Beginnings of a miniature painting rap by the wonderful @equanimousbosch.
What are your favourite burnishers?
I do tend to 'collect' painting stuff so will post some pics when they are all gathered in one place!
The other thing is you can use found stones and other smooth objects as burnishers, as long as you test them thoroughly first so they don't streak. Or - just burnish indirectly through parchment paper/greaseproof paper/baking paper/thin tracing paper at first and save the direct burnishing for the specifically made art material ones.
Whoever wrote those rhymes is a freaking genius. :) I'm new to burnishers, but I've liked the pictured two that I got from Talas (Brooklyn USA based). They're agate, numbers 27 and 31. I particularly like the flat top because it covers a lot of surface area... I'm lazy that way!
Also pictured is my first burnisher, a labradorite stone. But I've retired it since it has a small nick that risks streaking my work. Now it sits on my altar, an ornament to society. Much like Cennino Cennini thought women should.
https://www.talasonline.com/Agate-Burnishers
Yes, whoever thought up that rap should go into it deeper and continue it, was such a good start! ;-)
Those burnishers are great essential burnishers, like a starter set or a travel set. Of course you can go down the 'collect everything' route like me, but in practice, you will mainly use those burnishers anyway.
If you want to use gold, shell gold or gilt, it's best to have an entirely separate brush and burnisher and tool set for that.
If you want to do oil gilding (rather than the water based stuff we do for miniatures) then again, separate set.
And then other burnishers for other art/design applications, not miniatures, so keep your miniature set (eg above) separate.
Ornaments - reminds me of a passage in the Land of Green Ginger book (by Noel Langley, originally published by Arthur Barker) where the genie magicked Aladdin's mother the Widow Twankey into a decorative ornament! Those were the good ol' days... now women and mothers are contributing in all kinds of ways to society, who would have thought...! ;-)
Thanks for link to the US store for American friends!