Making a Medieval Brush

In addition to pondering out what Cenni was trying to convay in his description on how to make a brush, I asked Randy Asplund, aka Master Sir RanthulR of the Middle Kingdom, if he had any suggestions on other sources or tips for making brushes.  He was kind enough to supply a book suggestions as well as some tips. As, well as making the comment to practice.

The book was Brushes, A Handbook for Artists and Artisans, By Jacques Turner.  I managed to find a used copy in really good condition for not to much, so I picked it up.  The pictures and descriptions even tho they are of modern brushes really did help understand what Cenni was talking about.

With this new understanding I put together the following steps for making a brush.  It's still a bit of a mishmash as I've now made two badger hair brushes by these steps and those brushes need to be tested for results.

The steps are as follows:

1. Cut and clean quills. These barrels need to be a good length as they will be the ferrules that hold the tuft and handle together.
    
2. Carve your stick down to a tight fit into the quill barrels. The softened quill barrel will stretch some and shrink when dry and that will help lock the ferrule to the handle.  Be sure to carve a small ring notch near where the end of the quill barrel will be. If you plan to seal and finish your handle, you should do this before assembly. Sealing will help prolong the life of the brush by protecting the wood from liquids.
    
3. Soak the quill barrels until soft. You want the water to be a little warm.
    
4. Take your animal hair and wash and dry it to clean it. Combing or brushing it will help to clean it also.
   Cut the hair off the tail/pelt. Keep the tips of the hair all going the same way.  Comb out the hairs to help remove any small particles or short hairs.  Sort brushed hair into lengths.
    
5. Take hairs and make a bundle, be sure to line up the tips. Natural hair has three parts to it, the points or tips, the body, and the root.
    
6. Wet down the bundle and then press and squeeze the hairs to help in shaping.
    
7. Use thread or waxed silk to tie the bundles. Tie the bundles in two spots near the end. If you are making a bigger brush you can use many smaller bundles to make up a larger one.
    
8. You can manipulate the tuft shape a bit after it’s been tied off. And, trim the root end, if some of the hairs were longer than others.
    
9. Take the softened quill from the water and insert the tuft end first.  Adjust the length to desired size of brush. Modernly for quill ferrules, a small brass wire is used to compress the quill around the tuft, usually between the two ties. For metal ferrules, glue is used to secure the tuft.
    
10. Insert the prepared handle into the softened quill.  Be sure to tightly tie thread or silk about the quill where the ring notch is carved.  This will help the quill grip the handle once the quill dries. Modernly, brass wire is used to secure the quill to the notch.
     
11. Put aside and allow the quill to dry.

The badger hair I used didn't want to form a nice point after I got the brush assembled, so I took a diluted gum arabic solution and dipped the hairs into it, and then shaped the hairs. Over all, the making of the brushes went really smoothly besides lining up all the hairs for the tuft. I see where practice and experience plays a large roll here.

Isaac