Review: Chronicle Cards Kolinsky Sable Brushes

Just a few days ago, independent Australian hobby company Chronicle Cards launched a Kickstarter for their brand new Sable’s Kolinsky Collection. The very affordable set of 8 Kolinsky sable brushes complement their wolf bristle brushes I reviewed and approved a while ago, so when Chronicle Cards sent me some, I was curious to give them a try.

Chronicle Cards’ Kickstarter launched on October 14th and was funded in 20 Minutes. At the time of writing, it is over 280.000 AU$. Update: The Kickstarter has now been fulfilled, the brushes are available in Chronicle’s online shop.

There are many pledges to choose from, and you can get the new 8 brushes Kolinsky sable set on its own for 90 AU$ (about £51 / 58 € / $57), in combination with the wolf bristle brushes set for 90 AU$ (about £73 / 84 € / $83), the Wolf Bristle Brushes on their own for 50 50 AU$ (about £28 / 32 € / $32), or in combination with other Chronicle Cards products. This nets you a 10 to 20% discount over RRP, and as many stretch goals have already been unlocked, you get free extra brushes as well:

Tracked shipping will be $10 USD / CAD for the US and Canada, 8GBP / EUR for the UK, Europe and rest of the world, and 12 AU$ for Australia. Because of worldwide distribution centres, shipping should be fast and duty-free.

Sable’s Kolinsky Collection first impression

Just like the Wolf Bristle Brushes, the Kolinsky set comes in a cardboard tube gift box with a fancy black velvet bag. Included are 2 size 0 brushes, two size 1 brushes, two size 2 brushes, one size 3 brush, and one size 7 brush. Instead of rosewood handles, the handles are of a glossy black, but have the same bulbous shape that makes them comfortable to hold, especially for large hands.

The quality of the Kolinsky hair makes a good impression, on par with my other Kolinsky sable brushes like daVinci Series 10, Citadel Artificer brushes, and Winsor & Newton Series 7. Similar to the Wolf Bristle Brushes, the shape of the brush tips is rather long with a moderately slim belly. Because of the long bristles, I feel that the brushes tend to be a bit on the large side compared to the sizing of other manufacturers. Therefore, I would have preferred a size smaller than 0, as I tend to favour very small brushes for my work, but I know a lot of professional painters prefer larger sizes as long as the tips are sharp, as larger brushes can hold more paint.

My impression of Chronicle Cards’ Kolinsky brushes is very good, and I think they are a real bargain for the price.

Support the Kickstarter

If you’re interested in Chronicle Cards’ Kickstarter, make sure to check it out, it will last only for 9 more days until October 31, 2022. Update: The Kickstarter has been fulfilled and the Kolinsky brushes are now available in Chronicle’s online shop:

By the way, there is an exclusive 20% discount available for all our Patreon supporters.

Please note: Chronicle Cards provided me with both the Wolf Bristle Brushes and the Kolinsky brushes. The links on this page are affiliate links.