How to Make a Chinese Brush

The Chinese brush is merely a tool for calligraphy, not the method.

Chinese brushes are both the pens and brushes of calligraphy. The Chinese written language utilizes pictorial representations as words, and these characters can be painted with a brush to create a form of art. These brushes are made with animal hair, usually goat and wolf, to give the signature iconic point and volume. In order to truly perform Chinese calligraphy or painting, a brush must be in hand. Making a brush is an art form, but making a pretty good mimicry is possible.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2 inch (or less) diameter wooden dowel
• Coarse sandpaper
• String
• Scissors
• 1/8 inch high plastic trim
• Hot glue and gun
• Coarse and fine animal hair
• Wood stain

Instructions

1. Sand one edge of the dowel (brush base) to create texture. Remove any loose debris. The sanded edge will allow glue to stay. Plug in the glue gun and allow it time to aptly heat.

2. Collect fine animal hairs in a small tuft. Make sure all the hairs are parallel. Use the string to cinch the hairs together. Use the scissors or a razor to cut the hairs at one edge to create a flat end. Glue the flat tuft to the coarse edge of the wooden dowel. When the hairs are set, remove the string.

3. Carefully align the coarse hairs in a similar but larger tuft. Once the tuft has been cinched and flat-edged, slip the fine hair tuft through the center of the coarse hair tuft. You may need to loosen the string slightly to allow the fine hair to enter the center.

4. Glue the coarse hair in place. Make sure not to get glue on any part of the hair other than the edge. Let the brush dry and cure. You should have a brush with a central cone of fine hair and an outer layer of coarse hair.

5. Cut the plastic trim to fit around the base of the tuft where the stick meets. Apply a thin line of glue to the trim and wrap securely.

6. Stain the wooden dowel to give the brush a more aesthetically pleasing tone and glue the string in a loop at the opposite end of the brush. After brush use, it should be gently rinsed and hung by the loop to dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Hot glue is waterproof but not extremely resilient.

• These brushes are inexpensive, so you can make one again if your first attempt fails.

• Not all the hair will be perfectly glued, so make sure to remove any loose hairs before using.

References

• The Calligraphy Brush Made of Goat and Wolf Hairs Performs a Graceful Dance
• Chinese Brushes