Squirrel Brushes

Squirrel hair has great carrying capacity for thin watercolors and inks. It is used in both lettering and washes. A very fine, thin hair, taken from squirrel tails, it points as well as Kolinsky, but has very little "snap" because the hair is not very resilient. Both the Quill, a lettering brush, and the Oval Mop, a watercolor wash brush, are traditionally made with squirrel hair.

Gray squirrel (Talayoutky) and blue squirrel, most highly in demand for lettering brushes and quills, are native to Russia and are nearly always in short supply. Brown squirrel (Kazan) is more readily available, and is used mainly for watercolor brushes.