The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-10-15
BUY A GOOD BRUSH.
Points About the Selection of an Inn.
plement OF the Painting Trade.

Points About the Selection Of an Inn
plement OF the Painting Trade.
When painter buys poor brush, he is
very much like the man who takes IN
counterfeit money for the genuine article
either a poor judge or too careless of his
own interest, or too confding in his fellow
man to look at 1t closely. Now, my boy,
here are two propositions which wish to
impress upon your mind: First, that 1t is
OF the utmost Importance to you that you
buy and use the best brushes In the market
second, that nine-tenths Of the brushes
kept in the retail stores are not worth tax
ing as free gift. because no matter how
well skilled you may be a poor, III shaped
brush will retard your progress and In q
measure spoil your work.
/ have no doubt but brushes are often
ruined by careless and improper usage, but
judging from long experience and OBSERVE
lion am led to believe that more Of them
are spoiled in the making than by improper
handling. There are two very important
points to bear In mind when selecting a
brush: First, is 1t well NADER and second,
is 1t good materially
Here is fine looking brush with long,
heavy bristles. Buy 1t for your No, my
lad; in this case beauty Is only skin deep,
and the name of the maker or recommen-
dation of the salesman Is not safe to 20
by. Trust only to your own judgment or
to the judgment of some one qualified to
buy for you. Open this brush and look at
the filling. What is itf Echo answers.
WHAT" It certainly is not good, honest
wearing bristles II you soak this filling
In water it will no more stand alone than
a wet rag.
The question whether 1t Is hair, wood
filler, Florida grass or what not cuts no
figure, because 1t water soaks and works
more like mop than like good brstle
brush. 1t has good fringe OF good bris-
ties on the outside. but they fail to dc
their own part of the work and at the same
time furnish the spring for the worth
less filling, and the result is it splits and
wears to saw tooth edge. am speaking
now Of the whitewash and calcimine
brushes. There is not enough good stock
In such a brush ten inches wide to make a
good 3-inch wall brush, and yet they are
sold at prices which ought to buy a fairly
good brush.
II there IS any one poor brush which |
despise more than another, it is a shedder.
which, like sick cat, keeps on shedding
the year round. 1t is surprising to see
how many hairs such brush can shed and
seem to grow no smaller II you find a
brush has many loose bristles in it Just
make up your mind that there are more to
follow and don't buy 1t. Don't delude
yourself with the idea that YOU can soak it
up and make it hold. Such brush will
go back on you sooner or later. One of the
most desirable things about a brush is a
good point.
To hold good point brush must have
good filing. Take, for instance, a flat
chiseled brush; its chief value is a good
edge or point; but as they are usually
made with all the good brstles on the out
side and the poor ones in the center, the
poor stuff forms the point except little
on the corners. The soft stuff in the cen
ter will wear down faster than the good
stock on the outside, and the brush will
soon become stub, unfit for cutting in
colors or for anything else
A brush of any kind should have q good
cutting edge. and to do good, durable serv-
ice should have good stock in the center.
because whether ground down or chiseled
by wear the center makes the point. When
the point Is gone the brush is a stub. and
that will soon happen when a brush is
filled, like this. with short, uneven. in
ferior bristles. Every painter should be
good Judge of brush, and exercise his
judgment and take no mans word for it.
1t is well to remember, my boy, that it
costs you more in time to vear out poor
brush than it does to burn It up and buy
good one. II brushmakers must use short,
uneven stuff in their brushes I prefer to
have it on the outside, and the good bristles
in a body across the center, to give me an
even and good wearing point. We are
using too many poorly filled and badly
made brushes, which are dear to us at any
price Let us kick.-Painting and Dec
Grating.