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Kolinsky sable or red sable is the most valuable hair used in artists' brushes.
It is obtained from the tail of the Kolinsky (Mustela siberica), a species of sable. It is pale red in colour with darker tips. The hair has special qualities unmatched by any other: strength, slenderness, and great resiliency.
A Kolinsky hair's diameter is greatest near the middle, tapering off to a fine point at the end. When many of these hairs are set together in the head of a brush, the bulges form a distinctive "belly".
Kolinsky-sable brushes take a needle-fine point or knife-like edge, and retain their full elasticity.
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