![]() Shake off excess water or press the bristles gently in a soft towel, then hang the brushes with the bristles pointing down to dry. Cleaning and Drying After use, gently but thoroughly wash the brushes out using a mild soap, then rinse. Press the brush gently in a towel to squeeze out excess moisture before using it. The wood handle on the Maru Bake absorbs water more slowly than the bamboo handles on Hanga or Surikomi Bake, and a larger brush needs more time to soak up water than a smaller one, so adjust the soaking time appropriately. Put brushes with handles in a jar with enough water to cover the entire cluster of bristles. ![]() To keep shedding to a minimum, soak the brushes in clean water for five to ten minutes before each day's use. ![]() Soak Before Using All of these brushes are very dense and it has been our experience that they all shed to some degree. The Hanga Bake are rounder in shape so they are about one third larger in total area than a similarly sized oval Surikomi Bake. Hanga Bake and Surikomi Bake both have bamboo handles and are measured across the widest side to describe the size of the brush. Maru Bake and Hanga Bake, made from horse and hog hair respectively, are used by most professional printmakers in Japan but the mixed deer and hog hair of Surikomi Bake, or stenciling brush, offer many of the same virtues while being less expensive and available in a wider range of sizes. The ideal brush is flexible, somewhat springy and not too soft. Hanga Bake, Maru Bake and Surikomi Bake are all used to mix and spread the ink and nori (rice paste) evenly on the block. As with many traditional Japanese crafts, fewer people are making these special printmaking brushes. Don’t spend any less than the cost of Niji sets like Loews Cornell.Brushes and Brayers Japanese Brushes: Uses and Materials Made entirely by hand, all of these lovely, functional brushes are works of art themselves. They break quickly and are difficult to sharpen since the quality of steel is very low. Niji sets are acceptable for beginners, but are not recommended beyond one or two carvings. One or two “v” gouges - small 3 mm, and possibly a larger one Two or three sizes of a “u” or “c” shaped gouge - small 3 mm, medium 4.5 mm, and large 7.5 mm or larger My personal collection of tools come from a variety of sources over the years Mc Clain’s, estate sales, hand me downs, and even a hand forged gouge!Īs a side note: Woodcut tools can be used to carve other materials like linoleum and rubber, but the Speedball brand carving tools with a plastic handle and interchangeable blades are only for linoleum or rubber, and cannot be used to carve wood. Which size tools to choose is a personal one, but I like to have a range of small, medium and large gouges. You may be better off buying individual pieces and getting exactly what you need and not wasting money on tools you’ll never use. You may think they are a good value, but you may find yourself only wanting or using a few tools out of the entire set. Be careful when buying large sets of tools. Standard woodworking suppliers will call them micro tools as they are very small in comparison to standard wood working tools. Tools are usually measured in millimeters, though each manufacturer may measure them differently. Do not buy bargain tools! What you are paying for is the quality of the steel, how hard the metal is tempered, and the ease of sharpening. I’m still using student sets I bought in college! An inexpensive Niji set, can be a good set to start with, learn what you like in a tool, and then invest in a better set. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t great student sets out there. The more money you are willing to spend, the better the tool should be. The quality of a tools is almost always reflected in the price. Instead of replying to every request I receive, I point them to this article to help them decide what tools are best for them. As a printmaking instructor, I frequently am asked what tools students should purchase.
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