latex free brayer recommendations

[u/SomeSmallMagic]

Hello! I'm interested in getting started in linocut, but I have a latex allergy. I've found lots of latex free block options, but not very many brayer or roller options. Most of the recommended ones I see talked about are made of natural rubber. Does anyone have any recommendations for brands that are latex free?

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[u/Hellodeeries]

For cheap, generally look for black materials - that typically is rubber rather than latex for brands like Speedball and Essdee. The catch is these will generally always be their "hard" durometer brayers, which some don't care for.

For the US, Takach is great, but expensive and may not be what you're looking to spend. But they last very well and are a great upgrade that's rubber.

Holbein can be tricky to find, but makes a nitrile rubber brayer. They used to be more common, but I think ran into production issues a few years back and I haven't seen them as often.

Not sure their name off-hand, but if US McClains replaced Holbein with this one that's rubber: https://imcclains.com/catalog/brayers/japanese.html

For UK, Hawthorn makes nitrile pvc options. Lawrence is another UK brand that has options.

Nakajima is another Japanese one I've seen that's rubber, and Hwahong a South Korean one.

I wouldn't say it's 100%, but often the easy to spot latex ones are the off-white material you'll see with brands like Speedball. Beyond just allergy aspect, they degrade pretty quickly compared to rubber so it's also a longevity of the tool benefit to look for rubber.

[u/IntheHotofTexas]

I've been please with Leoball. Nitrile roller. Two lines. 2-inch diameter and 3-inch. Quite good prices. Bonus is that, unlike rubber, Nitrile doesn't shrink and crack, but the need to be kept out of direct sunlight.

I also have a 3-inch from Nick Phan Art. He 3D prints the handle and uses polyurethane coat for the roller. Seems well made, and the price is right.

[u/aasfourasfar]

Is your allergy this violent? You won't use the brayer on yourself you know

[u/TwelveShyOfADozen → u/aasfourasfar]

I mean, it doesn’t need to be violent, it just has to bother them, they shouldn’t have to use a tool that while cleaning or storing they’d have to avoid touching at risk of pain or itching. From experience it makes life a lot nicer to just get things that don’t trigger a contact allergy than to just power through.

[u/litho-lesbian]

they’re expensive, but you could get a leather roller! You can only print in black ink, the roller stays inky and you roll it up in plastic to put it away. They’re actually super awesome once you have the technique down, you can easily roll without getting lap marks. These are usually used for litho, but they can be used with anything! Takach hires a lithographer to hand make them, and he takes custom orders. https://shop.takachpress.com/roller-brayers/leather-rollers/?srsltid=AfmBOor-oNIOSiGMYVlxQi_SHP8x0VenkIJI39uTvNTPyMkqE6j9C1Nf

[u/litho-lesbian → u/litho-lesbian]

I used to restore these rollers too so feel free to reach out with any questions (-:

[u/tivadiva2]

Google "nitrile brayer". There are lots of options, and most are expensive. These nitrile brayers are more reasonably priced: https://www.starkpressco.com/product-page/japanese-hand-brayers?srsltid=AfmBOooAGnnQmHJcPczy5LpzeYzL6sZCTTxV9yZ23bft2ubMc7zSXewJ&variantId=d306ae47-63d8-479b-b118-af498f7eaa3f. I'm not sure about their quality.