Bristle and Handle Diameters and Lengths

Most of my brushes are made with bamboo cane for the handles. Most bamboo has a hollow center that varies in diameter along the overall length of each piece of bamboo. Due to the variable diameter of the opening, each bristle is custom made for each piece of bamboo. I match the size of the bamboo’s opening as closely as I can to the size of the brush bristle. Due to this and in the interest of offering high value to my customers, rather than using the traditional brush sizing method, I offer basically 8 diameters of bristles. They are noted below.

Brushes with “Itty Bitty” diameter Bristles are 2 millimeters in diameter or smaller.

Brushes with Small diameter Bristles range from about 2 millimeters in diameter up to about 3.x millimeters in diameter.

Brushes with Medium diameter bamboo cane bristles range from about 4.x millimeters in diameter up to about 5.x millimeters in diameter. Sometimes they are a little bigger.

Brushes with Wangi Bamboo Handles are Medium diameter Bristles These are about 6 to 7 millimeters in diameter.

Brushes with Large diameter Bristles range from about 8 millimeters to 10 millimeters in diameter .

Brushes with XL diameter Bristles range from about 11 millimeters in diameter and upward.

Each brush is hand made with highly variable materials, and due to this all diameters and bristle lengths are approximate.

Kindly note that the overall diameter of bamboo is about 3 times to 5 times the diameter of the opening in the bamboo. This is measured where the bristle meets the handle. The handle will usually get bigger in diameter from there. Due to this, as some examples, a brush with a 2mm bristle will be between 6mm and 15mm where the bristle meets the handle. A brush with a 5mm diameter bristle will be between 15mm to 25mm in diameter. And so on.

Exceptions from the bristle sizing noted above includes some of the more exotic and hard to find bristle materials i use, and some of the brush handle types I call “Special Brushes.” In these instances the rarity of the materials may change the typical diameter of brush size.

Some brushes made from Wangi Bamboo, Bamboo Rhizome, Hardwoods and Burl fall into the general category of Special Brushes, and are sized accordingly.

Bristle Lengths

All bristle lengths are stated as “about” i allow for 2/16 more or less than the stated bristle length.

Handle Lengths

I try to more or less standardize handle lengths, but like the bristle diameters above, there are variations due to aesthetic purposes and due to the nature of bamboo materials. Because of these variables, the lengths are roughly as follows.

Small Size bamboo cane handles may be between 4″ and up to about 8″ in length. Some people really like shorter handles and some like longer.

Medium Size bamboo cane handles may be between 4″ and up to about 10″ in length.

Large and XL Size bamboo cane handles may be between about 6″ and 12″ in length.

Wangi bamboo handles may be between 4″ and up to about 8″ in length.

Rhizome bamboo is a root material i use for some handles and it’s overall size may be between 1.5″ to 2.5″ in diameter and between about 3″ and 6″ in length.

Hardwood handles may be between 1.5″ to 2.5″ in diameter and between about 3″ and 6″ in length.

And then of course i make brushes in other sizes. The nature of the bamboo drives my selection process. Each piece is a handmade and functional brush which many say are works of art. Some are designed as works of art that are also fully functional brushes.