Bill Buchman "Zen" Sumi Brush – Classic 3 – Traditional Size – Japan

1. The size of the pen is a little bit bigger than I thought. It's a typical pen for writing a couplet.2. The texture of the brush part is between typical "wolf hair" and "goat hair".

Mr. Buchman and I had quite a learning experience after I received this brush and was not satisfied. He wrote to me personally and did much research to make sure that I was satisfied. What I learned is that, although this brush is, according to Mr. Buchman's craftsmen, 70% horse hair, for those of you familiar with Sumi-e painting and looking for a "mountain horse hair brush," this would NOT be the one to buy. If you are looking for a brush more like wolf hair, an "orchid bamboo" brush, this is more suitable. This brushes' bristles are very soft and pliable, and there is not as much springiness as I like. For landscapes, like rocks and mountains, where the brush needs lots of spring and stiffness, you would need a mountain horse hair brush. I really appreciated Mr. Buchman's cooperation and patience with me on this discussion. He is an excellent seller!

I have owned many brushes over the years and now I use two only. This Brush and the Bill Buckman Sumie-e Sensei (detail brush). This brush is capable of stoke widths of all sizes in Sumi-e painting including fine line strokes and could essentially be the one brush fits all.

After 1 month of normal use (no long term soaking of brush), the lacquered base of the brush has cracked where it meets the brush hairs. I have 2 of the sensei brushes which, although lacquered similarly, have not had any cracking occur thus far. The brush itself works great, but for a brush marketed as "superior quality" for sumi-E and watercolor painting, there should be no cracking of the handle with regular use (especially after only 1 month!).

This brush is fantastic and is one of my most prized possessions. It has a really nice weight and feel and the bristles are very fine on the outside, and stiffer in the middle. It can do big swaths of color or ink and also very fine details. At first I used it for ink only, but then I tried it with watercolors, and now its the only brush I use.It really is aptly named because when you use it you will feel "zen", probably because you have to hold it so steady in order to make a line of consistent thickness. If you are rich enough and plan to paint with multiple colors or inks, you should get a few of them so each can hold a different color while you paint.

Nice quality brush and bristles. I use it mostly for painting images of the Four Gentleman (Bamboo, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Plum) and also for images that use the same strokes. Brush comes to a nice point and can be used to paint large images, small images, tiny images (with tip), and very large images by combining strokes. Versatile brush that is very comfy in the hand. Good length to allow for painting a variety of image sizes.

Excellent brush. So far....

Very nice narrow tip holds watercolor nicely.