CRAFTSMANSHIP Traditional Tool
Varnish brush and sash tool BY ROBIN GATES
Yacht painting has changed dramatically in recent years – some yards have climate-controlled spray booths with operators dressed like Darth Vader. These well-preserved brushes come from the 1900s, a literal golden age of yacht painting when a painter’s apprenticeship covered the likes of gold leaf gilding, graining, signwriting and staining. The range of tools required for so many techniques was prodigious; this copper-bound oval varnish brush and round sash ‘tool’ illustrate the variety. The brushes were made by the respected London company of Crowden and Garrod, using firm natural bristles which exercise good control over the paint. The varnish
“An oval brush is
better suited to the curved surfaces of a yacht”
brush is a No 4 (they range from 1, the smallest, up to 8) using long, strong and elastic bristles from the neck of a Russian hog. The oval form enhances the sought-after springiness in the middle of the brush that enables varnish to be spread more evenly. An oval brush also has greater capacity than a flat one, and is better suited to the curved surfaces of a yacht. Examination of the handle’s grain suggests beech, while the ‘knot’ (as the bundle of bristles is known) is constrained by a heavy gauge copper ferrule stamped ‘Crowden’s Indestructible’ – which time has proved accurate!
Sash tools, ranging from 1 (smallest) up to 10, are used on mouldings generally, not just skylight sashes, where their roundness
facilitates rotation for a more constant flow and for cutting in an edge. The hemp whipping provides a secure grip when turning the brush. This No 7 is marked ‘Lily’, which refers to the white bristles chosen to assist with thorough cleaning and prevent carry-over in detailed work. A hand lens reveals the bristles have been ‘flagged’ which means they are split for a more uniform spread of paint. What would a time-served painter of the 1900s make of disposable foam pads used on wooden hulls today, I wonder. Professional pride might set him against painting hulls at all – this was for unskilled ‘brush hands’ – but I suspect the holding ability and control of the natural bristle brush would prove decisive.
CLASSIC BOAT APRIL 2012 91
ROBIN GATES
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