"Kolinsky" means a region of Russia where the wild red sables are trapped and the pelts used to make brushes. In the good old USA you cannot import Kolinsky sable fur due to animal rights legislation. Congress is bought and paid-for, but they have time to save the weasels. Maybe it's professional courtesy?
Anyway, assuming these were made with the "grandfathered in" sable fur, then they are good, but not excellent, brushes. Unfortunately, for reasons listed above among others, it's getting harder and harder to acquire real Kolinsky sable or ANY kind of animal hair brushes that have any quality without paying a mint.
These are quite good for what I do (painting plastic model kits) and I do not know if they'd work for anything else. I do know that red sable is good for watercolor as well as oil painting due to the "stiffness" of the hair. Your results may vary, but for me, these are a great price and a great size.
