Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: Making a Series 7 kolinsky sable watercolor brush isn't easy. The largest-size brush can take almost a week and a half to make.

You can pick up a cheap, synthetic brush for under $2, but a Series 7 could cost you over $300.

So why would anyone pay for a brush that costs over 100 times the price?

Originally created on the request of Queen Victoria, the Series 7 brush was first made in 1866 and was designed to be the finest possible brush for watercolor painting.

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.

Since then, the skill and craftsmanship that goes into making each one of these brushes has remained exactly the same. To achieve this, the company needed skilled brush makers. And so, in 1946, set up a new factory in Lowestoft, England, a fishing town with a history of rope making.

This factory now makes over 25 million brushes a year. The intricate work and dexterity required means that these brushes are almost exclusively made by women. It takes three years to train, and there are only nine brush makers in the world that can make these top-of-the-range Series 7 brushes.

Sandra Harris: I joined here when I was 16. I worked 18 years, and I had 12 years off, and I've been back 11, so that's 28 years I've been working for the company. When you first start, you would probably only make a few. You've got to get, like anything, you've got a skill and you build on that, and you get to learn the skill, and then you get to do the speed.

The components play a big part in the cost. Each brush head is made from kolinsky sable, a Siberian weasel that's hair is said to cost three times the price of gold by weight.

These weasels are hunted sustainably every spring under CITES guidelines across Siberia and Manchuria. Only guard hairs from the tail will do. Kolinsky hairs are chosen because every single strand has a surface of directional, interlocking scales, increasing the surface area and giving the hairs their strength.

And while many other natural and synthetic hairs are used for brushes, nothing has quite matched the quality of sable.

Once the hairs are cleaned and graded, it's time to start making the brush. The wool has to be removed with a comb, and the hairs are packaged up and carefully boiled and ironed.

The brushes have to be made with hair at its natural length. And the skilled brush makers can effortlessly separate between 28- and 32-millimeter-length hairs just with their hands.

This skill takes years of training and practice. The nine brush makers each have 27 years of experience, on average. Hairs that are blunt or twisted have to be discarded. And most importantly, as each natural hair comes to a point, every hair must be the correct way up.

The removed upside-down hairs can be flipped and reused. Every single hair is checked over by hand. The smallest-brush-size hairs are just 7 millimeters long, shorter than an average eyelash.

Shane Buckingham: We can't afford to let standards drop in any way, shape, or form. What I would say from that is what this factory has is hand skills. It has individual skills. It has skills that, when I have new people come in here, they don't sometimes believe that this kind of work still happens. We show them what people do, they will turn round and say, "I'll never be able to do that." But they will be able to do that if they understand that quality comes first.

When the hairs are all sorted, they're ready to go into the cannon. The bundle is tied together and gently twisted through. Individual hairs are added or taken away until it's an exact fit.

Buckingham: They need to have that fine point to work with, that, basically, it has that color-carrying capacity. That the brush won't split or do anything that it shouldn't do, basically. Through the hair that we use, through the skills of our makers and how they make them, we've done everything we possibly can to make sure that we have produced the best product we possibly can.

Then, it's time to attach the handles. The factory uses birch wood handles imported from Italy. The brush is glued into place, and then the brush heads are crimped onto the handles.

This crimping process bends the metal to shape and keeps the handle tightly attached to the brush. Once the paintbrush is assembled, it needs to be branded and tested. The size and logo of each brush is stamped in gold on the handle.

Wet-point testing assures that everything works exactly as expected and there aren't any loose or crooked hairs. Each brush is then gummed, a process that gives the brush head its final shape and allows it to bounce back. The shape of the natural hairs gives the brush a wide belly and a fine point.

Mark Brindle: So, the key to our brush making is the people. And that is the skill. We retain knowledge from generation to generation. So, we have makers now that are working under an apprenticeship of a 49-year-served brush maker, who himself had an apprenticeship under another 49-year-serving brush maker, who was brought into the business under his father, who made brushes directly for Queen Victoria. And it's very key that we retain that knowledge throughout the business, generation to generation, and we are now bringing in the next generation to make sure that we uphold the very high-quality standards that we base ourselves on.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This video was originally published in December 2019.

Consumer Reports: Are more expensive paint brushes worth it?

Consumer Reports: Are more expensive paint brushes worth it? Sharrie Williams reports during Action News at 4:30 p.m. on May 22, 2017.

Consumer Reports: Are more expensive paint brushes worth it? Sharrie Williams reports during Action News at 4:30 p.m. on May 22, 2017.

Consumer Reports: Are more expensive paint brushes worth it? Sharrie Williams reports during Action News at 4:30 p.m. on May 22, 2017.

Consumer Reports: Are more expensive paint brushes worth it? Sharrie Williams reports during Action News at 4:30 p.m. on May 22, 2017.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Remodeling is not cheap, so when it comes to trimming costs a lot of people choose to save money by doing the painting themselves.

To do a good job, Consumer Reports recommends starting with a top-rated paint, then picking the right brush for the job.

You can pay anywhere from two to ten dollars for one. Does spending more make a difference? Consumer Reports tells you what to look for, to get a brush with greatness.

Whether you're painting inside or outside, on wood or metal, using the right brush will help you get the best possible results.

Consumer Reports paint experts advise that you first match your brush to the paint you plan to use.

For latex paint, choose a synthetic brush made with nylon. Don't use a natural bristle brush, which can soak up too much water and turn mushy.

However natural bristles are the perfect choice for oil-based paint.

"The bristles should be nice and stiff, to make sure they spread the paint evenly, and then you want to tug at it to make sure the bristles don't fall off because you don't want to find any of those bristles in your paint," sadi Enrique de Paz from Consumer Reports.

Some more expensive brushes have bristles of varied lengths, resulting in a tapered edge for detailed work. Some brushes have little split ends, called "flagged," that help spread the paint even more smoothly.

What about width? Small, angled brushes - from 1 to 2/12 inches - are best for trim. For cutting-in around doorways and ceilings, use a 2/12 inch angled sash brush. The angle allows you to make a sharp line, and access corners.

And for painting wide, flat surfaces, like walls or siding, a 3 to 4 inch flat brush will do the best job. And the thicker the brush, the more paint it will hold. That means better coverage and less work for you.

While size and material are important, comfort is key.

"Pick them up, and use them like you were painting. You want to find out if it's well-balanced, and what's easiest for you to control," said de Paz.

The right brush has everything to do with helping you paint like a pro.

Once you do find that perfect brush - take care of it. Consumer Reports says that keeping paint out of the metal part of the brush - called the ferrule - will help the brush last longer because it will be easier to clean.

So don't dip past the middle of the bristles. And always store the brush in its original wrapper to keep the bristles in shape.

To read the full story from Consumer Reports, CLICK HERE.

----------

Send a breaking news alert
Report a correction or typo
Learn more about the 6abc apps