How are lineo Brushes Made?
Tradition and innovation are the main values of lineo. The brushes are Handmade in Germany at Mesko Pinselfabtrik GmbH. The brush factory is both, tradition-conscious and innovative.
Different Hair Types
Kolinsky Red Sable Hair
This type of hair is considered the highest quality of hair, coming from the Siberian Kolinsky red sable. It comes specifically from the tail of the male sable, who is native to Northern Siberia and Northern china. Due to the severe cold, the animals adapt, growing a very thick winter coat. This hair is best for premium brushes, that have extremely fine tips. The colour of the hair is light, and has favourable elasticity and resilience.
Red Sable Hair
Red sable comes from a sable species that live in more southerly regions, with better climatic conditions. This hair is not as expensive as the Kolinsky red sable, as it is not as strong and the hair colour is a little darker. However, red sable is one of the highest quality hairs used in brushes.
Squirrel Hair
Squirrel hair comes from the tail of the Canadian and Russian squirrel, with two types used for artist brushes; Blue squirrel hair and Kazan squirrel hair. This type of hair is very soft and has amazing paint absorption quality. However, it has less resilience than the red sable hair.
'Toray' Synthetic Hair
The 'Toray' is a manufactured synthetic hair, which has a conical shape like natural hairs. It has a high degree of elasticity and favourable resilience, however lacks the natural scaly structure of the natural hairs and less holding capacity. It has nice painting characteristics.
Chungking Bristles
These bristles originate from the region around the city of Chungking in China. These bristles are usually bright, very robust and characterised by very favourable paint absorption and elasticity.
Other hair types used for brushes exist such as Ox hair, Goat hair and blends of natural and synthetic hairs.
Ferrules
Ferrules are the metal sheaths that provide the brush with some of its shape. They are the connection between the brush head and the handle. The different types of ferrules are: seamless nickel, aluminium, tin with soldered or crimped seams. Lineo brush makes use the best seamless nickel ferrules from drawn bass tubing. They retain their shape and provide a firm and lasting connection between handle and brush head.
Handle
All Lineo Brushes have handles made of genuine natural wood. Some come with natural handles, and some have lacquered handles. These handles are all made in Germany.
Gumming
At the end of a production sequence, all high-quality lineo artist hair and bristle brushes are treated with a gum arabic solution, so that they will be protected during transport and reach the customer undamaged.
Protective Hair Covers
To better protect the brushes, especially for shipping, we use protective brush hair covers. These are made from transparent plastic.