Yes, every time a horse needs to be groomed, it’s a death sentence for them. Well, some horses think they coulda’ had died. It coulda’ happened that way you know. But they all somehow survive.
Interestingly enough, or not, at one time horse hair was the most popular material to make all kinds of brushes out. There were millions of horses, and they all needed to have their manes and tails groomed and cut several times a year. So there was a renewable and never ending supply. People were happy, and the horses were happy.
But, then came WW1. And along with all the guns, artillery, and ammunition needed to feed these engines death and destruction, copious amounts of other far more mundane items were also required by soldiers. And one of those mundane items were shaving brushes.
Soldiers are required to shave every day no matter what. So that meant every solider needed a shaving kit. This meant the military needed to supply a razor, blades, shaving soap, and a shaving brush to every solider. And the cheapest and most abundant brush to buy in bulk, was horse hair. But there soon was a problem.
Turns out all that patriotic horses were being sent to war to get killed just like all the men. And that in the western world, horse hair quickly was in short supply. And the soldiers still needed shaving brushes.
So, the brush factories started importing horse hair brushes from the Far East, mainly China. And because the Chinese either didn’t understand that horse hair needs to be sterilized, or it was just Chinese businessmen being Chinese, they skipped that step and didn’t tell anyone. And soon soldiers were being infected with tetanus and dying at an alarming rate. It is one thing to send your soldiers to die in the face of machine-gun fire, and a whole 'nother thing to waste them dying from tetanus infected shaving brushes instead. So they panicked switched to boar bristle brushes instead.
And so great was the fear of cheap imported horse hair shaving brushes from the Orient, that the US passed a Federal law banning the importation of horse hair brushes or horse hair and even the manufacture of those brushes in the US. A prohibition that lasted until recently. Other nations enacted similar bans or implemented strict rules regarding in manufacture and sale. And so horse hair shaving brushes faded from consumers minds.
The last horse hair shaving brush manufacturer in the west, an old Spanish company-- Vie-Long, finally quit making them a few years ago now. (I own and regularly use 3 of them). So new horse hair shaving brushes are now extinct. And that includes the rare and heavily fetishized horse hair tooth brushes.
Fortunately, you can get synthetic shaving knots and tooth brushes that very good these days. And so people with those peculiar fetishes can continue their private kinks.
The last horse hair shaving brush manufacturer in the west, an old Spanish company-- Vie-Long, finally quit making them a few years ago now
WHAT. i have been lazy and wanting to buy a new one for my skull and not doing that. what about horsehair shoe polish brushes? I just like the feeling of hair on my skull. plastic brushes don’t clean right.
Yeah, you’ve been lazy along with me. I wanted another one of their shaving brushes. I think they still offer badger hair shaving brushes. For real natural brushes you have your choice of either badger hair or boar bristle. Badger is the most popular for shaving brushes followed by boar which is stiffer and can feel “scritchier” if you are looking for that. Though it takes a bit of use to get a good boar brush’s bristles to start splitting at the tips and then it provides a soft feel.
Those people that dislike the fact that the boar and badger need to be all in on making a shaving brush, favor the synthetics. And I do have a couple that I find pretty nice. But there is a difference in the feel between natural hair/bristle and plastic.
Yes, every time a horse needs to be groomed, it’s a death sentence for them. Well, some horses think they coulda’ had died. It coulda’ happened that way you know. But they all somehow survive.
Interestingly enough, or not, at one time horse hair was the most popular material to make all kinds of brushes out. There were millions of horses, and they all needed to have their manes and tails groomed and cut several times a year. So there was a renewable and never ending supply. People were happy, and the horses were happy.
But, then came WW1. And along with all the guns, artillery, and ammunition needed to feed these engines death and destruction, copious amounts of other far more mundane items were also required by soldiers. And one of those mundane items were shaving brushes.
Soldiers are required to shave every day no matter what. So that meant every solider needed a shaving kit. This meant the military needed to supply a razor, blades, shaving soap, and a shaving brush to every solider. And the cheapest and most abundant brush to buy in bulk, was horse hair. But there soon was a problem.
Turns out all that patriotic horses were being sent to war to get killed just like all the men. And that in the western world, horse hair quickly was in short supply. And the soldiers still needed shaving brushes.
So, the brush factories started importing horse hair brushes from the Far East, mainly China. And because the Chinese either didn’t understand that horse hair needs to be sterilized, or it was just Chinese businessmen being Chinese, they skipped that step and didn’t tell anyone. And soon soldiers were being infected with tetanus and dying at an alarming rate. It is one thing to send your soldiers to die in the face of machine-gun fire, and a whole 'nother thing to waste them dying from tetanus infected shaving brushes instead. So they panicked switched to boar bristle brushes instead.
And so great was the fear of cheap imported horse hair shaving brushes from the Orient, that the US passed a Federal law banning the importation of horse hair brushes or horse hair and even the manufacture of those brushes in the US. A prohibition that lasted until recently. Other nations enacted similar bans or implemented strict rules regarding in manufacture and sale. And so horse hair shaving brushes faded from consumers minds.
The last horse hair shaving brush manufacturer in the west, an old Spanish company-- Vie-Long, finally quit making them a few years ago now. (I own and regularly use 3 of them). So new horse hair shaving brushes are now extinct. And that includes the rare and heavily fetishized horse hair tooth brushes.
Fortunately, you can get synthetic shaving knots and tooth brushes that very good these days. And so people with those peculiar fetishes can continue their private kinks.
WHAT. i have been lazy and wanting to buy a new one for my skull and not doing that. what about horsehair shoe polish brushes? I just like the feeling of hair on my skull. plastic brushes don’t clean right.
Yeah, you’ve been lazy along with me. I wanted another one of their shaving brushes. I think they still offer badger hair shaving brushes. For real natural brushes you have your choice of either badger hair or boar bristle. Badger is the most popular for shaving brushes followed by boar which is stiffer and can feel “scritchier” if you are looking for that. Though it takes a bit of use to get a good boar brush’s bristles to start splitting at the tips and then it provides a soft feel.
Those people that dislike the fact that the boar and badger need to be all in on making a shaving brush, favor the synthetics. And I do have a couple that I find pretty nice. But there is a difference in the feel between natural hair/bristle and plastic.