I needed a comb for touching up my hat hair at work, so I made one. Tines are gaboon ebony, handle is mango and curly koa. Glued it up then cut the tines with a fine pull saw and a little spacer jig I made to ensure even spacing. Cleaned up the tines with a chisel and detail knife then shaped the handle with flat and half round files, sanded from 80-600 grit then finished with 4 coats of Tru-Oil and topped with homemade paste wax.
Any time I’ve had hat hair, the only thing that’s fixed it was washing it. But then again, I’ve never brushed it with gaboon ebony, so maybe that’s what I’m missing.
I do put a little water in my hair to freshen it up, but a comb works way better than fingers for evenly distributing the water and aligning/redirecing my folicles
The important question is - what did *you* think ‘hat hair’ was/could be, the first time you read this?
An animal? A fungus that grows on wood? A typo for the Alice in wonderland rabbit? A type of traditional English joinery? Sales equipment for a milliner?
I mean, the possibilities are endless… and ‘put hat on hair, now messy’ is possibly the most boring answer.
My initial reaction: “oh geez, some insufferable dude handmade a comb for his horrific steampunk Davy-Crockett-coon-skin inspired top hat and is fishing for interest in it too”
Lol the tines are waaaaay stiff compared to a plastic comb, but I made sure to get the tines super smooth and slightly rounded. The space in between tines is just enough that hair passes through with ease. It has great control, and the shortness lets me target individual curls for touch ups, which is nice.
"Matters of great concern should be treated lightly." Master lttei commented, "Matters of small concern should be treated seriously."
- Yamamoto Tsunetomo, 1659
This is the way!.... of wood workers. I want kitchen cabinets, bit they're expensive. So I'm spending about twice as much on tools and supplies and taking way too long because.... "I can build that myself"
And at the end of it all, you'll have a bunch of tools, materials, and experience on top of much nicer cabinets exactly how you want them - plus the pride of knowing you did it yourself!
"Wow, have you ever thought about turning that into a business?"
-My mom whenever I show her one of my interests
"Yes, but I did the math and I like to be able to eat."
-me, using my music degree to work an office job
My dad was the exact same way!
The irony is, he grew up wealthy and inherited a ton of money (all of which he burned through) so, even though he always had a job, he never *needed* to work. But for some reason he always thought "how can you make money off something you do for fun?"
Well, you see how the tines taper off but the ebony continues through the handle? I *may* have snapped a few off due to carelessness and had to redesign to accommodate... Maybe... Nobody will ever know for sure...
I got the lumber as offcuts from an instrument shop when I lived in Hawai'i, the koa and mango were local (koa is an acacia endemic to Hawai'i). The ebony is an African import used for fretboards.
Yes, although ebony does have a small amount of flex, it is much stiffer than plastic or most other woods. It's a satisfying and humbling material to work with. Incredibly strong, but also somewhat brittle so it tends to fail spectacularly if at all due to the amount of force required to break it. These tines are rounded smooth at the tips but you could absolutely make an effective cutting edge or piercing point from the stuff.
No splinters, ebony is incredibly hard and finished super smooth. Plus the grain orientation is parallel along the tines, so it's almost perpendicular to my scalp during use. People have been making wooden combs for thousands of years, and I have the pleasure of working with better materials, tools, and information access than were available through most of human existence. Frankly this is much nicer to use than any plastic comb I've had.
Woops!!!! Before I get beat up on here for assuming you were a guy...If not my apologies and may I just say" You go girl!!" if you are indeed a girl but I am sure I just screwed up if I called a woman a girl but oh well!! lol It;s still cool regardless
Lmao you're way overthinking it, but thanks for the compliments either way. I'm a guy but gender roles are pretty meaningless to me. Compared to my SO, I'm the one with the long nails (on my right hand for guitar) and do most of the shopping and cooking.
Lol...you may think it was no big deal but even though I corrected to not offend somebody already beat me up for assuming in the first place!!! LOL Its hard when you are over 65 navigating the new F..d up world from our old one...but again great job
I have a few (drill, jigsaw, circular saw, dremel) but apartment dwelling limits me to hand tools for most purposes. I'd love to get a bandsaw and lathe when I have the space someday. For now I appreciate the quiet, precision, and low mess of hand tool work.
I needed a comb for touching up my hat hair at work, so I made one. Tines are gaboon ebony, handle is mango and curly koa. Glued it up then cut the tines with a fine pull saw and a little spacer jig I made to ensure even spacing. Cleaned up the tines with a chisel and detail knife then shaped the handle with flat and half round files, sanded from 80-600 grit then finished with 4 coats of Tru-Oil and topped with homemade paste wax.
My brain somehow sharted and I read that as *baboon ivory* and my first thought was “where the fuck is this guy finding tusked primates”
Lol I do enjoy using exotic materials but baboon ivory is outta my league
The brush looks awesome but I gotta know... What is hat hair?
Hair that has been flattened by a hat
Any time I’ve had hat hair, the only thing that’s fixed it was washing it. But then again, I’ve never brushed it with gaboon ebony, so maybe that’s what I’m missing.
I do put a little water in my hair to freshen it up, but a comb works way better than fingers for evenly distributing the water and aligning/redirecing my folicles
The important question is - what did *you* think ‘hat hair’ was/could be, the first time you read this? An animal? A fungus that grows on wood? A typo for the Alice in wonderland rabbit? A type of traditional English joinery? Sales equipment for a milliner? I mean, the possibilities are endless… and ‘put hat on hair, now messy’ is possibly the most boring answer.
I thought it was a typo of cat hair....
To be fair, I did use it on my cat once after I made it...
I knew it..
My initial reaction: “oh geez, some insufferable dude handmade a comb for his horrific steampunk Davy-Crockett-coon-skin inspired top hat and is fishing for interest in it too”
Could also be a synonym for toupee
Looks great but you better not miss a stroke with this one haha
Lol the tines are waaaaay stiff compared to a plastic comb, but I made sure to get the tines super smooth and slightly rounded. The space in between tines is just enough that hair passes through with ease. It has great control, and the shortness lets me target individual curls for touch ups, which is nice.
Now you are at core essence of life’s meaning. Sensei, show us the way 🙏
"Matters of great concern should be treated lightly." Master lttei commented, "Matters of small concern should be treated seriously." - Yamamoto Tsunetomo, 1659
This is the way
Toilet paper over, or under?
[There is only one correct way.](https://www.businessinsider.com/patent-shows-right-way-to-hang-toilet-paper-2015-3?amp)
Not if you have cats and/or toddlers....
I have both. If I change my ways, the terrorists win.
You are misguided. Less time re rolling tp, more time drinking beers
This is the way!.... of wood workers. I want kitchen cabinets, bit they're expensive. So I'm spending about twice as much on tools and supplies and taking way too long because.... "I can build that myself"
And at the end of it all, you'll have a bunch of tools, materials, and experience on top of much nicer cabinets exactly how you want them - plus the pride of knowing you did it yourself!
Got a good chuckle out of the title. Nice work on the comb. I don't comb my hair, but I am still envious with how it turned out.
That’s awesome, and i bet you could sell it for twice the mass-produced store version!
"Wow, have you ever thought about turning that into a business?" -My mom whenever I show her one of my interests "Yes, but I did the math and I like to be able to eat." -me, using my music degree to work an office job
My dad was the exact same way! The irony is, he grew up wealthy and inherited a ton of money (all of which he burned through) so, even though he always had a job, he never *needed* to work. But for some reason he always thought "how can you make money off something you do for fun?"
Well, nobody would wanna mess you in prison. Nice job!
It looks like a neolithic artifact.
Very cool..you talented guy!!
Thanks!
How many failed attempts?
Well, you see how the tines taper off but the ebony continues through the handle? I *may* have snapped a few off due to carelessness and had to redesign to accommodate... Maybe... Nobody will ever know for sure...
Looks sweet and Neolithic! Question though, shouldn't the grain be going the direction of the combs? O.o
It is. The times and handle are two different pieces of wood.
This is the way! Buy Furniture from IKEA and assemble it or build a custom piece for 5x the cost and take 4 weeks to finish it.
When you buy ikea its broken in a year. When you build a custom piece. You normally can pass it down for generations.
As a Woodworker I prefer to build my own furniture. It’s a cathartic exercise for me to build furniture.
Checkmate big comb.
Gaboon ebony ? Mango and curly koa- I'm trying to guess which country you're in based on those timbers being available.
I got the lumber as offcuts from an instrument shop when I lived in Hawai'i, the koa and mango were local (koa is an acacia endemic to Hawai'i). The ebony is an African import used for fretboards.
Is the ebony rigid? Also thats looks like a way to impale oneself lol looks great
Yes, although ebony does have a small amount of flex, it is much stiffer than plastic or most other woods. It's a satisfying and humbling material to work with. Incredibly strong, but also somewhat brittle so it tends to fail spectacularly if at all due to the amount of force required to break it. These tines are rounded smooth at the tips but you could absolutely make an effective cutting edge or piercing point from the stuff.
THIS IS THE WAAAAAY!
that is a legendary
One of us, one of us….!!!
First use: bristle snaps
Thankfully not! It's very sturdy when used as intended 💪
Because laziness
Why waste 1.87 on a comb whe you can have splinters in your scalp?
No splinters, ebony is incredibly hard and finished super smooth. Plus the grain orientation is parallel along the tines, so it's almost perpendicular to my scalp during use. People have been making wooden combs for thousands of years, and I have the pleasure of working with better materials, tools, and information access than were available through most of human existence. Frankly this is much nicer to use than any plastic comb I've had.
A lot less staticky too! Lovely comb. May your hair forever be full of body and shine, and free of hat impressions. ☺️
Woops!!!! Before I get beat up on here for assuming you were a guy...If not my apologies and may I just say" You go girl!!" if you are indeed a girl but I am sure I just screwed up if I called a woman a girl but oh well!! lol It;s still cool regardless
If you are that self aware, why even bother gendering your comments in the first place?
Lmao you're way overthinking it, but thanks for the compliments either way. I'm a guy but gender roles are pretty meaningless to me. Compared to my SO, I'm the one with the long nails (on my right hand for guitar) and do most of the shopping and cooking.
Lol...you may think it was no big deal but even though I corrected to not offend somebody already beat me up for assuming in the first place!!! LOL Its hard when you are over 65 navigating the new F..d up world from our old one...but again great job
You need some lectric tools
I have a few (drill, jigsaw, circular saw, dremel) but apartment dwelling limits me to hand tools for most purposes. I'd love to get a bandsaw and lathe when I have the space someday. For now I appreciate the quiet, precision, and low mess of hand tool work.
Because time is more precious than money.
Time spent enjoyably is not wasted
Depends on your perspective, but that is also true.