Question Why are water brush or Aquas brushes
 

Question let talk what Why are water brush or Aquas brushes so high. I went to Micheals 10.00 -13.00 Dollars for a water brush. And Joann was much better. And Hobby Lobby I don't remember what the price was. And stampin'up 17.00 Dollars Why they so high now? I don't remember paying that much mine. And I need another one. But can't find them cheap enough. What the deal with them now? Thanks LInda

I can't explain the price, but one thing to look for is a valve that prevents leakage or too much water flowing out. My first aqua brushes were purchased at a stamp show long ago, not cheap, but leaked like crazy. Then I bought the SU ones and those had a valve to control the flow. I got mine a long time ago but maybe they're still made that way, or better. Hope you find a good one!

To be fair, SU charges 17.00 for TWO brushes.

CTMH has some for 5.95, but they look like they have smaller barrels than SU's. But at least at Michael's you can use a coupon, which would make your $10 brush only $6.

Things are going to be marked up at craft stores, hence the weekly coupons.

I've always wondered that too. Expensive for such a simple tool. I bought a Tim Holtz water brush at Joann's with a coupon and that made it less painful. Even though S.U. sells two per pack, it's still $8.50 each.

All my cheap ones were junk and I've come to the decision that when these wear out I'm not buying them again. It's rare situation where I can't have a little bottle of water on hand. Also, some of my newer ones have clogged.

Question how check the valve? How do you have good valve or a bad valve other then leaking?

Well, there is much to be said about the prices of many things. Some are worth every penny, others not so much. I agree with you, I find the price of aqua brushes annoying. So, I took a leap of faith and bought some from Wish.com here - the set in Canadian including shipping was $ 11.00. It was a win win ... and it really was a win win. They are fabulous - the only draw back, it took 3.5 weeks to get here ... but this is probably where they all come from in the first place. Now I can spend that extra money I saved on the stuff I really want ....

I bought a set of four different sized water brushes a couple years ago for about $27.00 and have been very pleased with them. In fact, maybe because I learned to watercolor with them in a class, I'm more comfortable with them than with regular brushes. I think the manufacturing is a little picky to get water brushes to work well, so for me the price seemed fair.

Just googling now, Dick Blick has a bunch of them, including a set of three for $4.13 so some are inexpensive:
http://www.dickblick.com/categories/waterbrush/ The reviews might be worth reading. :)

I purchased mine on Ebay.
water brush in Art Supplies | eBay

I ordered some from China off of eBay and it was under $5 for a set. They're not quite as nice as the one I have from CTMH but they work decently enough for the price.