How All-Natural Horn Combs are Made

Creation of a Natural Horn Comb

 

No less than 17 operations are required to create an all-natural horn comb, all of which include thousands of precise movements.

Sorting, sawing, biscayage, flattening, marking, trimming, shaping, squaring, stadage, smoothing, sharpening, pearl beading, beading and shaping the back of the comb, sanding and polishing,  mean that this trade constitutes a highly-developed craft rather than a small industry.

The horn is sorted prior to being sawn. The sawyer’s main qualities are his visual and fingering skills, which are used to discard any horns with serious flaws. He then cuts the horn into 4 sections, each of which has a highly specific purpose :

  1. the tip is used to make lathed objects such as shaving brush and razor handles 
  2. the biscage or hollow is used to manufacture combs
  3. the fine throat from the base is used in the making of fine combs and nit combs
  4. the waste, located under the throat, is crushed and transformed into fertilizer. Horn which contains 12 to 16% nitrogen is an excellent natural fertilizer.

Biscayage - Is the most spectacular operation in the horn comb-making process. This technique entails opening out the biscage or hollow ; it is used to create a larger sheet, called a shoe, because of its shape. The horn is heated in the upper level of a brick kiln, the biscayeur seated in front of the fire, extracting the biscage at the correct temperature. Beating it with a pruning knife requires exceptional skill and strength, and the craftsman is able to recognize by its' sound whether or not it is ready to be opened out. He rests firmly against the wooden pole on his bench and drives his sharp knife into the thickest section, bringing it down in a spiral through the heat-softened horn. Using a large pair of tongs, he then takes hold of the notched biscage and offers it to the flame, where he reheats it without burning.

Flattening - Using a small pair of tongs, he opens the biscage and flattens it roughly with the large tongs, subjects it once again to the fire, and finally slides it between the two plates of the press, in which there is a flow of cold water, thereby simultaneously flattening and cooling the biscage which has now become a shoe. The biscayeur has the most difficult task in this profession. It is a job that requires strength, skill and stamina. This extremely strenuous technique has been all but abandoned by most workshops. Nowadays, the hollow is sawn lengthwise, heated in an oil-bath and then flattened in a press prior to cooling.

Marking - Rough sketches of combs are drawn on the newly-obtained shoe – 1, 2 or 3 depending on the size of the sheet. This marking operation is carried out using wooden templates and a stylet called a régadou, a tool made from a small piece of wood with a sharp spike in the base. Close attention is required to detect the natural faults in the horn.

Trimming - An impressive circular saw skims over the teeth of the trimmer, which cuts the marked sheet into horn strips to the defined shape.

Shaping - These strips are smoothed off and the edge from which the comb teeth will be cut is made thinner.

Squarring - This operation entails shaping the outline of the comb using a grinding wheel guided on a template. Once squared, the comb has adopted its final shape.

Large and fine teething - These two operations provide the comb with its genuine definition. Using a machine called astadda (or tooth machine), which appeared in England between 1855 and 1865, the large teeth and the fine teeth are created automatically, although before the invention of this machine, they were created individually… by hand!

Smoothing - This stage entails removing the roughness of the comb’s surface with a soft millstone and planishing the comb, i.e. providing it with a smooth surface.

Sharpening and pearl-beading - This operation is carried out using a small grinder with a fluted end, to ensure that the teeth are rounded on all sides. To avoid tearing the hair when combing, the upper section of the teeth are sometimes rounded, also with the aid of a fluted grinder, but with larger spacers. The comb has now adopted its generally recognised shape, but it is not yet complete.

Beading - To create a finer shape in certain models, the back of the comb is thinned down to a narrow width using a smooth, narrow grinder.

Back shaping - A grinder comprising throats of differing widths is used round off the back of the comb.

Sanding - There are two ways of sanding combs:

1. By hand, supporting the pumice-coated comb against a moist cloth pad

2. By putting the combs in a revolving barrel containing wooden cubes and a pumice-based preparation.

Polishing - This is the final operation. This will give the horn its lustre and enhance the colours. As with sanding, there are two possible ways of carrying out this operation :

1. By hand, by supporting the comb on a pad pre-coated in polish 

2. By leaving the combs for 24 hours in a revolving barrel, filled with wooden cubes coated in a special polishing preparation. 

 

Finally, the combs are sorted, classified, labeled, packed, and dispatched, ultimately to go on and fulfil their fundamental role of creating some sort of order in your hair...

 

 

Use and Care of your Natural Horn Comb

Natural Horn is so durable it will last a lifetime if properly used and cared for, however there are some dos and don'ts that you should be familiar with to preserve the integrity and beauty of your Classic All Natural Horn Comb. DO: Hand-wash in cold water using a mild soap and allow to air-dry; Limit exposure to sun. DON'T: Wash in dishwasher or soak.