Popular Technology; or, Professions and Trades. Vol. 1 (of 2)

by Edward Hazen

THE COMB-MAKER.

1. The comb is a well-known instrument, employed in cleansing, dressing, and confining the hair. It is made of various materials, but most commonly of tortoise-shell, the horns and hoofs of cattle, ivory, bone, and several kinds of hard wood.

2. It is impossible to determine the period of the world at which it was introduced, since history and tradition, the sources from which we obtain information of this nature, are silent with regard to its origin. It is evident, however, that the comb is an instrument of primary necessity; and hence it must have been invented in the earliest ages. This opinion is confirmed by the fact, that the comb has been frequently found in use amongst savages, when first visited by civilized men.

3. Combs employed in fixing the hair, are made of tortoise-shell, or of the horns of cattle. The genuine tortoise-shell is taken from the testudo imbricata, or hawk's-bill turtle; but a kind of shell, inferior in quality, is obtained from the testudo caretta, or loggerhead turtle. These turtles inhabit the seas of warm and temperate climates; but they are especially numerous in the West Indian seas, where shell is a valuable article of commerce. That from St. Domingo is especially esteemed for its brilliancy of shade and color.

4. The shell of the hawk's-bill turtle was extensively employed for ornamental purposes by the refined nations of antiquity; although we have no account of its application to the manufacture of combs. The Greeks and Romans decorated with it the doors and pillars of their houses, as well as their beds and other furniture. The Egyptians dealt largely with the Romans in this elegant article.

5. The general length of the hawk's-bill turtle is about three feet from the bill to the end of the shell; but it has been known to measure five feet, and to weigh five or six hundred pounds. In the Indian Ocean, especially, specimens of prodigious magnitude are said to have occurred.

6. The shell employed in the arts, grows upon the back and feet of the animal. That on the back, consists of thirteen laminæ, or plates, which lap over each other, like tiles on the roof of a house. The plates vary in thickness from one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch, according to the age and size of the turtle. The quantity of merchantable shell obtained from a single subject of the usual size, is about eight pounds, which, at the usual price, is worth sixty or seventy dollars.

7. The process of making combs from the horns of cattle, is not difficult to be understood. The tips and buts are first cut off with a saw, and the remaining portion is also divided longitudinally on one side with the same instrument. The horns are then soaked for several days, and afterwards boiled in oil, to render them pliable. They are next spread out and pressed between hot iron plates. This operation clarifies the horn, and produces a plate of proper thickness.

8. After the plates thus produced, have been cut in pieces corresponding in size to the proposed combs, and when these have been shaved to a suitable thickness with instruments adapted to the purpose, the teeth are cut either with a twinning saw, as represented in the preceding cut, or with a twinning machine.

9. In the former case, the plate is fastened with a wooden clamp, by the part which is designed to be left for the back of the comb; and when twins, or two combs, are to be formed from one piece, the other end is bent down, so as to render the upper surface considerably convex. To this surface the twinning saw is applied by the hand of the workman, who makes a number of incisions; which are completed both ways with two different kinds of saws, and the end of each tooth is cut from the back of the opposite comb with an instrument called a plugging awl.

10. The twinning machine was invented, about twenty years ago, by a Mr. Thomas, of Philadelphia; but it has been successfully improved by several individuals since that time. It is, altogether, an ingenious and useful contrivance. The cutting part consists of two chisels, which are made to act on the plate alternately, and in a perpendicular direction, each chisel cutting one side of two teeth, and severing one from the opposite back, at every stroke. It is impossible, however, to form a clear conception of the manner in which the machine operates, except by actual inspection. It performs the work with great rapidity; since from one to two hundred dozens of combs can be cut in twelve hours; whereas, not one-fourth of that number can be twinned in the old method, during the same time.

11. After the teeth have been rounded, and in other respects brought to the proper form with suitable instruments, the combs are polished by rubbing them first with the dust of a peculiar kind of brick, then by applying them to a moving cylinder covered with buff leather, charged with rotten-stone, ashes, or brick-dust; and, finally, by rubbing them with the hand, charged with rotten-stone and vinegar.

12. The combs are next colored, or stained; and, as the tortoise-shell is by far the best and most expensive material for this kind of comb, the great object of the manufacturer is to produce colors as nearly resembling those of the real shell as practicable. This is done in considerable perfection, in the following manner:

13. The combs are first dipped in aqua-fortis, and then covered with a paste made of lime, pearlash, and red lead. To produce the requisite variety of shades, both taste and judgment are necessary in applying the composition, and in determining the time which it should remain upon the combs. To give the combs a still stronger resemblance to shell, they are also immersed for fifteen or twenty minutes in a dye of Nicaragua.

14. The combs having been covered with oil, they are next heated upon iron plates, and brought to the desired shape by bending them upon wooden blocks with a woollen list. The whole process is finished by rubbing off the oil with a silk handkerchief.

15. The general process of making shell combs differs but little from that which has been just described, varying only in a few particulars, in compliance with the peculiar nature of the material.

16. On account of the great value of shell, the workmen are careful to make the most of every portion of it; accordingly, when a piece falls short of the desired size, it is enlarged by welding to it another of smaller dimensions. The union is effected, by lapping the two pieces upon each other, and then pressing them together between two plates of hot iron. The heat of the iron is prevented from injuring the shell, by the interposition of a wet linen cloth, and by immersing the whole in hot water. In a similar manner, broken combs are often mended; and by the same method, two pieces of horn can also be joined together.

17. Both horn and shell combs are often stamped with figures, and otherwise ornamented with carved work. In the latter case, the ornaments are produced, by removing a part of the material with a saw and graver. The saw employed is not more than the twelfth of an inch in width; and, being fastened to a frame, it is moved up and down, with great rapidity, by means of the foot, while the part of the comb to be cut away is applied to the teeth. The operator is guided in the work by a pattern, which has been struck on paper from an engraved plate.

18. Combs for dressing and cleansing the hair, are made of horn, shell, bone, ivory, and wood; but it is unnecessary to be particular in describing the manner in which every kind of comb is manufactured. We will only add, that the teeth of fine ivory and bone combs are cut with a buzz, or circular saw, which, fastened to a mandrel, is moved in a lathe.