painting - attached is a picture of some miniatures I️ painted using these brushes exclusively.

Writing a review because after only two years of using these brushes, which have been really nice, my favorite one just fell apart! Seriously? With how much I spent I expected these to last longer than the cheap brushes. Really frustrated. I don't leave my brushes in water, I make sure to take care of them. Ugh.

If you're looking to upgrade to a nice set of brushes for miniature painting, without paying for Windsor and Newton series 7s, these are the way to go. I find myself using the #4 as my main workhorse, and haven't really dipped into the others too much. The 6 is nice for painting large areas, and the #2 is comparable to a W&N S7 #0. I've got other smaller brushes so I'm waiting for them to get worn out before opening the smaller brushes. Overall though, very pleased with these. They take a lot of paint and lay down a nice smooth finish.

I’m very happy with the set. I also have Da Vinci Maestro series 35 and 10 brushes so, I can compare. The difference between them is the kolinsky sable vs red sable, the second one is less expensive. They are slightly less resilient and may have a shorter life span. However, the quality of these brushes is still more than fine.

Good but with flaws. For this price I expect perfection, but the brush tips on some of the brushes end up splaying apart after a while. Some keep their form perfectly while others do not.

I love these brushes and I highly recommend them for watercolour painting. I reach for these every time I paint. My only complaint is the wording on the brushes are already coming off and started rubbing off right away.

I will start with what I like the thicker slightly triangular handles are comfortable and the small sizes hold their point. The sizes aren't the same as a Windsor Newton or other brushes like that for instance the DaVinci size six is a WN size four. Now for the negatives the paint is coming off the handles in less than two days use which is annoying when painting as the white paint from the handle gets everywhere. The photo has the paint side up on all brushes and it can be seen that on my size I think 2? The number wore of, the label is nearly gone. Most paintbrushes I use take years to have this sort of wear. Also my size 4 bristles don't seem to want to stick to a point and some bristles seem to have been cut too short for its size. This is very disappointing.