Pentel Arts Aquash Fine Point Water Brush, Medium (FRHMBP)

I got this brush for use with watercolor pencils while sketching in a nearby garden during my lunch hour. I was after something that was portable, not too expensive, yet decent quality. Reading the reviews of aqua brushes, there are many disappointing offerings out there. It seemed that you had to pay a premium price to get something of even student quality. The Pentel Arts aquash, however, finds a perfect spot in providing value for money while still delivering good performance. One of the key qualities of a brush is its "snap", how fast it returns to shape after having been depressed. If you've ever used the brushes that come in sets of cheapie watercolors, you know what a snap less brush feels like, it only slowly returns to its former shape and often needs to be re smoothed to regain a pointed tip. The Pentel, on the other hand, keeps its tip shape admirably and is quite snappy. Some comparisons are in order. I have a Sakura water brush from a Koi watercolor kit. The Sakura is a very nice brush, holds its shape well, and gobbles up lots of pigment, but is less snappy than the Pentel. I also have some Da Vinci student brushes in golden taklon. These are better in most respects to the Sakura and the Pentel, but even they are not as snappy. I don't own any full-blown artist grade brushes, but I would imagine they will outperform the Pentel. Still, for its price point, it's an excellent brush. It's also quite robust. After a couple of months hard use, it is still in like new condition. Bottom line: if you are fussy about brushes and looking for true artist grade, look elsewhere--this isn't it. If, however, you want something portable, self-hydrating, and offering good value, the snappy Pentel is a great offering.

I bought this water brush some time ago, but I didn't take the time to leave a review when I received it. I also bought a Niji water brush, and it was excellent, too. So I thought all water brushes were about the same. •Niji Waterbrush- Flat 12mm Wide x 15mm Long Price: $10.23 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DKHIIS/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They both did what they were supposed to do, and did it well, but I didn't realize that was unusual. I didn't realize, that is, until I tried to add to my collection by purchasing these: •Royal Brush Aqua-flo Set 3 Price: $8.62 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001H8IIUI/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_img_sol_0 I now know just how good this water brush is because of how bad the new ones are. I wish I had just bought another one of these. Here are the qualities that I believe make it so much better than the new ones: •The point is excellent, and it stays that way. •It holds a surprisingly large amount of water. (Large is relative here.) •I have good control of the water flow. •It stays clean with a minimum of effort. (Just squeeze out some water and wipe.) •It doesn't leak. •In short, it does what it should-quite well.

Compared to a nice synthetic watercolor brush, this is pretty decent. It's relatively easy to hold, and when you squeeze, a large drop of water slides from the tube down to the bristles. I find that this is too much water for a vibrant application, but if you have tissue or paper towel on hand, it's easily fixed. The bristles are fairly easy to clean (just rinse with water and soap) and they do hold a pretty sharp point. The bristles are white so you can clearly see if any paint is still there. The brush can hold a surprising amount of paint and is flexible enough to even use it as a calligraphy brush. I would say it's pretty durable and easy to refill, so I would use it for quick sketches or when you want to travel but not risk bringing your pricier brushes.

These are the best water brushes I've used, water control that works and doesn't drip or anything, the bristles are nice and feel good to use even coming from expensive brushes the bristles are still enjoyable on this. I've found the do clog up pretty easily, which impairs water flowing into the bristles and messes up water control, eventually can cause the water to drip from the screw seam rather than the bristles. However you can prevent this by always emptying it out when your done, don't leave water in there to prevent algae growth. Also it's not too expensive to replace, and better than having unwanted dripping and poor water control.

An excellent item. Similar to the more expensive Niji waterbrush, with a few differences. Pentel's opening is wide, allowing you to fill it with anything you want much more easily, its shape prevents it from rolling around on a flat surface, and its cap is much more secure. Something to watch out for: If you want to fill it with water, it is pretty straight forward. However, if you would like to fill it with ink, there is a couple of things to keep in mind (this goes for all similar waterbrushes). If you fill it with acrylic ink - or any other waterproof ink - it will get ruined very quickly. Whenever some of the ink dries, it will not be reconstituted. Because of this, waterproof ink will eventually choke your brush and render it useless. This also goes somewhat for pigment-based ink, as particles of pigment have a tendency to slowly collect in very narrow parts of the brush. If you want to use these brushes with ink, I recommend using non-waterproof dye-based ink. Higgins seems to work well.

This is a decent water brush, but it does have a big flaw. While you are watercoloring, the brush sucks the color up into the black area just above the water reservoir. This means that even if you rinse the brush thoroughly in order to begin using a different color, the old color that got sucked up will be pushed through as the water comes out of the brush. Anyone who paints with watercolors knows that it's very easy to get muted, muddy colors if you're not careful about how your colors mix, so this is a big problem for me. Another issue is that it's hard to control the amount of water that comes out and often you'll get too much. That being said, next time I'll definitely go with a different brand.

These pens are plain awesome for kids and adults alike. Do you hate having to constantly fill a cup with water, and then getting your sink looking dirty? Look no further than this. You can fill almost the whole thing with water, and then you just squeeze it, and you have water! It is also easily cleanable. Awesome for any painter.

I love the Pentel Water brushes or "pens". I have a large tip I've used for quite a while, and just received the medium tip recently. These work very well...it takes a few uses to get used to the flow, but once you do, you'll see why these are better than the cheapy three-pack types. The brush tip is soft and delivers a nice steady flow of water, without over-doing it. You can fill the reservoir part of the way or fully, with just a slight squeeze, and have nice control over the saturation....especially when using water soluable pencils, as I do. I highly recommend getting at least a medium tip and a large tip, for a great little set of water brushes that aren't hard on the wallet!

Für Aquarellmalerrein das beste. Ich nutzte es schon seid ca. 6 Monaten oder länger täglich. Keine Probleme überhaupt. Ich _LIEBE_ das Teil so sehr.

After reading some previous reviews I purchased this brush. It has priced so useful when sketching and drawing outside. It's particularly useful when on holiday as it is small compact and easy to carry. The quality of the brush is good and one can get a decent quick wash od colour when needed. It also works well with plain water and a pallet of colours.

Llegó en buen estado, es un pincel muy útil y duradero a un buen precio

Works really well. Reservoir holds a lot of water. Yes, a drop or two of water drips out above the brush segment with each squeeze, but that's easily blotted with a paper towel or just flicked off before applying to paper. Brush is nice and soft, and the size is useful for detail work as well as wetting medium-sized areas. I use this brush only to prewet the paper, not for actual painting. If, however, a little pigment does get on the bristles, it rinses off cleanly with a little water if done right away so that the bristles don't stain.

This little cheap waterbrush is good value for your money. Beside Using it as a watercolor brush with continuous wetness, I do use it to add water to my color pan, straightly as a water source. It works out for my purpose so far. This brush has been working well with watercolor pencils and also watercolor paint. You cannot go wrong for the price. I am not sure that you will gain much by spending more money on those relatively more expensive water brushes. I do plan to add a Large water brush later.