How is a brush actually made in a factory?
A brush is made in seven stages: hair is sorted and weighed, combed into shape, glued into the ferrule, the ferrule is crimped to the handle, the handle is finished and printed, the head is shaped, and the finished brush is inspected and packed.
Hair preparation
Hair arrives in bundles and is sorted by length and fineness. For a pointed brush the tips must align, so the bundle is combed and the lengths matched before weighing. This stage decides whether the finished brush holds a point, and it is the most skill-dependent step in the process.
Setting the head
The weighed bundle is inserted into the ferrule and secured with a resin that has to survive water, solvent and mechanical pull. The ferrule is then crimped onto the handle. Fit is dimensional: the same ferrule on a slightly different handle diameter will either shed hair or crush the bundle.
Handle and finish
Handles are turned or moulded, sanded, lacquered and printed. Lacquer coats and curing time determine how the handle feels and how well the print survives handling. This is where most of the visual difference between two quotes for "the same brush" comes from.
Shaping, inspection, packing
The head is shaped and trimmed to the specified profile. Inspection checks shedding, ferrule fit, tip shape, handle finish and print alignment. Then the brush is capped, bagged or boxed to the approved packaging.
Common questions
Why do two suppliers quote very different prices for the same brush?
Usually hair grade, fill weight, ferrule material and lacquer. A lighter fill and a thinner ferrule look identical in a photo and behave differently after a month of use.
Can I visit the factory?
Buyers are welcome to visit the factory in Wengang, Jinxian, Nanchang, Jiangxi. Tell us the dates and we will arrange the line walk-through.