con nervio

English translation: Strong

08:38 Aug 6, 2015
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Manufacturing / Technical brushes
Spanish term or phrase: con nervio
This is in a catalogue of technical brushes for use in industry, in a table describing the different types of fibres the brushes can be made of.

In the section on horsehair (tail hair):
Suave, con cierto nervio y muy poca capacidad de crear estática.

In the section on a natural fibre called Calcutta fibre:
Con nervio y rigidez. Muy poca capacidad de crear estática.

I thought it was rigidity at first, but it comes up in the same entry as rigidity in my second example here, so it must be something else...
Lisa Mann
English translation:Strong
Explanation:
I think it's talking about the strength of the bristles.
See the wiki entry about hog bristles and compare to the Spanish version.

Also this Spanish site about shaving:
http://www.ecured.cu/index.php/Brocha_de_afeitar
Selected response from:

Lucy Williams
Spain
Local time: 10:51
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +2Strong
Lucy Williams
4with (a degree of) tension
neilmac
4with elasticity / resilience / spring / snap
Charles Davis


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Strong


Explanation:
I think it's talking about the strength of the bristles.
See the wiki entry about hog bristles and compare to the Spanish version.

Also this Spanish site about shaving:
http://www.ecured.cu/index.php/Brocha_de_afeitar

Example sentence(s):
  • Hog bristle (often called China bristle or Chungking bristle) is stiffer and stronger than soft hair. It may be bleached or unbleached.
  • Pelo fuerte y de mucho nervio es ideal para todo tipo de pinceles, especialmente para pintura al óleo y usos industriales.La cerda es el pelo más común y abundante en pincelaría.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brush#Paintbrushes
    https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pincel
Lucy Williams
Spain
Local time: 10:51
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
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Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
Notes to answerer
Asker: I've found a lot of references to the "con nervio" in relation to hog hair brushes... I'm starting to think it means something like firm because brushes without "nervio" are good for watercolours... Strong to me sounds like we're talking about its durability rather than its texture, right? For so many references to this term on the internet, it's odd that I can't find an explicit translation of it anywhere...


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ray Ables: stiffness, not strength
4 hrs

agree  Yvonne Gallagher: No, not strength but "stiffness". Hog hair brushes are known as being "stiff with good spring" but are used for oils rather than watercolours as they show brushmarks (sables are much softer) They can also be loaded with more paint
5 days
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
with (a degree of) tension


Explanation:
"The bristles 11 remain under lateral tension and .... as to simultaneously place said bristles under a different degree of tension..."

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Note added at 3 hrs (2015-08-06 11:55:06 GMT)
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I agree, it refers to the firmness/flexibility (tension) of the bristles.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2015-08-06 11:57:17 GMT)
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Tension (physics), a force related to the stretching/bending of an object.

Compare with "GIVE": noun
1.
capacity to bend or alter in shape under pressure.
synonyms: elasticity, flexibility, stretch, stretchiness; More

neilmac
Spain
Local time: 10:51
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 85
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
with elasticity / resilience / spring / snap


Explanation:
There is actually a translation of this term online, but I'm not sure it's quite right>

"ESCOBILLA PARA DIBUJO
Escoba de diseño en sedas vírgenes (pelos suaves pero con nervio), montaje final en mango de madera en bruto."
http://www.stouls.com/pages/conservation_es/produits_conserv...

"DUSTING BRUSHES
Short handled sketching brush made of wild silk (soft but responsive hairs), finely mounted on a raw wood handle."
http://www.stouls.com/pages/conservation_en/produits_conserv...

I think "nervio" is not strength or rigidity, nor exactly tension, and not flexibility either, but what is commonly referred to as elasticity or resilience, also known as "snap": that is, the capacity of the hairs to return to their original shape after being deformed.

"MARTA KOLINSKY (Kolinsky)
[...] Las características de este pelaje son su capacidad de absorber liquido y liberarlo de manera gradual, su elasticidad o resilencia y su punta. [...]
La resilencia y elasticidad o nervio le permiten al pincel doblarse para pintar, pero regresara a su forma natural cuando se termine la tensión, el caso contrario seria un pelo flojo (como el de ardilla) que se queda deformado en la forma presionada y hay que volver a dar forma presionando la lado contrario o con las manos."
http://santosacuarela.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/eligiendo-pince...

Squirrel hair doesn't have much nervio, which means not much elasticity, though it's got plenty of flexibility:

"PELO DE ARDILLA (Squirrel)
Este pelo es normalmente tomado de la ardilla canadiense o rusa. Sus atributos son el gran poder de absorción (incluso mas que el de la marta), su tendencia a formar una punta por la adherencia de sus pelos, y su flexibilidad (no elasticidad).
Esto significa que es un pincel que permite cubrir gran área de pigmento de una sola pasada, pero a diferencia de la Marta, este pelo no regresa a su forma original cuando se detiene la presión"
http://santosacuarela.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/eligiendo-pince...

"Ardilla: Pelo muy suave y absorbente pero con muy poco nervio"
http://en.calameo.com/read/0025770592f9b9528fd5a (pp. 2-3)

Spring and snap are commonly used to refer to the same qualities of elasticity or resilience:

"Spring / Snap - the degree of resilience of the hair and its ability to return to a point. Sable displays excellent spring."
http://maowa.com/english/term/term.htm



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Note added at 8 hrs (2015-08-06 17:08:03 GMT)
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Further evidence that "nervio" means ability to return to its original shape:

"Es una materia con excelente nervio (si doblamos el mechón y lo acercamos a nuestro oído,escucharemos perfectamente el estruendo que produce su vuelta a la posición inicial)"
http://www.hispacuarela.es/e107_files/downloads/Historia del...




Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 10:51
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 36
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